As I prepare for a speech I am giving at a women’s luncheon this Wednesday on Celebrate Your Life Story, I am reminded again of how easy it is to get discouraged when adversities pile high and we are exhausted and ready to give up.
Yet it is precisely at those times when God will give us that extra strength, that extra determination, to pick ourselves up and take that next step.
Within in our life story, we often focus only on those bright spots when we are experiencing happy times free of worry and stress. Yet, our daily routines are usually less colorful. Instead they are muted and often boring and sometimes tedious.
Can we bring more life and energy to those daily routines? Here are some antidotes for depression and gloom and that feeling of stagnation.
1. Check your attitude as soon as you get out of bed. What are you saying to yourself?
2. Every day find something new and positive in your life, your work, whatever situation you are in
3. Find one new way to change boring and tedious to varied and interesting
4. Before you leave home, check your attitude again. It is usually reflected in the mirror. Are you wearing a perpetual frown? Are the frown lines of worry increasing while the smile lines decreasing?
5. Tell yourself this is the day that God has made and He will show you how to look at it from His eyes.
Life is not easy. It requires hard work and determination. But most of all, it requires an attitude that looks for ways to turn adversities into growth. We can turn tedious and boring days into ones where we anticipate good things.
Marlene Anderson