Shifting to Peace and Joy (Part 20): Cultivating Goodness in Your Life

By Nancy Rynes, author of Awakenings from the Light

Article copyright Nancy Rynes


So you’ve started a negativity fast and are making progress at turning your life away from doom-and-gloom thinking, to light and love. Once you begin making this change, you may notice how much more mental and emotional space you have for healthy, positive things: dreams, goals, fun, love, kindness, empathy, and compassion. 



What can you do that will optimize that newly freed-up emotional space and energy?

  • Work on your dreams and goals: Have you had a dream or goal that’s lain dormant for too long? Start taking steps to make that dream or goal a reality.
  • Reach out and help someone else: Find ways to help other people, whether by volunteering, or simply being kind and helpful to a neighbor or colleague.
  • Share the love: Seek out feel-good news items and share them with others. 
  • See love around you: When you are in a public place, such as walking through a park or at the airport waiting for a flight, look for any evidence of kindness, compassion, or love around you and feel grateful for noticing it.
  • Be kind to strangers: Pay for a stranger’s coffee or lunch (one of my favorites), leave an inspiring note on a slip of paper and place it in a library book, donate your time or money to a local pet shelter, shovel a neighbor’s drive after a snowstorm. There are hundreds of other ways you can be kind to strangers. A quick internet search will give you a multitude of ideas.
  • Fill up on inspiration: On social media, follow inspirational people or hashtags. Read inspiring books or watch uplifting movies. Go to book signings or readings by your favorite inspiring authors. Participate in a spiritual or religious gathering that makes you feel good.
  • Inspiring photos: If you have a smartphone, keep a collection of positive, uplifting photos in a dedicated folder. These could be pictures or videos of people you love, places that bring you comfort, or quotes that you find inspiring. When you start to feel down, slowly look through the folder to help put yourself back into a more positive frame of mind.
  • Be positive with your praise: Let others know when you’re grateful for them, or do a great job. You don’t have to go overboard with this, just be heartfelt.
  • Praise instead of curse: If someone or something starts to get under your skin and you feel yourself slipping into negativity, praise others rather than curse them. 
  • Compliment rather than complain. Complaining keeps you stuck in negative thinking. Instead of complaining, compliment. Another option is to take action to fix the thing about which you are complaining.
  • Be grateful: An interlude of authentic, heartfelt gratitude can get you out of a negative slump more quickly than anything else.



As always, take care and many blessings to you,

Nancy


Stuff You Might Have Missed
Archive: Past Newsletter Issues

TODAY Show: Nancy's Interview on NBC TV's TODAY

          Messages of Hope with Suzanne Giesemann: Exploring NDEs with Nancy Rynes

Article: Seven Lessons That Dying Taught Me About Truly Living (Aspire Magazine)

Article: Lives Changed by NDEs (Boulder Daily Camera)

Article: Awakening to Life(Pages 6-10, Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology, Summer 2016)

Article: The Meaning of Life (Excellence Reporter)

Free webinar series:

Simply Peace Part 1

Simply Peace Part 2



If you are unable to view the webinar on YouTube, the videos are also available on my website  NancyRynes.com   



Please Join Me On Social Media

Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube | LinkedIn