1. Gratitude. In all things, find joy. In her article, “The Importance of Being Grateful”, child psychologist Deborah Jepsen puts it into perspective: “Gratitude promotes optimism and helps us to develop a more positive outlook. It lets us pause for a moment to reflect on something we have in our life right now instead of always striving for more . . . the next goal, the new dress, the new toy, the new car or the house renovation.” Keep a book or journal and practise gratitude daily, writing three to five specific things that you are grateful for. At first this might be hard, but the more you practise the easier it will flow. 2. Take a stroll. When those negative thoughts start to crawl into your mind, take a stroll in your backyard, around the block or even
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around the room. Walking releases chemicals called endorphins that interact with the brain to improve your mood. 3. Only compare yourself to you. If you want to compare yourself to anyone, compare yourself to you! Develop a skill or health practice. Go for your “personal best” like athletes do and, in the end, you will see improvement. Family and wellbeing researcher Dr Deborah Carr says, “By focusing on self-improvement rather than one-upmanship, we’ll have a more realistic and insightful strategy for reaching our goals, and ideally, our friends and loved ones will be there to support us along the way.” 4. Ban negativity. When those dark thoughts make their way into your mind, stop, refocus and say a quick prayer. We have the capacity to control our thoughts. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments
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strategies to END the comparison game
