In the past I have encouraged you to stop with the “what if” questions and the catastrophising and overthinking, but today I want you to picture a life in which you feel joy everyday and this is what pushes you forward to do great things.

When it comes to motivation, a lot of the time people are driven to accomplish their goals by a negative feeling. Maybe you’re pushing yourself in the gym or running to reach PBs after a heartbreak – you feel anger and sadness, and so put all of your emotions into this form of release. Maybe someone knocked you down in the past at work and now you’re working overtime to relinquish that negative emotion, although that is what drives you. You see my point?

I understand that sometimes we need a bit of fire to drive us – and this can work. But is it sustainable?

What if you were motivated by the positive emotions in your life? Joy, happiness, gratitude, peacefulness, pride, hopefulness. What if you knew your worth, and were motivated by that?

Too many of us continuously seek out the negatives in everyday life. We complain and moan and cry about all the things that are wrong. Why can’t we flip that around and see the sunshine and not the rain?

Easier said than done, right? Actually… no. It’s a simple mindset switch. The next time you find yourself going on and on about how someone cut you off on the way to work, or how you’re not getting enough attention in your relationship, or how you can’t get a PB in your 5km run… and so on… tell yourself “stop”. Say it out loud or in your head – I don’t care! Focus on the positives. Switch your mindset. It really is that easy.

Of course, we are all allowed to be upset and complain. I’m not saying you aren’t. What I’m trying to get into your head is that you’re going to go nowhere in life if you keep holding onto the pain and anger. It might be what drives you in that moment, but what happens when that pain stops, or better, if the pain never stops? Use the power of positive thinking to drive you forward.

Prioritise the joy, whatever makes you happy. Sunshine, the feeling of grass on your bare feet, long walks, family gatherings, dates with your partner, slow mornings, exercise, morning coffee, nightly TV shows, journalling, reading… You get the idea. Hang onto those positive things in your life that are so easy to see. When you hit a hardship, don’t let go. Get through it by having these things in the back of your mind to turn to. It may not make it so much easier, but it will help when you want to catastrophise.

Prioritise the joy and see how far you can make it.