Keeping a Positive Attitude During Difficult Times

Your car breaks down. You lose your job. You're facing foreclosure. You lost a beloved family member. You've received a bad medical report.

Everyone faces difficult times in their lives.

People come and go from your life. Businesses go out of business. Cars only last so long before needing major repairs. Life is constantly changing, but it doesn't have to get you down.

The key is to keep a positive attitude and an eye on the big picture.

Here are a couple ways I try to maintain a positive attitude. Hopefully they will help you as well.

Prayer
Spend quiet time with God. Read the Bible and ask God for direction and guidance in your life. Then be still and listen.

Try to look at the bigger picture of your life not just this one moment in time. Not just the bad moments in your life either.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."    Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Be Thankful
One way to see how truly blessed you really are is to write down all the things you are thankful for. This is something I do each night. I write in a small journal everything I'm thankful for - big or small. I give thanks for getting out onto a busy road safely, no arguments between my kids, gas for my vehicle, and even that my new kitten and my older cat are getting along better each day. Anything and everything you can think of.

Give/Help/Focus on Others
A good way to keep a positive attitude is to focus on others. Forget about your own problems for a little while and focus solely on helping others.

"Get your mind off yourself."    Joyce Meyer

If you need money - give money. If you need more time - volunteer your time. If you want more love - give love. Whatever you need give away and it will come back to you. Try it and see. Give 10 minutes of time to help a friend, give $5 to a person in need, give undivided attention to a child. It doesn't have to be big you just have to give.

Life is like a river not a dam - you have to give and receive.

No Whining
Quit complaining and whining because it doesn't help and it drains your energy. Seek help in finding solutions to your problems if you need to, but stop telling everyone what is going wrong in your life just to get sympathy.

Focus on What You CAN Do
If you are having a difficult time financially - you shouldn't go out spending money. Find free things to do such as going on a picnic, going to the library or spending time with friends at home

If you are struggling with having lost your job now is the perfect time to update your resume. Call any friends, family and acquaintances to help you find a new job. Public libraries usually keep a copy of the local newspaper to search the classifieds. They also have free internet access so you can hunt online.

It's all to easy to have a pity party or even fall into depression when things go wrong in life, but life changes constantly. You need to keep moving and keep a positive outlook on life. Just like Dory from "Finding Nemo". Just Keep Swimming.

Focus on helping others, being thankful for what you have and do what you can to make life pleasant.