Staying Positive

It's hard to stay positive all the time.  Actually, it's impossible.  Nobody can be positive every single second of every single day for their whole lives.  Life is not perfect, but that is the beauty of it.  Every single person has their own unique life, no 2 people are the same.  You have to go through struggles to really appreciate the good things that happen in your life.  If you didn't go through challenges and hard times, you would never know what it feels like when something amazing happens.  It's human nature to get discouraged and negative every once in a while.  It is how you choose to deal with those feelings that really defines who you are, in my opinion.  

Sometimes I look at the people around me, whether they're friends, family, colleagues, or even people that I don't really know who just seem to have it all together and I can't help but be a little jealous and sometimes even discouraged.  I see things happening for the people all around me.  They're all getting engaged or married or they're climbing up the career ladder with these amazing job opportunities, or they're buying their first house, and I can't help but think 'why not me?'  I have worked really hard for everything that I have but I don't have one stable job that I really like where I make enough money to live comfortably and still save for my dream wedding/honeymoon/house/'insert adult thing that people save for here'.  I have 2 dead end jobs with no room for growth and I still live paycheck to paycheck.  I haven't put money into my savings account in months, I don't get paid for another week and I've definitely got less than $100 in my checking account right now.  I apply for new jobs everyday but so far I've heard nothing back.  I get discouraged because 'it's' happening for everyone else around me, so why not me? 

My problem is that I am constantly thinking about the future.  I'm always thinking 'what's next?' and sometimes I just need to slow down, breathe, and think about right now.  Yeah, maybe I don't like my current job situation but I have a lot that I am appreciative about.  I moved to Chicago and started a life here for myself.  That was brave.  I may not make as much money as a lot of people I know but who cares?  You cannot compare yourself to other people.  You are you and you will never be those other people, nor should you want to be.  You are unlike anyone else in this world, you are unique.  Embrace it.  I know that things will come around.  Some day I will have a job that I like, I will be able to live comfortably while saving, and maybe I'll even have weekends off like 'normal' people.  But until then, I'm getting by, I have plenty of 'things' that I don't necessarily need, I'm healthy, loved, and happy.

What I'm trying to say is that it's ok to be unhappy and discouraged every once in a while.  You're human, you're supposed to feel this way sometimes.  But once you've felt sorry for yourself for a little bit, think about the things that you do have, appreciate them, and start thinking positively.  

Truth.

XO. Tarah