How to stay positive/have faith
How I did it: Being stressed out, worrying or being upset is not unusual and it happens to the best of us. We think we overcame it and bam! it reappears with something else. Staying positive and having faith is a regular exercise.
I believe in God so I pray (in various ways, not necessarily in a church or verbally) and continuously remind myself that "I can do all things with God's help" and that I can and should "put my Trust in God", especially when I am stressed out or scared.
I look for the positive in all situations, realizing that sometimes not getting what I want is the best thing for me. I always look for the lesson and as I look for it, I remember that I am growing as a person, which is a phenomenal thing. I may not be who or what I want to be yet, but I am certainly on my way! And the same is true for everyone on the planet, no matter what you may believe.
I remind myself to not beat myself up over my shortcomings, because that serves no positive purpose, it just stresses you out more. I acknowlege it and trust that as I grow and get better, so will that issue. And interestingly enough, it does. All of these help me tremendously and are all things that I have learned in the process.
Lessons & tips: Stay away from negative people. Surround yourself with positive, ambitious people. Being around people with the attitude that you have or aspire to have will help keep you on track.
Create a mobile sanctuary for yourself. I surround myself with things that encourage me, whether it's encouraging songs on my mp3 player or on pandora.com, encouraging books like The Bible (I carry a verse around with me that I find encouraging), The Alchemist, etc., or pictures that make me happy (i.e. my friends, sunny beaches, butterflies, etc.), it always helps. I go to places that I can enjoy and gather my thoughts, like gardens, parks, etc. And a great way to stay positive, especially when you are down, is to do something nice for someone else.
