Starting the Day Right

There are some days when I just don't feel like getting out of bed. Maybe I didn't sleep well the night before or there is something I dread doing ahead of me. For whatever reason, whenever I started my day with fear and worry, the rest of day was doomed to plod along in a sluggish, miserable manner.

The attitude with which we choose to begin our day determines the type of weather we'll spend the rest of the day in. We can either choose a ray of bright sunshine or a raindrop from a storm cloud. We all make that choice every day. Do we start with dread and fear or optimism and hope?

When we begin our day with dread and fear, we naturally invite negativity and a sense of emptiness into our lives. Minor inconveniences are blown into catastrophes, simple pleasures bring us no joy, and we inevitably focus on the negative in people and situations. As the day draws to a close, we wonder how we could have made it through yet another day like this.
But we could endeavour to start each day with an unburdened mind and heart.We could look to our day with enthusiasm and hope, and consciously decide to seek out the good in people and situations. We could choose to be grateful for the seemingly common and simple, and appreciate the little blessings each day brings.

Now, some might argue that that isn't reality ? that the world isn't that wonderful a place. Well, isn't it true that how things look depends on the lenses through which we choose to see them? We make our own reality in how we choose to perceive the world around us.
This doesn't mean that as long as we start our days with hope and optimism that things will magically go the way we want them to. Our attitude towards the world doesn't change the world. It simply helps us better manage changes in the world. Dread and fear stokes the flame of negativity and self-destruction. When we are knocked down, they make it harder for us to get up. Optimism and hope get us on our feet again.

As Mary Pickford once said, "If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down."