Bring In More Smiles!

Pretty much if you read my little blog here, you know me personally. You know that I am a mom, a student, an employee...you know my plate is full and I give my all to each area of my life.

Lately, I have found myself surrounded in negativity. It's shocking that I have allowed this in; it's disturbing that I have let it affect me. No matter what the issue, I am ultimately responsible for how events effect my emotions. Being bombarded by negativity can chip away at you...and I have decided that enough is enough.

I started my search to bring in more positive "stuff." I found some things that I thought were kind of hokey but I found a few things that seem really relevant and worthwhile. I think we all get the general idea: hang out with people who are positive, shut out those who aren't; do nice things for yourself, etc. But the one idea that popped up that I hadn't considered before was to create a "Good Book."

The "Good Book" is not the bible, at least not for this project. It's a small notebook that you fill up with all sorts of positive things; a happy fortune from a fortune cookie, a love note, a post card from a friend, song lyrics you like, quotes that make you smile, etc.

I started my "Good Book" last night. It's very personal so I'm not going to share much of what is in there but I put a dozen items in there, things I had been keeping anyway because they make me smile, and it was really pleasant to go back and look at these things. It brings up happy memories and reminds me of those who love me and I love back.

While it's easy to focus on negative experiences, putting together my "good book" helped me refocus on all of the positive things I have going on in my life. If you struggle with focusing on negativity, I highly recommend putting together a good book for yourself. Keep it in your purse or your night stand and have a look at it when you're feeling low. Think of one good thing that has happened during the day, especially the bad days, and consider adding it to the book.

And if you want to share with others, create things for them to put in their good book; surprise a friend with a postcard in the mail, share an inspirational quote, draw a beautiful little picture and think about how you can put a smile on someone else's face and help them fill up their good book!