Reframing Disaster
Why Should You Try It: When disaster strikes, gratitude provides a perspective from which we can view life in its entirety and not be overwhelmed by temporary circumstances. Even though you understand the negative impact of your situation, you are also to realize the power you have to transform an obstacle into an opportunity through tapping into gratitude. It means reframing a loss into a potential gain, recasting negativity into positive channels for gratitude. This exercise is designed to remind how to gain new perspectives rather than dwelling on or reliving a bad experience.
Time Required: 10 minutes daily for three weeks
How to Do It:
- To start, list five things that make you feel like your life is enjoyable, enriching, and/or worthwhile at this moment. These things can be as general as “being in good health” or as specific as “drinking a delicious cup of coffee this morning.” The purpose of this first step is to help you shift into a positive state of mind about your life in general.
- Next, think about the most recent time when something didn’t go your way, or when you felt frustrated, irritated, or upset.
- In a few sentences, briefly describe the situation in writing.
- Then, list three things that can help you see the bright side of this situation. For example, perhaps you missed your bus this morning. Three ways to look on the bright side of this situation might be:
- Even though you missed the bus, you got some good exercise when you were running to catch it.
2.You’re fortunate to live in a city where there was another bus just 10 minutes later, or where buses run reliably at all.
- Ten years from now, you likely won’t remember what happened this morning.
Learn More: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_can_help_you_through_hard_times
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