Positive Quotes – Dovestar

May 17, 2023May 17, 2023

How to Focus on the Positive and Live a Happier Life

Life is an amazing journey full of surprises, challenges, and opportunities. Sometimes we may feel overwhelmed by the negative aspects of life, such as the problems we face, the hardships we endure, and the difficulties we overcome. But instead of focusing on the negative, we can choose to focus on the positive. We can choose to see life as a gift, not a burden.

There are so many reasons to be grateful and happy in life. We have the chance to learn new things every day, to grow and improve ourselves, and to pursue our passions and dreams. We have the diversity and complexity of life to enrich our experiences and broaden our perspectives. We have the simple things that make us smile, such as a beautiful sunset, a warm hug, or a good laugh. We have the elusive things that make us fulfilled, such as love, peace, and purpose.

Life is what we make of it. We can choose how we see things and how we react to them. We can choose to see the glass as half empty or half full. We can choose to be bitter or better. We can choose to be victims or victors. We can choose to be happy or unhappy.

I choose to be happy. I choose to see the beauty and wonder of life. I choose to celebrate and cherish every moment. I choose to be thankful and content. I choose to be positive and constructive.

What do you choose?

In this blog post, I want to share with you some tips on how to focus on the positive aspects of life and cultivate a happier mindset. These tips are based on my personal experience and research, and they have helped me overcome negativity and embrace positivity.

Tip #1: Practice gratitude

Gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to shift your focus from what you lack to what you have. Gratitude helps you appreciate all the good things in your life, big and small, and recognize that they are not owed or guaranteed. Gratitude also helps you cope with challenges and stress by reminding you of your strengths and resources.

One way to practice gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal. Every day, write down at least three things that you are grateful for. They can be anything from your health, your family, your friends, your work, your hobbies, your pets, your food, your coffee, etc. Try to be specific and descriptive, and feel the emotion of gratitude as you write.

Another way to practice gratitude is to express it to others. Whenever someone does something nice for you, thank them sincerely and let them know how much you appreciate their kindness. You can also send a gratitude letter or email to someone who has made a positive impact on your life, such as a mentor, a teacher, a friend, or a family member.

Tip #2: Practice optimism

Optimism is the tendency to expect positive outcomes and view challenges as opportunities for growth and learning. Optimism helps you see the bright side of any situation and believe in your ability to overcome obstacles and achieve your goals.

One way to practice optimism is to reframe negative thoughts into positive ones. Whenever you catch yourself thinking something negative, such as “I can’t do this”, “This is too hard”,”This will never work”, etc., challenge that thought and replace it with something more positive, such as “I can do this if I try hard enough”, “This is a challenge that will help me grow”, “This will work if I find a creative solution”, etc.

Another way to practice optimism is to visualize positive outcomes. Whenever you face a difficult situation or a big goal, imagine yourself succeeding and feeling happy and proud. Picture yourself overcoming any challenges along the way and enjoying the process. Visualizing positive outcomes can boost your confidence and motivation.

Tip #3: Practice kindness

Kindness is the act of being friendly, generous, and considerate towards others. Kindness helps you connect with others on a deeper level and spread joy and happiness around you. Kindness also benefits you by reducing stress, improving mood, enhancing self-esteem, and increasing happiness.

One way to practice kindness is to do random acts of kindness for others. These can be anything from holding the door for someone, giving a compliment, paying for someone’s coffee, donating to a charity, volunteering for a cause, etc. The more random and unexpected the act of kindness is, the more impact it will have on both you and the recipient.

Another way to practice kindness is to do random acts of kindness for yourself. These can be anything from treating yourself to something you enjoy, taking a break from work or chores, doing something that makes you laugh or smile, meditating or relaxing, etc. The more intentional and mindful the act of kindness is, the more benefit it will have on your well-being.

Conclusion:

Life is a gift, not a burden. We can choose to focus on the positive aspects of life and cultivate a happier mindset. By practicing gratitude, optimism, and kindness, we can enhance our well-being and spread joy and happiness to others. We can choose to be happy and see the beauty and wonder of life.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and found it helpful. I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback in the comments below. What are some of the things that make you happy? How do you practice positivity in your life? What are some of the challenges you face and how do you overcome them?

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!

Ray Barbier

April 26, 2023

To the young, I say take the risks when you can, they may pay off in the future.

Somedays I just sit here and reminisce about my younger years, the passion I once had, the dreams I had, and how time has eroded most of that away. I look back and see how many opportunities I let slip by me and the results of missing those opportunities affect my current life. Too many what-ifs plague my mind at times and that takes away from my ability to make better choices in the present moment. Though I am aging and am slowed down physically due to some poor choices I have made, I still try to continue on this path before me.

