Everybody goes through ups and downs in life. Everybody gets sad and angry, sometimes. Feeling a wide array of emotions is totally normal. That’s life. However, how long you stay in those up or down moods is mostly your own decision.
Throughout my life, I have found it’s easy to stay sad about something because your mind seems to always be thinking about it. Something that has helped me get out of that slump is to think positively: Tomorrow’s a new day, that just must not have been in my life plan, there’s so much to look forward to, etc. Doing this, my friends, seems to be the key to happiness.
Two years ago, I went through a really upsetting break up that messed me up -- big time. I cried around five times each and every day, I couldn’t start working on my homework until the middle of the night, I couldn’t sleep, eating made me feel sick, I didn’t want to go out with my friends, and I couldn’t get the guy off of my mind. That was the problem. I couldn’t get him off my mind because I didn’t want to. I didn’t want things to be over and I focused the little energy I had coming up with ways that I might be able to get him back.
I was down in the dumps for a few months. I started going to the counseling center for help, which was nice while I was there, but I kept reverting back to my sadness after I left. The one thing I found worked best for me was to think about how much I have accomplished in life and how all of that will help me in my future. I started thinking about possible careers I could work for. I even started going outside more and eating healthier because I knew how much energy doing those things gave me.
Every once in a while, this guy would get back in my head which, again, is normal. The key is to not stay in that dark place. It’s okay to think negatively sometimes, but you can’t think negatively often because that’s not going to make you happy. Positivity is a choice and I strongly believe it’s the best choice you could make. If I’m thinking negatively, I’m not happy. So, why stay negative?
Ultimately, you are in control of your happiness. Bad things will happen, but you can dig yourself out of it. Life is a gift, so treat it as such.
