2020 has been a strange year. Filled with lots of bad news from the pandemic to the economy to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and more. But it’s also been a year where people got married and had children and beat cancer.
I don’t know about you but there have been so many days lately that were both deep dark disasters and opportunities for raucous celebration. All at once.
Like most people, I’ve had a hard time focusing on any of the good stuff.
Our brains are wired to protect us from danger. Good stuff doesn’t usually hurt us. So, we naturally focus on the bad stuff. But that just reinforces fear and anxiety.
We have to break the habit. Look, I’m not into fake positivity and pretending that bad things aren’t bad. But there are positive things happening too and it’s important for our health – both physical and mental. Surviving lots of bad things requires finding hope in the things that are going right.
Somehow in all the change and adjusting, I’ve lost some rituals. This week I brought back the daily gratitude journal. Even on the worst day, there’s always something to be grateful for. At least air conditioning, a safe place to live, my health. Something.
How about you? How are you catching the good?
Have a great week,
Julie