The Art of Being Positive
- katietrinder
- Mar 26, 2024
- 4 min read
Some people practise the guitar everyday, others yoga, some take the same free kick over and over again. I practise the art of being positive. Is it easy? No, some days it's really hard. Is it worth it? Yes, absolutely!
Twelve years ago, I was in a really bad place, my mum had died, I was in a job I hated and I just couldn't seem to catch a break. One day as I sat crying to my dad, he said, "Katie, nothing is worth being this miserable for." And he was right!
The next day, I handed in my notice, went to see the doctor and got referred for counselling.
One of the things the counsellor got me to do was to make a list of things I liked doing and then work out how many of those things I did on a regular basis. The list could be big things like going on holiday and day trips to smaller things like reading, going for a walk or seeing friends. I realised out of all the things I said I liked doing, I was doing very few of them with any sort of regularity.
Now I know I can't go on holiday every week, I'm not a Social Media influencer, or a "Love Island" contestant, but I realised I could do some of the other things on a more regular basis.
I started with reading. I've always loved books and reading is one of my favourite things to do. So I started making sure that every day I had 10 minutes with a cup of tea and a book. It became my time to lose myself in a different world.
Shortly after, me and my sister Lucy bought a dog between us. Cyril the beagle became a Trinder and so I began walking every day. Every lunchtime, Cyril and I would head off to Newstead Abbey. Most of the time, Cyril would try and crowd surf a hedge or jump in the lake, steal some poor unsuspecting persons sandwiches or cause some other form of shenanigans, but it became something else that I looked forward to. It got me out the office and (sort of) tired Cyril out.
Someone then introduced me to "The Secret"and the main thing I took from that was if you put good energy out into the world, you get it back. So I decided that every day I would post something on my Facebook and Instagram that wished people a good day. It was always accompanied by a photo that had a positive quote or something that would make people laugh.
I've been doing this for about 11 years now and every morning I have a selection of people, who comment. They either say they hope that I have a "fabulously awesome day too", or just "good morning"or suggest a song title that goes with the photo I've posted. They are my morning gang. Even if someone doesn't comment, I always hope that they see it and it's what they need in that moment.
Watching the Celebrity Big Brother final the other day (yes I know, it's my thing, so let it go, I've always watched it and I can't see me stopping now) and I was really pleased that David Potts won. During his interview, AJ & Will tried a couple of times too get him to say if he'd felt down at any time, he said he hadn't really, he'd just thrown himself into it and loved it. Lucy said to me, "that'd be you, you'd just go for it." and she was right, I would.
It's taken me a long time, but having lost both my mum and dad and having gone through lockdown when you had no choice, but to look for things to keep you motivated. I took the decision that I was just going to have lots of fun. I was going to turn everything into an adventure, whether it was a dog walk or a trip to the cinema, I was just going to enjoy everything, now matter what it was.
One of my worst jobs of the week is doing the "poo pick" in the garden. having 7 dogs, there's a lot of poo! But now Lucy and I have a song we sing. It's amazing how much more picking poo up is when you sing this to the tune of ABBA's "Super Trooper".
In my world, Benny and Bjorn approve of the slight word change of a classic ABBA track, which is designed to make a really s**t job a bit more fun.
Is being positive all the time easy? Nope! Some days I'm not feeling it at all. Some days I'm feeling a bit rubbish or sad, or I can feel a little panic attack bubbling. BUT! It's absolutely worth it!
By taking a minute to say "Have a fabulously awesome day" and getting some lovely people say it back, it automatically starts to make me feel a bit better. Going for a walk before I start work to get some fresh air, see the changes in the park, watch my dogs have a good time or just exchange a few "hellos" with fellow dog walkers, helps change my mindset.
I'm not saying I have all the answers, because I know that some people suffer from truly crippling depression and reading a book or going for a walk won't make any real difference and I hope that you are getting the professional help you need. Please don't think I'm trivialising anything that you're going through.
Roald Dahl sums up my attitude to life.
Comments