Your situation does not dictate your happiness. There are exceptions like death, disease, and heartache,** but for the most part, you have the right to a better perspective. Your mindset and what you tell yourself can change so much.
Let’s say you’ve been training for a race with 50 people total. You train for 6 months, and you get 3rd place. Are you upset because you think you should have gotten first? Or are you joyful that you placed? Or even if you didn’t get a place at all, what’s your perspective? Did you do the best you could? Did you improve and learn tips for running next time? What’s your mindset? Consider it a win no matter what.
In business, maybe you lost a client to competition. Think about your next opportunity that could be a better match and that person could even be a referral to someone else or be a return customer! How you think matters.
**If you are feeling a lot of negative, overwhelming thoughts that last more than a day, reach out to a friend, find a therapist, or the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The NAMI HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET.
1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or info@nami.org