Body Positive Post #10: Life Positivity

Something I like to talk about every once in a while is
living a positive life.  In my opinion,
the type of energy you have in your life will reflect on your body image as
well.  For example, whenever I’m feeling
down in the dumps instead of sulking in my misery (although sometimes sulking
is what I need to do for an hour before I’m ok haha) I look at myself and say
you got this.  Then I proceed to dress
like I normally would dress and I do my hair and makeup.  Now, as much as life has really thrown me some
curveballs recently I continue to push forward. 
Yes, I cried and yes, I got angry. 
However, at the end of the day I’m determined to keep going and I’m
determined to turn this negative into a positive, no matter how long it
takes.  I think it’s also good to
surround yourself with positive people. 
I have two friends who are extremely positive and can see good in even
the worst situations.  When I’m feeling
down or negative they are the first people I hang around and ask for some words
of wisdom about life in general.  Just
remember that misery loves company.  I
know that when my daily life isn’t positive, I start to pick myself apart.  I start looking at myself in the mirror and
attacking my own self with hurtful words. 
When my daily life is more positive, I can actually look at myself in the
mirror and say “I like my hair today,” or “danggggg I look good in this outfit.”  Yes, sometimes I give myself pep talks, don’t
judge me!

With all of that being said I want to list a few ways that I
keep positive, even in the WORST situations.

1.  Everything happens for a reason

I’m a true believer in everything happening for a
reason.  There is a reason why we are put
on this earth and given a chance to make our future what we want it to be.  If life gets in the way and pushes us down,
there IS a reason for this.  There is a
quote that says “you were given this life because you are strong enough to live
it.”  That’s probably one of the best
ways to describe how I feel about life. 
In my 28 years here on this earth, I’ve endured a substantial amount of
hardships and pain.  However, I wake up
every day knowing that there is a plan for me. 
Whether you are religious and believe in God/higher power, or if you
just go through daily life, I do believe that there is a reason for each and
every one of us.  I know that a lot of
things in life are blessings in disguise. 
All of the negativity that has gone through my 28 years of existence has
brought me to where I am today.  It’s
brought me to where I’m sitting right now at the computer typing this for those
of you who are losing hope.  DON’T LOSE
HOPE!  I was at that point once and I
made the decision to stay determined and keep going and that’s why I’m the
person I am today.  That’s why when
someone is feeling down I know that I can do my best to help them and show them
from example.  I have a story, and if
telling my story can help someone else, I’m able to go back to the darkest of
places.

2.  For Dan

Any of you who have followed my blog know that there is
someone in my life who was one of the most important people and life
lessons.  His name was Dan.  This entire blog and the reason why I started
it is dedicated in his memory.  I keep
his picture with me at all times in my wallet. 
He was one of the greatest people who have ever been in my life and cancer
took his life back in 2013.  He was 28
years old, the same age I am now.  He
fought really hard for a year and every day he had a smile on his face saying
how beautiful life is.  When he passed
away I was so upset, sad, and most of all angry.  I was angry that a person like Dan had to
endure all of this suffering and in the end he was no longer here.  But then I thought, he may not be here on
earth anymore but he’s moved on to a better place.  He served his purpose here on earth.  When I went to the wake the amount of people
that were in that building was astonishing. 
He touched so many lives, and he made such a positive impact on my
life.  When he passed away I completely
changed for the better.  So whenever I’m
feeling down or think life isn’t fair I think of Dan.  I think of how he never had a chance to live
out his life to his older years.  His
life stopped at 28. 

3.  It could be worse

I repeat this to myself a lot.  No matter how bad a situation is I always say
it could be worse.  Don’t get me wrong,
sometimes I don’t say it right away, but I eventually say it.  For example my big accident back in
September, I was definitely not saying “it could be worse” while I was being
rushed to the hospital or when I heard the cracking of pieces of my car
underneath the firefighter’s boots when they were coming to get me out of the
car.  I didn’t really think that until
the next day when I woke up and found out my car was saveable even after
feeling like I got hit by a bus for a few days. 
I walked out of the emergency room later that night (in pain, but I
walked).  I was lucky, because it could
have been a lot worse.  I could have had
broken bones, or even worse I could have died. 
Even with everyday things I always say it could be worse.  Another example and this kind of has to do
with number 1 of everything happening for a reason is there have been so many
times I’ve been stuck in traffic because of an accident.  Now, most of those times, it could have been
me except that day I forgot my phone at my desk, or I had a last minute meeting
at work that caused me to get out later. 
A lot of things in life could be a lot worse.

4.  My dog

My dog is my rock. 
Believe it or not, an animal is my bestie.  Whenever I’m feeling down, I’m actually not
allowed to do that.  My dog will attack
me with doggy love and kisses until I start laughing that she’s practically eating
my face and then she leaves me alone.  At
the end of the day, when I come home from work and see her face and how excited
she gets to see me I can’t help but for a brief moment think everything is
going to be ok.  She’s been with me
through the darkest of my years which wasn’t that long ago.  She’s been by my side for the past four years
and in that four years she’s taught me a lot about life, and myself.  Can you believe that?  A dog taught me something.  I’m not saying that all of your problems will
go away when you get a dog because don’t forget the responsibilities that come
with owning a dog so it is a life altering decision you have to make, but if
you have one they make every day that much better.

5.  Keep Going

I can never stress this enough.  Whenever I’m upset or sad, I find something
to be persistent about.  I find something
that I will push myself to do because there is an ultimate goal.  For example with everything that has been
going on, last week my friend hired me to be in charge of her marketing because
she needed the help and I had been looking for a second job.  Even though life has been hectic emotionally,
I needed something else to keep me going, so a second job was my first idea and
then boom, within an hour my friend had called me and here I was thinking no
one is going to hire me with the hours I would request.  Whenever something negative happens in my
life I say ok, yes this sucks, but girlfriend you got this.  I have this mentality of getting upset for a
minute and pushing forward harder than before to accomplish something.  I guess it’s kind of like reverse psychology
haha.  Don’t ever give up, if life pushes
you down, keep on trying to get back up until you actually get back on two
feet.

Everyone, don’t forget to check out my BOPO video that went live on my YouTube a few weeks ago!