Welcoming a little bit of 'down' as a learning opportunity rather than running from it can be the foundation of a whole heap of happiness, if we let it. Photo / 123RF
As y'all know I am a big fan of thinking positive, but sometimes stuff happens that really throws us off.
We are upset by something someone says, or doesn't say. Does, or doesn't do. Something that happens. Or doesn't happen. There is a gap between what we expect or desire,
and what we actually get in reality. The bigger the gap, the more upset we are. And that expectation-versus-reality gap brings us down.
Feeling down can actually be a real growth opportunity as long as it's short term and temporary*. Feeling down in the short term? Well, it's a golden opportunity to learn something new about ourselves.
Feeling down tells us very clearly what we DON'T want. That clarity can be really illuminating and valuable. Knowing what we DON'T want gives us access to getting really clear on what we DO want. That's even more valuable information. When we can define what we DO want we are a billion per cent more likely to actually get it.
Feeling down gives us the opportunity to see if there is another perspective we can take. Can we look at the situation differently? Maybe we don't need to feel quite so down about it? Is there a silver lining we are missing? Can we think about it differently so we can feel differently about it? Feeling down can prompt inspired action that moves us effectively in the direction of what we DO want and out of the downer-making situation. Feeling down can be just the trigger we need to evaluate the only three sensible options we ever have:
