Some days are tougher than others. Some weeks, months, years sometimes put a toll on your soul. I don’t know about you, but I can get in a deep funk where all it seems is that I just think constant negative thoughts. I recently just realized that I tend to do this ALL THE TIME when I focus on the negative instead of the beauty of the good. I tend to message my friends when I’m down and I want to throw my own pity party, “Oh poor dear Caroline, your life is terrible.” BUT this is a huge lie. We need to focus on the wonderful things the world has to offer every single day. Here is a list of five things to be appreciative of in your life instead of the bad.

1. Find the beauty in laughing.

I love laughing with my friends. It is probably my favorite. Isn’t it is wonderful when you are laughing at something even stupid, and your friend is laughing with you? I often am thankful for the existence of people who make me giggle.

2. The excitement of the unknown.

Yes, I am the type that would love to know the future and what it holds, but we can’t predict for certain. Yeah, you can have a horrible day and want the world to end, but guess what? There is a brand new day tomorrow and who knows what could happen. Maybe a new promotion at work, maybe a new friendship, or maybe find the love of your life and live happily ever after…not really, but just stay with me.

3. A stranger smiles at you.

People don’t realize the affect that they have on a person. One action can either lift someone up or tear them down. There is nothing like a random act of kindness that can make someone’s entire day like a smile. I mean we are all on earth trying to survive, the least thing we could do is smile at each other. For my job, I work at an assisted living home as a waitress and I screw up A LOT… I give servers a lot of props. In the midst of a busy night of serving dinner, having an elderly lady tell me I have a beautiful smile, telling me I’m great at my job or just receiving a grateful thank you makes my entire night. Take these little moments of these of compliments to heart and remind yourself that you are doing just fine.

4. A sweet message.

I love after a tough day when I get a text from my friend asking if I’m doing okay or a simple, “I miss you.” Sometimes just hearing this can cheer you up and make you realize you have friends who care about you even though it seems like no one does sometimes. I find this will happen when I’m lonely and then I get this message that is just what I need.

5. Seeing a blessing in disguise.

Sometimes life is just hard. There is job loss, a tragedy, a death or just a simple heartbreak. When these unfortunate circumstances come into play, we can often think that why did this happen? But I believe what ever happens is meant to happen. It is difficult to understand why, most of the time. But instead of asking why, we should focus on the good that is to come even though it can seem like the world is ending. I promise that the sun will rise again and it will make sense one day.

We all have bad days; we all feel as though we are hopeless. We need to remember it is normal to have a bad day, but we need to also focus on the good life has to offer. Remember tomorrow is a brand new day so wake up with a smile on your face to conquer the day.