Throughout July, I’ve been focusing on sharing techniques with you for building resilience. It’s all about approaching challenges with a positive attitude and growth mindset.  Here’s another exercise for you to try.

1. Take a “seat” in the pessimistic mindset chair. Think about this past week, using a bleak and cynical outlook on life.  What were some of the things that annoyed you? What difficulties did you face? What is one thing that made you disappointed in yourself?
2. Now change “seats” and move into the optimistic mindset chair. In this mindset, view the events in your life as less personal, permanent, and pervasive and instead look at challenges as temporary setbacks and learning experiences.  Look for the positive in your life.  What were some things that made you feel happy, excited, or joyful this week?  What good things happened?  What was one thing that made you proud of yourself?
3. Now come back and take a “seat” in your normal chair to evaluate your experience. How did it feel to embody your pessimistic mindset?  What did you notice? How did it feel to embody your optimistic mindset?  What did you learn from this exercise?  How might you use your insights from this exercise in your daily life?

Next week I encourage you to pay attention to which chair you’re sitting in as your week unfolds.  If you catch yourself sitting in the negative mindset chair, recognize that you need to change seats. If you have difficulty mentally changing seats, get up and move. Physical activity will help you more easily tap into your inner optimist thanks to the chemical changes it stimulates in your brain.

Wishing you the best!

Amy