Usually by this point of the month we have decided that we are hopeless and have given up on our resolutions; there is also an extra dejection for all the things that went “wrong” last year and leading up to this moment. Since we are creatures of habit and always swirling in our repetitive patterns, what if we do something different?
How about instead of focusing on all the failures and the things that went wrong we pivot to start the search for “hidden gems” and lessons from the past? To unearth our reasonable confidence in our own abilities or potential we have to be able to not just succeed but be happy even when things are far from perfect or more stressful than watching your phone battery hit 1% when you’re lost.
Now, of course we cannot all be those people who never get derailed by circumstances. Life throws us curveballs that either makes us build a blanket fort to hide in or go outside to yell at the heavens. But even on our grouchiest of days we can recognize those moments where we know things turned out much better than planned.
We literally have the ability to choose to instead see growth, gratitude, and gems amongst the past instead of piles of manure. History says that the things that make us most uncomfortable brought up priceless growth – think about the growth you got from attending kindergarten reaching that eager-to-go stage. Or remember the nerves trying to start a new job? Look at you now!
Try this!
The Reflection Audit
List three things from last year or this month that felt like failures initially but resulted in a lesson or a gem.
As you look back right now and going forward: instead of saying, “What happened to me?” ask yourself, “What did I learn from this experience?” Just like with any habit each time you do this it will build a new habit.
Look at some point if you are an adult you have at some point realized that true success isn’t just ticking boxes in an endless or milestone life list. It is really about learning to appreciate the journey of checking those boxes. For a couple years I have been talking about positive sprinkles; they are gems; the things that put a smile on our face, and are the things we just know are right. The string of green lights, the change found in a pocket, the perfect short see just when you needed it, or someone giving you that morsel of truth.
The journey is what we make it and so are our circumstances. We cannot stop or prevent all the bad or negative things that may happen to us but we CAN control how it affects us and how to move forward or stand up once it happens. Our life is full of gems… giant gems that would make us some sort of wealthy villain in an action movie to teeny tiny gems that could be glitter. So, thinking of it that way we could literally find gems every SINGLE day.
So, right now… what is a gem you found so far today? During the rest of your day… how many gems can you find? Going forward… acknowledge all gems no matter their size! Look for them! Enjoy them! Share them!
Ready to put this into practice? Check out my latest mini-guides:
Be the Hero: Ever feel like you’re stuck in a bad plot line? Learn how to shift your perspective using the “TV Show” method.
The Even Though Flip: My favourite secret weapon for finding gems on the days when everything seems to be going wrong.
Image for graphic by:
MI PHAM on Unsplash