I need to improve my attitude. I have much to be grateful for, but for some reason (and it's often been this way) I tend to dwell more on negative things. For example, rather than be present in the moment I might worry about something that I'm dealing with or that hasn't even happened yet.
A common one for many I"m guessing, is when I'm driving to work I'm more apt to experience a negative attitude (and sometimes an angry reaction) due to horrible/dangerous drivers.
Another example: once I gave a presentation at a conference; the room host had attendees provide feedback via a post-workshop evaluation. 95% of the reviews were great, but it was the one or two evaluations with some negative feedback that consumed my thoughts. I became defensive and couldn't enjoy my success.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
The lack of joy is pretty much everywhere--just turn on the morning or evening news: death, crime, anger, sadness, poverty, drugs, despair, and just an overall sense of depression in our communities and throughout the world. Yes, sometimes we'll get to watch, or hear of, positive stories; however, the ratio of bad to good is probably 80/20.
Enough. I'm going to try and change my attitude and perspective.
I'm going on a journey, and I"m calling it "The JOY Journey."
Each night before I fall asleep I'm going to write down one (1) positive moment of joy from my day (e.g. a moment of laughter with family, watching a dog shake its owner's hand, enjoying a tasty IPA, or learning about a child rescued by first responders). I realize I can (and perhaps should) list more; however, my goal is to keep it simple and focus on just one.
At the end of the week I'll have seven (7) joyful things to reflect on. My hope is that overall I'll have more joy in my life. My assumption is that the more I focus on my attitude and being thankful, there should be less room for negativity, anger, worry, and fear.
Daily/weekly I'll focus on the positive and see how my attitude, and life, changes as a result.
In a nutshell, I'm 55 and tired of not having enough joy in my life.