Sunday, December 18, 2016

The Keys to My Success

Every person has different tools in their toolbox of life to build the life that makes them happy.  What I’ve discovered for myself is that these things can be super simple. Discovering and using those tools is the key. Through my “happiness journey” I’ve established three key factors to maintaining my positivity.  Food, Shoes (yes, shoes – I will explain), and Kindness are my keys to successful living.  If I am not on top of my game in one of these categories, one
glitch can turn a bad moment into a week of bad habits….and bad habits directly affect my positivity.

I am not a regimented, diligent kind of girl by nature, but I typically give it the good ole’ college try.  Last Sunday was a crazy day.  My son was flying home from California in a snowstorm and a dear, sweet adopted family member earned her angel wings.  The stress and sadness brewing was an easy recipe for laziness.  I ate poorly, didn’t exercise and fell out of my daily routine. I wasn’t motivated to write my blog, which has never happened to me before. It astonished me how easily I allowed myself the distraction of feelings to give excuses permission to take over.  Instead of picking myself up, the pattern continued for the next few days, and my laziness in being healthful both emotionally and physically, turned to laziness in my journey of positivity.  I found myself impatient, cranky, and judgmental.  I let little things bother me; I was intolerant with my children over small things; I indulged in gossip; and spoke ill of someone behind their back.  These are all things I don’t tolerate from others so how did I so easily lose myself?  As nasty as this pattern was, the positive spin was that I was aware of it and quickly pushed my Reset Button.  Through this process, though, I realized it was important for me to evaluate what led me to that place so I could make the decision to crawl out of it and not repeat the pattern.

I am “simply positive” that, for me, the key is routine.  While my instinct is to fight it, I am healthier and happier when I adhere to a routine.  Giving myself an internal schedule obviously lends itself to predictable behaviors.  When I fall out of routine, it’s important to acknowledge it as quickly as I can and start again.   When I eat well, I feel great and when I don’t eat well, it makes me cranky and I don’t treat people the way I should.  When I put my shoes on first thing in the morning, I am super productive and set the tone for a successful day.  I get things done; I exercise; I take care of business.  When I don’t put my shoes on first thing in the morning I am lazy, I stay in bed too long, I feel bad about myself and that translates to how I treat others.  When I don’t wake up with a smile, it is more challenging to spread kindness and that makes me moody.  These are three very, very simple things, but for me, they are key.


Everyone has different keys to their own success.  Finding your own can take years and even decades….and they can change.  Give yourself permission to learn them and take the time to use the tools to build your own positive life.

No comments:

Post a Comment