Learning to Stay Optimistic and Opportunistic

April has been a month full of epiphanies, uncertainties and struggles.

Amidst these, I would say I am genuinely grateful in the position I am in now. If I were to have a conversation with myself a year ago on the same topic, I would have deemed my current self as delusional. Feelings of positivity would have felt forced.

Positive mindsets may sound like a huge woo-woo - perhaps because of how they are typically portrayed by imposing motivational speakers. However, if the mindset is formed naturally with little resistance, its benefits are exponential.

What I realised over the past couple of months is that being grateful is not as elusive as it seems.

Here's three things I've learned on how to achieve a positive mindset - especially in terms of working on tasks:

1.  It is okay to be a complete slob, it does not make you useless/lazy
• It only raises concern if it is chronic. 
• Society today can be so fast paced. Whenever progress is not seen or negativity is encountered, it gets amplified. Paradoxically, we need our minds to be in a state of calm before new ideas can be developed - many ideas of people came from university days when they were "bored". 
• Rest days ignites inspiration and creativity - learn to slow down and take structured complete breaks. 
2. Accept that there are no perfect first moves
• You kinda have to start on something with whatever you have before you can fully perfect it - something I came to realise when I worked my habit tracker and blogging. 
• Take small consistent steps - do your best but do not attempt to be a perfectionist 
• The exciting part comes when you can finally refine your work and make it complete. 
3. There's always two way is to look at things - the opportunity or negativity. 
• I was talking to a friend the other day about my habit tracker and how accomplished I felt crossing out my everyday tasks and staying on track. Yet the comment that was raised was how I wasn't able to keep consistent in completing the task of "reading one foreign language" a day. 
• I could either: 
• (1) criticise myself for not being consistent and give up altogether or
• (2) be grateful that I actually made it a point be exposed to the language than to never have at all. 
• I chose the latter.
• Savour in the small wins and continue at it

Here's an example - my habit tracker wasn't perfect but it improved over the months after knowing what I needed to add in and remove.

(I would really prefer a bullet journal plain-looking planner - quotes are still cringe to me - but I really like the month tabs on this one hahah)