Excerpt from http://comprehensivereentry.org/executive-directors-blog-2/
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With the Thanksgiving week concluded, we often slip into some old habits. An attitude of gratitude involves daily practice. It will change your paradigm on life. It is often difficult to remember to be grateful when we experience so many of the difficulties that can accompany the reentry process. We experience doubt from family members, rejection and discrimination from employers, more discrimination from society in general, and if we suffer from addictions, more doubt from family members. The holiday season can be especially rough. It is often difficult to be positive or feel the holiday spirit when you can’t even find a job or housing. How do we remain grateful in the face of such adversity?
I can only tell you what works for me. First, I surround myself with positive and supportive people. Who you hangout with can make all the difference in the world. If you suffer from addictions, don’t neglect your program. Support groups are loaded with positive people. Hang out with the winners too, and ignore the losers. Next, I suggest finding a good church. God in my life made all the difference. Without God, we are often without hope. He will sustain you in the long run when you are feeling all alone. Even if you aren’t into church, find a spiritual activity that you can get into. Maintaining our spiritual health is key to maintaining a positive attitude, and in America, we often forget or don’t place enough importance on our spirit. I also highly recommend exercise. Even if you just get out and walk, the fresh air and pumping blood will increase your endorphins, which naturally elevate your mood. Physical health and spiritual health go hand in hand. The last part of the triangle is your mental health. We should never quit learning. Get enrolled in school, trade school, or even just take a free class on-line or at the library. Learn something new and stretch your mind. It helps take your mind off your troubles. It keeps you sharp. Your brain is a muscle, and it needs to be exercised. I also recommend the following simple mental exercise. Every night of the week prior to going to bed, think about three things you are grateful for. Do this every night for one week and do not repeat any of the same things. It is harder than you think. At the end of the week, you will be amazed at the change in how you view the world and your circumstances.
The last thing I would say to you is to never give up! If you’ve put in one hundred job applications and not received a call back, put in 110. If you’ve gone to twenty interviews, go to more. Approach life with a problem solving mindset. As life throws you obstacles, and it will, think about various solutions to that problem, meditate or pray on the solutions, and choose the one that you think will lead to the best answer. If you are not getting any calls back on job applications for example, try to figure out what you could do better to help overcome that. Do you need to tweak your resume? Then, go to a resume writing class. The state offers them for free through unemployment or you can look them up on line. Have you ever attended a workforce development class or gone to a networking group? If not, look into it. Do you need to gain more education? Enroll in some classes. Take constructive steps to overcoming your obstacles and don’t give up. You can do it! Have you ever thought of starting your own business? This is a good way to bypass many of the obstacles. Look into the feasibility of going into business for yourself. Who says you can’t do that? Don’t listen to them if they are telling you that. Remember, obstacles and failures are just life’s lessons to be learned from and overcome. Keep moving forward and don’t forget that no one ever accomplished much from sitting on the couch and wishing things were better. Dreams without action are just dreams. You can’t grow unless you reach outside your comfort zone and try.
Good luck,
-Rich
I can only tell you what works for me. First, I surround myself with positive and supportive people. Who you hangout with can make all the difference in the world. If you suffer from addictions, don’t neglect your program. Support groups are loaded with positive people. Hang out with the winners too, and ignore the losers. Next, I suggest finding a good church. God in my life made all the difference. Without God, we are often without hope. He will sustain you in the long run when you are feeling all alone. Even if you aren’t into church, find a spiritual activity that you can get into. Maintaining our spiritual health is key to maintaining a positive attitude, and in America, we often forget or don’t place enough importance on our spirit. I also highly recommend exercise. Even if you just get out and walk, the fresh air and pumping blood will increase your endorphins, which naturally elevate your mood. Physical health and spiritual health go hand in hand. The last part of the triangle is your mental health. We should never quit learning. Get enrolled in school, trade school, or even just take a free class on-line or at the library. Learn something new and stretch your mind. It helps take your mind off your troubles. It keeps you sharp. Your brain is a muscle, and it needs to be exercised. I also recommend the following simple mental exercise. Every night of the week prior to going to bed, think about three things you are grateful for. Do this every night for one week and do not repeat any of the same things. It is harder than you think. At the end of the week, you will be amazed at the change in how you view the world and your circumstances.
The last thing I would say to you is to never give up! If you’ve put in one hundred job applications and not received a call back, put in 110. If you’ve gone to twenty interviews, go to more. Approach life with a problem solving mindset. As life throws you obstacles, and it will, think about various solutions to that problem, meditate or pray on the solutions, and choose the one that you think will lead to the best answer. If you are not getting any calls back on job applications for example, try to figure out what you could do better to help overcome that. Do you need to tweak your resume? Then, go to a resume writing class. The state offers them for free through unemployment or you can look them up on line. Have you ever attended a workforce development class or gone to a networking group? If not, look into it. Do you need to gain more education? Enroll in some classes. Take constructive steps to overcoming your obstacles and don’t give up. You can do it! Have you ever thought of starting your own business? This is a good way to bypass many of the obstacles. Look into the feasibility of going into business for yourself. Who says you can’t do that? Don’t listen to them if they are telling you that. Remember, obstacles and failures are just life’s lessons to be learned from and overcome. Keep moving forward and don’t forget that no one ever accomplished much from sitting on the couch and wishing things were better. Dreams without action are just dreams. You can’t grow unless you reach outside your comfort zone and try.
Good luck,
-Rich
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