Dwelling in Hope

Being optimistic does not mean you should never be sad, disappointed, tired, angry, or have a frustrated day.  We need to discover, identify and process our full range of emotions without judgement.  It is healthy not to stuff our emotions away and wash them over with a false “I’m fine” attitude.  Being optimistic and having a positive mindset is contrary to ignoring or stuffing our emotions, it is actually empowering because it is where we can dictate how we view the world and therefore curate a hopeful outlook on life. 

Having a positive approach where we will not dwell on negative narratives that may be causing us havoc can be the first step to freeing up our mind.   When we have a thought that is not positive we can  acknowledge it and allow it to float away like a cloud and not allow it to hover over our being like a storm taking captive on our day.  These negative narratives in our mind can be real stories from our past, something we are currently experiencing or imagined fears for our future, either way, our brain does not know the difference, it will react the same way and go into protection mode.   If we use discipline and practice a favorable perspective on our circumstances, this can be a powerful tool and have a promising impact on our wellbeing, behaviors, choices, interactions with others and how the rest of our day will play out.  Keep in mind, what we look for, we will find.  

Our mind can be viewed like a record player of all our experiences that are being played.  These records set a mood that if you acknowledge what is being played you can visualize changing the record and playing a more upbeat vinyl that can alter the tone. If music isn’t a visual that connects for you, think of riding a bike and you have it in the wrong gear and you find yourself working twice as hard to pedal.  When you finally switch into the gear meant for the landscape you are on, things tend to flow with ease and the ride you are on is much more enjoyable and comes with more ease. 

25% of optimism is genetic and the remaining portion is environmental, so there is hope in increasing our positive perspective on life.  However you might ask yourself, what is in it for me to put forth all that extra effort if I was not naturally born optimistic?  Well, I am so happy you asked!

There are many benefits to this sunny side way of life, such as:

• Healthier and living longer
• Happier and experience more joy
• More likely to achieve ambitious goals
• Experience longer-lasting, deeper, and more supportive friendships
• Better at solving problems 
• Have seven times higher levels of financial well being 
• 40% more likely to get promoted 

*** findings according to research done at Stanford, Harvard and Michigan State Universities

So, now that you are convinced that this way of thinking is good for you, what does the Bible say about being joyful? Here are only a handful of verses that talk about the fruit of the spirit “joy”:

• Proverbs 17:22 states that “A joyful heart is good medicine…”

• Proverbs 15:13 “A glad heart makes a happy face…”

• Proverbs 15:15 “…the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.”

• Psalm 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

If we are to have joy no matter what our circumstances are, how do we cultivate that life for ourselves? If being joyful is not just a good thing but it is a God thing, then how do you activate your joy superpower?  There are many habits that can intentionally be incorporated into your life to increase positivity.  Review the suggestions below and identify a couple you can adopt and note if you feel a boost in turning that frown upside down.

• Practice assuming the best until proven otherwise.
• Notice when you are in a negative narrative in your mind, stop and redirect your thoughts to a more encouraging perspective. 
• Focus on or write down daily things you are grateful for. When you seek the bright side, glimmers of God’s awe and wonder come into focus and views of his bigger picture come into scope vs. drowning in the difficulties of your story that are true details however do not paint the full picture.  View your story with a telescope from God vs. a microscope from the enemy.  And then share the wins with others.  We tend to share all our hurts and worries with others however we should first go to the Lord who has ultimate control over our circumstances.  Let’s shout from the rooftops and celebrate when God shows up, even in the smallest of details to encourage others that He is at work. They need to hear of those triumphs and you will find they will keep record of those wins and remind you of them later when you need encouragement in your journey.
• Set goals, start small and as you achieve each one, celebrate them.  This will build confidence to pursue bigger goals and gain momentum in achieving your bigger aspirations.
• Be intentional regarding your relationships by going out to coffee, a meal, send a text/email/card letting the other person know how much they mean to you and generally make sure you are fostering those that are important to you.
• When you have a disagreement with someone or a negative thought about them, shift gears by thinking about a positive quality of theirs or a good memory to balance the whole person view.  Sometimes we wipe out their entire history when we are upset with someone and loose perspective.
• Curate a positive music playlist, movie night watch list, podcast list, Ted talks, etc. to listen to or watch in order to boost your mood. 
• Identify hopeful heroes in your life and emulate them. 
• Design screen savers on your computer and phone that are inspirational and set the a joyful tone each time you view them.
• Write out positive quotes and verses and leave them in places for you to discover that will help lift your mood and remind you of why you should celebrate life.
• Are we a faucet (pouring into others) or a drain (pulling from others)?  We all do both but need a balance in our relationships.  Part of being positive is having a balance that we are not that person who is always dumping all our difficulties on people every time we engage with them.  Counselors, Pastors and close family/friends are there for those times to bear our burdens, to allow us to vent, ask for wise counsel, and pray together.  However even within those relationships people want to know there are safe places to feel all our emotions and then work through our issues.  People are not to be a dumping zone for the same stories and issues over and over again of everything wrong in our life.  We can be active participants in our plight.  We can not control others but we can control how we react to what happens to us and that is where we are empowered to choose joy no matter what our circumstances are. If each of our conversations with these people don’t find there way to hope, faith, joy or finding God in the story somehow, the people around us could get drowned by the sorrow, doom, and hopelessness of your story.  The reality of a consistent mindset is we are focusing on our circumstances (as dire as they can be) and not on how great our God is, this inlays where the hope and therefore joy can be found. 
• Another approach to helping you with setting your mind on a bright path is projecting what your current difficult circumstances may look like in the future (temporal distancing).  Will these issues be resolved?  Look different?  Not matter? With that reframing, how does that alter your thoughts on how serious the issue is right now?  Are you allowing room for God to do what he does?  Are you only looking at the circumstances with a world view? Step back and see if there is a biblical approach you can take and see if that eases your heart. 

• When things in your mind seem that they are out of sorts and chaotic, create order in your surroundings. It will help to bring structure to your space and therefore have a positive impact and calming affect to your mind. 
• Our thoughts are separate from us.  Just because we have a thought it does not make it true.  It is background noise and we can choose to turn it off or switch the channel if we want to.  Our thoughts create our reality and we get to be the author of our line of thinking. 
• Change up your vocabulary and see how quickly your mood and those around you will alter from negative to positive perspectives.  For example:

• Problem ——— Opportunity
• Survive ——— Thrive
• Have to ——— Get to 
• Yea ———My Pleasure
• I am a mess (shame based) ——— I messed up (guilt based) 

Ensuring we have a positive mindset is a daily, hourly sometimes moment by moment battle.  It needs intentional focus and takes numerous tools to keep on task since there is a constant battlefield over our minds. I hope the above information has convinced you of the importance of the daily care we need to place on ensuring our filter can be one filled with joy and you have possibly found some helpful ideas on how you can fight your battles using these methods above.  Now, go out and MAKE it a great day, no matter what your circumstances are. 

 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”