Pulling Up The Bootstraps

Well, when you’re as low down as you can get, what else are you supposed to do?  You lean your ass over, grab those bootstraps as tight as you can, and hoist ’em up to lift yourself up above whatever misery, hardship, or strife you’re dealing with.  Cuz if you don’t, you’ll just fall right down.  And that’s no good.

I’ve got my haircut, I’ve got an idea of how and where I want my tattoo done, and I’ve got a few work options starting to pop up.  Things are starting to look better, maybe because they’re actually improving and maybe just because I’m making the effort to see things from a different perspective.

I still remember a quote that my Small Business Development instructor wrote on the whiteboard in class about two years ago and had us debate over:

Perspective is reality.

Agree, or disagree?  I agreed, and argued that each person’s perspective is their own reality – there is no one, real, unified reality, because life is as we experience it and not some objective thing that can be set without perspective and bias.  I still stand by that arguement, and carry it with me to this day.  It also meets nicely with another quote I recently encountered that’s stuck with me:

A new attitude invariably creates a new result.

Again, I fully agree with this statement – how you view the things that will happen to you is how your life will be.  If you view your life as being shit and immensely difficult, it will be shit and immensely difficult; if you view your life as easy and care-free, it will be easy and care-free.  Which is why things like depression are so scary, because once you start falling into it, if you can’t pull yourself out you’re kind of fucked and it’s no one’s fault or problem other than your own.

I’ve been working on using affirmations to boost the positive thoughts in my life.  Basically how it works is that whenever you find yourself thinking negative thoughts – or no thoughts – you just replace it with a positive affirmation that you repeat over and over.  It doesn’t have to be something you believe in and in fact it’s often something that you often don’t believe, because the purpose of it is to change your way of thinking so that you do believe it.  I resisted this method for about a year before I finally started putting it to use a week ago, and I’ve really found that it’s made a difference in my life for me, probably at least partially because I was in such a low place.

I was chatting with someone online and mentioned that I had had a cold with a sore throat for about a month now, and she looked up the affirmation to repeat for such an ailment (which is apparently an indication of mental unrest if it doesn’t go away).  My affirmation for the past several days:

I allow my mind to relax and be at peace.  Clarity and harmony are within me and around me.  All is well.

I highly recommend this method for anyone who reads my diary and is having a hard time with something in their lives right now.  Take whatever you’re having difficulty with, figure out what you’d rather be thinking about the situation in the present tense (ie: "I allow" instead of "I will allow"), and then anytime you catch yourself thinking the negative thought on the situation, replace it with the positive affirmation.  You can also find more information about positive affirmations on the internet, I’m sure.  But definitely very strongly recommended for anyone with difficulties – and if you have problems coming up with an affirmation then let me know and I’d be happy to taking a shot at helping you find one that works for you!