“Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman

Mia1.jpgStress, Anger, Anxiousness, Negativity…
There are millions of things that bring negative thoughts and emotions into our lives, and oftentimes those feelings are not fleeting. They set up shop and stay a while. They feed into one another, growing bigger and bigger until you are one big ball of negative energy. This negativity is ruining your life. I repeat: it is stealing your sunshine and sparkle, and taking away from your smiles and laughter. Stop it.

Let me tell you a story…

I was sitting in a classroom on the fourth floor of a building at NYU. The windows leaked the pouring rain and allowed the cold air to chill my entire body during the hour and a half lecture. The class required a car, a train and subway to get to, after a full day of work at my internship. But that classroom is where I learned one of the most valuable life lessons.

The day was particularly wet and the trains were delayed, which left me standing in the pouring rain sans an umbrella, beginning to panic that I was going to miss class all together. I was annoyed, but I am almost always annoyed by that point in the week…which is pretty pathetic considering it was only Tuesday. But I made it to class, which ran as per usual. The words rolled off the professor’s tongue and, if I was writing fast enough, landed almost directly into my notebook. I remember writing and then I remember pausing for a moment and looking at my scribbled handwriting to read what he had said. Then that moment of panic set in when if I didn’t continue to write, I would miss the next part of the lecture. But I realized he had paused, too. “Yes, that’s right,” he said. “It is YOUR problem.”

The Lesson

When you’re mad, when you’re upset, when you’re having a bad day…it is YOUR problem. Assigning blame to others, dwelling on the situation or expecting things to improve with the actions or words of someone else is a waste of your time and thoughts. It is not their problem. The actions or words of someone else may help sometimes, but other times they will not. In order to consistently satisfy your own mind and heart, you must consistently take responsibility for your own emotions.

Allow me to take it one step further: If you choose to be happy (and I mean really commit to being happy and live your life subscribing to the belief that you are in control of your thoughts and emotions) then you will be happy. It is your choice and you are in control.

Take Action

It seems simple, and eventually it becomes habit. But in the beginning, it takes a lot of work. It takes a whole lot of waking up in the morning and saying, “I am going to OWN this day and I am going to work hard, smile and take responsibility for myself and my happiness.” And/or “I am positive and happy; negative thoughts and energy have no place in my life.”

miapic

Let the light in, girlfriends. You are responsible for your own sparkle!

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