To the young, I say take the risks when you can, they may pay off in the future. Live in the moment but remember to prepare for the future ahead of you. Shrug off any fear you may have, it only holds you back and keeps you from moving forward and possibly keeps you from the gifts laying before you. It is far better to try and fail than to regret never trying later on in life, and most of all plan for retirement from the very start.

Life is not as long as you think it is when you are young, it will pass you by in a flash and you will find yourself wishing you had done far more while you were young and able. Also, the older you get the less people seem to respect you or care about your well-being it seems. Unfortunately, this world is too indifferent toward the needs and wants of the older population. Too many see older people as disposable and rather turn a blind eye to them and their issues than care for and celebrate them and their life and contributions to the world we now live in.

Do not let life pass you by and leave you on the roadside like litter, plan and be prepared for the so-called golden years ahead of you. They will sneak up on you way faster than you could possibly imagine. Have compassion for those who were blessed enough to make it to the later years of life and respect them as well. The older generation happens to be the people who helped build the world you live in today.

Ray Barbier

November 9, 2022

Dovestar’s Ramblings 11-9-2022

There are many things in life we have little to no ability to change or affect. There are things though, that we have complete control over in our lives and that is where we should focus our energy on. For example, you may have no control over how others perceive you or how they think about you in general, but you do have control over how you treat other people and how you view yourself. One would hope that how we act and treat others, and the words we chose to have some influence on the opinions of others but in the end, it is something that is out of our control.

Basically, your life is yours to lead, and how you live it has a great influence on how much happiness you have in life. You can live your life selfishly, find some quick self-gratification and temporary bliss from possessions and wealth or you can choose to live a more selfless and humble life. Not everyone is cut out to be like a monk and live without any sort of possessions and be totally selfless, but we can find a balance between serving the ego and serving others.

I believe that we all have been given life not only to live and experience all it has to give but also to be stewards of the earth and to teach, help and love one another. Each one of us has a part to play in this grand design of life and each part is unique to each person. Some of us are here to teach, some are here to heal, and so on. Discovery your the part you are to play is not always easy but usually the gifts you were given usually give you clues as to what you are supposed to be doing in life. One example is if you have a natural talent for playing the piano, you could be here to give people entertainment or teach others how to play the piano or you may write a song that changes the minds of others.

Life can be complicated and so can how your mind works, the mind can be your best asset and it also can be an obstacle. Many people battle with depression, low self-esteem, and poor self-image and that will make it an uphill battle in finding happiness in life. Most of us face the memories of past mistakes and the regrets that come from them and many times we face trauma from past experiences that we have a hard time letting go of as well. And once again we come to things we can not change, things in our past are set and won’t change o matter how much we wish they would. Though we can not change the past, we can change how we deal with those past experiences and memories, how we process them, and how they affect us in the present.

We must let go of our past mistakes and the traumatic experiences we suffered due to circumstances and others. Forgiveness is one step in putting those things behind you, you must forgive yourself for the mistakes you have made and forgive others for what they had done as well. Forgiving others serves to free you from the hurt and pain others brought on you more than to free them of guilt. Think about it, how many times have you done something wrong and had been forgiven but yet hold on to the regret? That’s because you haven’t forgiven yourself, so you haven’t released yourself from the grief associated with your mistakes. So forgiving someone is more beneficial to you than it is for the person you are forgiving in the long run.

You can also look at it this way, if the person feels no regret over what they did to you in the first place, then how is the person you are forgiving gaining from your forgiveness? It is about letting go of the hurt, pain, and anger you hold towards the person that has done you wrong in the end. Also Just because you forgave someone does not mean you will forget what they did, and thus the trust they lost will stay the same.

Unloading that baggage of past hurt and regret frees up your mind to focus on more important things, such as being happy and enjoying life with those you love. So that leaves us dealing with poor self-image and self-esteem issues, which is a harder issue since we all have different reasons for being down on ourselves. Could be a combination of us accepting negative opinions of family and/or peers, our own negative opinions of ourselves, and past failures.

You can try to trace things back to their origin, try and figure out why you accepted it as truth, and then accept that it was only opinion, not fact. To be honest there are many self-help books out there dealing with this and if they are not helpful I would suggest getting help from a professional if it is a severe case.

Do your best to change what is within your power and learn to accept the things you can not control or change my friend. Peace and Blessings to all!