With every struggle that occurs in my life, I tend to relay each detail to my best friend. While explaining how horribly everything seems to be going, I typically throw in, "Life sucks,” to which she has never failed to respond, “Just focus on the good.”

At just about any given point in my life, I find myself wrapped up in a whirlwind of minor conflicts. I obsess and stress over each and every issue until they consume me, causing me to feel overwhelmed by my emotions entirely. I get worked up and enter panic-mode, bombarding her phone with multiple calls and texts explaining every little concern on my mind. I rant and ramble until I run out of negative things to list. After complaining about how everything is falling apart and how my life is heading into a downward spiral, she always seems to say the same thing each time. She explains that as bad as things may seem right now, there is always significantly more good.

It’s so easy to focus on the multitude of negative aspects in your life when you are riled up and anxiety-ridden (like I often am). When your emotions are controlling you, it’s difficult to look at your own life from a different viewpoint. Talking to someone else can help you rationalize the situation and think positively; guiding you to appreciate all the wonderful aspects of your life that you tend to overlook on a daily basis.

For me, my best friend begins by going through every one of my concerns, explaining that each conflict will resolve itself, simply because of the nature of time. It is not necessary to put your energy into worrying about something that you may not have control over. As she helps mitigate the severity of my destructive internal conflicts, she proceeds to ask me questions to direct my thinking. “What is something in your life right now that is good? How was your run yesterday? Didn’t you say you had an awesome sandwich today?” No matter how insignificant the things may be that she asks about, she helps me focus on the small, every day things that make me happy -- and keep me sane. In addition, she reminds me of the major things in my life that remain constant and good: my family, my friends and my job.

Upon reflection, I end up realizing that there are more important things to direct my energy and attention towards. When it may seem like life is really hitting the fan, I can always use her advice to remind myself that I am beyond blessed to be living the life that I am. Any little thing that brings us any joy at any point in any day is something to be positive about. We each possess an abundance of blessings that are able to help us through even the roughest patches. Staying focused on all of these amazing things in our lives helps us to practice maintaining a healthy, positive mindset, as well as reminding ourselves to not concentrate on the bad, negative things that we cannot control.