This Is Good Because…
Finding the good in the middle of the bad.
The current reality in which we are living is distressing, depressing, uncertain, and confusing as all get out. None of us have experienced something like this in our lifetime.
The global pandemic has us taking extreme measures. We are sheltering in place, social distancing, and severely limiting how much time we spend in public, even of necessity. (Or at least – we should be.)
Yes, there are some for whom nothing has changed, really. But for many, many people, life as you knew it and lived it has taken an extreme detour.
No matter how much you seek out positivity in your life; no matter how optimistic you are – you will have bad days. Everyone feels scared, confused, and unsure how to cope with both the present reality and questions of what the other side will look like. Or, for that matter, when we’ll reach that other side.
When you find you are having that bad day, and you are feeling all that negativity, one way to combat that is to create a “This is good because” list.
What is this all about?
Jen Sincero, author of the You Are A Badass books (which I simply cannot recommend enough) talks about reframing a bad situation you may find yourself in with this statement. “This is good because” opens the way to turning a negative experience around.
When you are in a bad position, such as feeling “stuck” at home, dealing with a broken car and awaiting a tow, facing empty shelves at the grocery store, you can let that take you down. It can make you feel bad, and worse if you are already in a poor headspace. Bad things always tend to pile atop one another, and that leads to more negativity, frustration, and so on.
Reframing your situation with “this is good because” allows you to find better. You can shift your mindset and headspace away from the negativity dominating it.
How does this work? First, it puts you into the now.
When you look at your current situation and seek a “this is good because” reasoning, you put yourself in the now. You are asking yourself to look at your present circumstances and change them.
For example, let’s say you are super frustrated at being isolated at home. Rather than seeing yourself as being stuck, trapped, or otherwise in a bad place, you can reframe it with “this is good because I can clean and declutter my space,” or “this is good because I can try that recipe I have been meaning to try” and so on.
“This is good because” is a practice of mindfulness
Mindfulness is being aware of what you are thinking, what and how you are feeling, and the actions – and intent of those actions – that you take. This is about not letting your subconscious mind, the unfiltered sponge that it is, absorb all the negativity flooding over the world right now.
Spend any time on social media and you will be overwhelmed by negativity. Reports about the latest surreal actions of the current administration, increasing Covid-19 infections and deaths, shortages and fear are everywhere.
I am in no way saying to ignore this, nor to deny it for what it is. Some people are doing that and they are making matters worse. What I am saying, however, is to not allow your subconscious mind to make it a bigger problem than it already is.
The fear of the illness may be worse than the illness itself. That’s not to say don’t practice caution – just don’t lose your head in the process of it. Mindfulness allows you to be aware of your headspace, mindset, and overall being.
Looking at a situation and applying “this is good because” makes you more mindful. This opens you to finding and/or creating some much-needed positivity.
It will be alright in the end
Again, I am not denying the gravity of this pandemic, nor lessening the struggles of those sick and dying from this virus. But if you see the world as nothing but doom and gloom that’s all that you will have.
The collective consciousness can be shifted. But that is a matter of each of us. You and I can choose for ourselves how we think, feel, and act at this time.
So, let me finish with this: This is good because it shows cracks in the foundation of our society. And this is good because we can use this to change the overall conversation and work on altering climate change, getting rid of horrid selfish politicians, and alter the model for how society expects a normal life to be.
Yes, I believe that this is good because it can be an opportunity to learn some much-needed lessons about how the current societal “normal” is unsustainable in multiple ways.
Change is inevitable. This is a pretty massive change sweeping over us. We can decide to let it wash over us – or take a swim and redirect the flow of the current around us.
You can find many “this is good because” options. All the power to do so lies within you. See it, believe it, and use it.
This is good because…
Finding a “this is good because” notion is not hard, but it does require action
Knowing that you have the power to be conscious of the here-and-now and can find and create positivity even in a bad situation, expressing “this is good because” is a powerful action. Taking this action opens you up to changing your mindset and headspace, further pulling you out of the extreme world negativity of the current situation. That ultimately empowers you.
When you feel empowered, your mindfulness increases, you become more aware overall, and that can spread to people around you. It can create a feedback loop of awareness and positivity.
As such, you can build more positive feelings and discover more reasons to feel positivity and gratitude. That can be the impetus to improve numerous aspects of your life for the better, generating yet more positivity and gratitude.
An attitude of gratitude is an attitude of immense positivity that can generate even more good energies – and that, like you, is always worthwhile.
This is the three-hundred and twenty-second entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog and spread the positivity.
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