This morning I received some bad news that unfortunately will not only affect me but my whole immediate family, mom and dad, As I stewed in self-pity, disappointment and shock I realized that I was going about it the wrong way. Before I go on I will say the situation had to do with a significant amount of money being put towards something that I didn't want it to be put towards. Anyway, as I delved deeper and deeper into negative territory, I was scrolling through my emails and there I saw yet another thing that usually gives me heart palpitations: a notice from the CRA. Now because I was already in negative territory, I assumed I'd be getting more bad news. However, I slowly went through the login process, dreading what I could possibly find in there, I got in and low and behold it was good news. What am I trying to say, one may ask. Well in life we often assume that one bad thing will be followed by another bad thing, and another, and another. Doing this often ruins my whole day because all I do is wait for the next bomb to drop. But as you can tell from my story above it doesn't need to be that way. If one bad thing happens don't perpetuate it by looking for other bad things. Sure you can think about it but instead of putting a negative connotation on it, try a resolution mindset. If you think about all the ways you can solve your problem (I know it's hard) you don't attract more negative things to yourself. I've always been a champion at keeping the negative mindset going because I didn't believe that it could be totally different. What I'm saying is that negativity breeds negativity, but if you cut it at the root and apply a resolution state of mind you rid your life of that negativity. Referring back to my story had I just sat in my "s**t" I wouldn't have discovered the good news that the CRA sent me. So when something bad happens don't ruminate on it, try to focus your mind on something else, or brainstorm ideas on how the problem can be resolved.

Fear is not one of those happy, fuzzy words that makes you feel all gooey inside. On the contrary, when I hear the word fear, without even knowing what kind of fear it is, my internal alarms go off: fight, flight, freeze. Tim Ferris, acclaimed author and entrepreneur extraordinaire, comes at fear a bit differently then I do. Appealing to Stoicism, he claims that success in life comes from facing your fear head on and coming up with situations where we are to imagine our worst fear becoming reality. But that is not the end because if it was we wouldn't be talking about Stoicism, we'd be talking about complete self-sabotage. Ferris instructs us to face our fears, come up with worst case scenarios, and figure out how we can keep those fears from becoming a reality. If you're afraid of getting wet because it's raining and you're going to a very important meeting where appearance is key, bring an umbrella. As simple as that, fear of getting wet gone (check), fear of looking like a wet dog also gone (check). Although the example I gave above is a very simplified explanation of the 'fear facing method,' it does illustrate that if we put our fear on a pedestal, look at it from all sides, imagine worst case scenarios, and then brainstorm ways to avoid those scenarios from occurring, we are way ahead of the curve. I challenge you to look at your own fears, examine them with the eye of a scientist or scholar, and brainstorm solutions that will come in handy if your fear ever actually materializes in your life.

Often when grief is a feeling you are struggling with it's difficult to even imagine that there can be any benefit to it. However, earlier today I discovered that grief in an of itself can bring closure and peace of mind if it is used in the correct way. Grief is the process of saying goodbye to a loved one, a loved pet, a relationship and even an addiction, among many other things. If you would like to find the benefit in grieving send me a message and I can help you do just that.