Introduction to Life Challenges Series
Sometimes, we are so busy with our various commitments that we forget to leave some time to check in with ourselves and improve one aspect of our lives.
Doing the same old routines and work every day is just going to nurture the mentality of getting by with life uneventfully, but that is not a life well lived, for we are shelled up in our own comfort zone, and we do not experience any excitement or growth. [1]
This is why I have been trying to fight back the busyness and trying to set up some challenges for my self-improvement. These challenges usually include soft-skills that will improve my character and increase my well-being. However, the nature of the challenges can evolve in future, in line with my changing needs and the changing environment.
The first challenge: Positivity Challenge
The purpose of this challenge is to encourage me to reframe my thoughts in a more positive and constructive way so as to improve my mental well-being and feel more in control.
Many occurrences are neutral by nature. But as we colour these events with our own emotions and our biases, they will fall into the category of either what we like and what we dislike. The negative category of what we dislike can be self-defeating, as they may be necessary for our growth but our mind is resistant to change. This workings of our inner selves, combined with the negative thoughts that spring out from our interpretations of the events, make many things in life harder and more stressful than they should. [2]
What did I do for this challenge? Everyday, for one week, I wrote about at least one difficulty I faced and tried to apply positive thinking to it. You can see what I have done here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14wnd-KJfQ5_PRE7wcXqDIpqilT8uBHzYlrnN5YY8DRE/edit
Looking back on the challenge
I surprised myself by generating many positive ways to look at an otherwise negative event. It seems like most of the time when I feel depressed or stressed by the negative things in life, it is more likely because my mind does not want to acknowledge positive side of things.
I hope to be able to gather these thoughts and find out their commonalities, which can help me set up a toolbox for helping me to cope with negativity and inject more positive feelings into my life.
References
[1]https://www.fastcompany.co.za/inspiration/why-challenges-and-problems-are-important-in-life-12411996
[2]
https://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2013/08/08/518/
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