Living life can be quite challenging sometimes. Other times it can seem effortless. But what do you do when life shifts between the two? When you are still reeling and dizzy? You pause, take a step back and notice, (and in my case, pray and ask God for wisdom, and to open my eyes to my circumstances or others’ in a new way.) Then I’ve found it’s fantastic to try on new mindsets to adjust my perspective.
While You were Sleeping Movie pictured above, by Hollywood Pictures and Caravan Pictures.
Trying on New Mindsets
I adore trying on new mindsets. Here are some of my favorite examples:
- Strength of spirit and kindness – Marty from Love Comes Softly (Book and Movie)
- Quiet observant, serenity like Lizzie Bennet (Book and Movie)
- Looking for the Good in people (thank you Pollyanna)
- Refusing to label life as basic, when instead you can view life through a sense of wonder… Anne Shirley (book series and movie / DVD )
- Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music or Mary Poppins, Heck even Princess Diaries.
- Looking at life through rose colored glasses – Sabrina
- Refreshing sweetness and kindness like Doris Day or Audrey Hepburn
- Always on the lookout for mischief (in moderation lol) like Lucy from I Love Lucy
- Quirky ways of looking at life – Lorelai Gilmore
- Kind friends from the Dead Letter Office – Signed, Sealed, Delivered
- {Also obviously not everyone has a helpful perspective, so do use wisdom and discernment when applying this process. I believe in you though. 😉 }
There’s a reason so many of these characters are well loved. Because they helped us evaluate our lives and the world in a new way with fresh eyes. Where previously we’d looked but hadn’t thought to notice *a butterfly on it’s way to Bloomingdale’s to buy a hat. [Movie Reference from You’ve Got Mail ]
Choosing Your Eras…
A similar trend I’ve noticed recently and am rather enjoying is people on social media being willing to divide their lives into smaller seasons by calling them e.g.
- Coastal Grandma Era
- Nancy Meyers Era
- Cottagecore Era
- Underconsumption Core Era
- Etc.
My life has had a lot of challenges and sad and hard times to accompany the good. Being willing to try on some of these different themes or adopting the mindsets of characters we’ve read about in books, or people we appreciate in real life can be so refreshing. You don’t have to loose your uniqueness in this endeavor but instead find yourself becoming more fully rounded aka exploring parts of yourself, you never knew existed. Sometimes the unknown can even seem scary… but it doesn’t have to be.
Comfort and Love on Good and Bad Days…
On hard days… I purposely put on While You Were Sleeping to surround myself with kind sweet encouraging characters, like Lucy, Jack and Jack’s uniquely entertaining family. Or I Love Lucy. I don’t know why I love Lucy so much, but I do. Sometimes I need to join in on her’s and Ethel’s antics for a while. My family has other old tv shows that we watch, that feel like coming home to a big family reunion, on hard days when there wasn’t one to come home too. And as my life circumstances rapidly devolved in ways beyond my control, and some (important to me) people chose to live life separately… Noticing kindness, certain characters displayed, whether in movies, books or in real life, led me to create my own adopted extended family of people / characters to spend time purposefully with. To create space for in my life. People purposely picked because they are kind, encouraging, thoughtful, and believe in me. I don’t need to doubt their motives because I know their character. Fictional and Real.
Purposefully Choosing Others…
We need other people in our lives. That can feel hard to come by these days. Some of these people are real as the nose on your face. Maybe you find some kind-hearted souls on Youtube, Instagram or someone who always seems kind in your everyday life. Be on the lookout for these sorts of souls, and purposely try to make a space for them in your life. For instance, some mornings I will start my day with a short Youtube video from a very kind, encouraging content-creator. Hearing her sweet encouragement and knowing that she says “I love you and believe in you” sincerely at the end of her videos adds an extra dose of encouragement to start my morning off on a good note. Because they give back ten-fold. It’s basically about being intentional with your life to make it feel safe, kind and welcoming for you. I’m NOT saying only have these people and no one else, but make sure you have a great balance. 🙂
Intentionally Living Your Best Unique Life…
There’s something about intentionally making your life nice and a healthy flourishing space for you and others. That can look like only choosing to saying intentionally kind things about yourself and others. Think about the peace of mind you would have, if you knew you had a friend who would only say good true things about you. That would be a friend I would choose to hang on to… I get to choose to be a friend like that to myself and others. The Danish purposefully choose to practice Hygge. This is the Danish and Norwegian art of contentment and cozyness. Or maybe this looks like creating a special holiday about something that’s meaningful to you, or choosing to adopt someone else’s holiday because it matters to you.
Free to Flourish…
Another example for me. As a new artist, it was so crucial over the last 8 years to stumble into a Bible journaling community called Illustrated Faith. These women were so kind and encouraging. They also loved art and have so many different styles of creating art and it’s been so fun and educational to learn about different ways to make art in a safe space. Where I can flourish and celebrate my own journey instead of being stuck in the comparison game. Going to an art retreat with them was an amazing experience. I hope these thoughts help you in your own life journey. I’d love to know what you think in the comments down below. Do you apply these principals in your life?
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