Why be miserable when you can be happy?

 

During the lockdown, I decided that I was sick to the back teeth of all the negativity. From the news coverage to social media it was wall to wall doom.

As you know I like a good rant and often do, but decided that I had had enough of it. I was going to make a stand and look at things differently.

I decided that instead of being miserable because of the lockdown, I was going to be happy. And why shouldn't I be? All of my family by taking precautions seemed to have been unaffected by the virus.

Whilst everyone was moaning, I felt fortunate that at a time when the world seemed to be in turmoil, Debz didn't have to be at work. In her job in the retail and charity sector, she was facing people on a regular day to day basis, and having been put on furlough, meant that not only didn't she have to be in that precarious position on a day to day basis, but because of the system that the Government had put in place, she was still going to receive 80% of her wages. It seemed to me that it was a good thing. I, unfortunately, wasn't part of the furlough scheme, but I won't dwell on that.

I began to look at the situation we found ourselves in, with a different perspective.

Debz and I get on really well and were quite happy to be at home. We quite like being with each other and so it worked out well for us. We found time to go out regularly for our walks which gave us the required fresh air. We did our food shopping online which meant we didn't have to be in amongst the crowds even though we did pop to the shop at times to pick up odds and ends.

We both have hobbies we like to indulge ourselves in. We are both readers and I like to write as well. This time allowed us to do that.

We made the decision to no longer read the news or watch it on the TV. We stayed away from anything that was going to be contentious and basically got on with our lives.

Admittedly, we both missed our respective families but were happy that like us they were safe at home which gave us some peace of mind. 

We have plenty of box sets of TV series that we like and so we watched those instead of what was on the mainstream telly. 

I personally, stopped looking at social media off from 10am to 3pm each day and found that after the initial few days, I didn't miss it much and have, since then just popped on and off in short bursts. I deleted 'friends' that were on a mission to push their political agendas forward, which also helped.

I made a choice to look at things in a more positive light. Getting entrenched in the uproar on social media was making me miserable.

I thought to myself, why be miserable when I can be happy? And so I decided to change things.

Some people told me that I was burying my head in the sand. My thinking was that if anything was serious enough, someone would make sure to tell me.

Avoiding all the fear-inducing comments flying about meant that my mind wasn't being attacked and prodded every day. The world went on and I just got on with what I wanted to do.

I've managed to learn some new skills in the time I've taken away from social media. I've upgraded my skills on the computer by doing a designer course, I've started an online photography course and I've been tracking my habits, taking note of when I've been getting angry or miserable. When I've noticed, I've made the decision to stop doing whatever has caused the moods and find something else to do.

Most importantly, I've tried to change the way I talk. I've tried to cut down on the negative thinking and talking that I am apt to fall into doing.

I've been blogging and trying to write at least one uplifting post each week. And I've stopped getting involved in negative talk.

I know this post sound like 'me, me, me,' but what I'm trying to say is that just because the world seems to be negative and getting worse, you don't have to take part.

You can create your own reality. It's not easy, but it's doable.

I don't feel anywhere near as miserable as I did when this Covid thing started. You don't have to either.

All the worrying and negativity makes us fearful and daunted. But I've not felt that way. I feel optimistic. Others have said to me that they started to feel better once they stopped watching the news.

Don't get me wrong, I've not been free of miserable moments. We all have those. However, I've noticed that they haven't lasted as long as they used to.

We owe it to ourselves to stop feeding ourselves negative thoughts in whatever ways we can find to stop.

I stopped being a blob of negativity. Don't get me wrong, I'm no expert on how to do that. I don't have all the answers.

I've found some techniques that have worked for me. I'm not so presumptuous as to tell you I know it all.

All I'm saying is that if you're sick and tired of feeling miserable, you can change things around. If any of the things that I've tried, seem reasonable to you, feel free to try them. 

Our lives are different. We are all different people. What works for me, may not work for you.

What's important is that you take a look at your own situation, and if you can find out what's making you miserable, do something about it.

Just try to keep your actions legal!

All the best on your journey.

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