So maybe this year hasn’t been as monumental as you anticipated it to be and you’re finding yourself lost how to feel about it.
First things first, girl, you are not alone! It’s totally normal to feel like things may have not gone the way you thought them to go but there’s so much more power is recognizing why they did the way they did. A grateful heart is one that sees the good or sometimes the ‘just okay’ in your situation. Every day may not be the best day of your entire life, but noticing what didn’t make it that can help you appreciate it when it does come your way!
Related: On Gratitude
This notion is also a double-edged sword; to be able to acknowledge a good day, one must be able to acknowledge a bad day as well. Easier said than done, but on specifically bad days, count your blessings. Ask yourself important questions like: What did go right that day? Who was by your side that day? Did you learn or grow from what happened today? Often times bad days are seen as failures or a waste of a productive day, but quite the contrary, they act as humble reminders that you are a growing work in progress. If every day was a good day, you’d be stagnant and lukewarm in your development. Perfection is the enemy of thankfulness. Luckily enough, the antidote is simply understanding and accepting the imbalance in your life.
Related: #Blessed
First things first, an imbalance is not synonymous to lost control, it simply means taking the reigns in every given situation. Keeping a positive mindset in crappy situations isn’t usually your common natural response, though. As a very emotionally charged person, learning to adapt to this change was hard and sometimes seemed impossible, but the reward I gained from it was life-changing. For me, I’ve called this philosophy “understanding the high ‘highs’ and low ‘lows’”. As paradoxical as it may sound, it has helped me recognize the significance of both by understanding its counterpart. When I had a bad day, I accepted it, and instead of focusing on what sucked about my day, I asked myself: Why didn’t I like it? What would I have rather wanted to happen? I did this to understand what response I had during both times in my life and how that may, yes, differ but offer more than just what’s on the surface level.
Thankfulness through the thick and thin shouldn’t make sense but it is possible. Life is what you make it, so be the best every day (even the bad ones), collegiettes!