2020 IN PERSPECTIVE - Focus on the good exercise

Focusing on the good  is an effective strategy that helps you build wellbeing and feel good. Evidence shows that when you feel good you function well in life, your relationships, in your work and more. Feeling good also protect you from symptoms of mental distress such as anxiety and depression.

In a year such as 2020 with all its upheaval and uncertainty, trials and challenges...  it's easy for that pesky thing called our 'negativity bias' (an evolutionary part of our wiring set up to protect us), to cause our attention to be constantly pulled towards the challenging and distressing events and situations that are happening around us and to us. 

But no matter how deep a hole you may be in or how high a mountain you may be facing, no matter how traumatic an experience, or distressing a situation is ...

... there is always, always, always something good. If you only have the will to look hard enough, you can find it.

Next and the most important piece in all of this is to know that you do have the ability to choose where you place your focus.

Shifting your focus to what is good in your world, can have an extraordinary positive effect on your mental wellbeing and physical health.

No one is suggesting that focusing on the good is always easy to do, but it is most definitely worth every ounce of effort you put into it.

I've heard many people say things like:

"I can't wait for 2020 to be over"
"Good riddance to 2020"

Sure it's understandable why they would think and say this. But the reality is every year has its challenges - yes 2020 has been exceptional on a global scale, but adversity is part of life, and pandemic or no pandemic there will always be plenty of things for us to lament if we choose to focus that way. 

Sorry to say, there's no magic that happens at midnight on December 31, that will sweep away all of the negativity in the world and paint everything rose coloured. It is and will always be up to each of us to CHOOSE to focus on the good. 

Focusing on the good is a choice we
all have the power to make in each
moment of each day.

To help you in this very worthwhile pursuit, we've put together a template where you can list the good and the horrible moments of 2020. By having both sides listed right there next to each other you will be able to gain some perspective, no it wasn't all bad, there were good moments, hopefully you'll find many.

Click to download

​Chances are your chart may be quite balanced or even heavier on the positive right side. But even if you end up with 50 crappy things on the left and only five good things on the right, even if the bad outweighs the good 10 to one, you can STILL choose to focus your attention on those few good things.  

To get some perspective on 2020 before you head into 2021... download and print the template below to get you started on the life changing commitment of focusing on the good.

​Delve deeper ....

Check out our mental wellbeing magazine and the PEPTALK Book Store for inspired empowering holiday reading!