It's been about a week now, and I'm feeling like I've made improvements already.
I've been doing a lot of different things this week, and I think these are a few of the things that early on have worked best for me. The first is taking deep breaths and then smiling afterward. It calms me down and puts me in a more positive and happy mindset. That feeling is really important, so that I believe myself when I say to myself things like "it's ok" or "It's not a big deal." Without the right attitude saying positive things feels more like a charade than a sincere affirmation.
Another is finding quiet places, and allowing myself to reflect on what I've been doing. If I do something I wish I hadn't, I recognize what I did wrong and try to do better next time. If I do the right thing, I identify the reason it is good and try to do it more. We learn from our mistakes, and this is a way that is working for me.
The third, which ties in with the positivity, is that I'm starting to get more comfortable in my own company. For the time being, I feel ok with being alone. I am not totally alone, I have my family and some online friends, but I still have a lot of time to myself. It's not because I dislike other people either, I'm just enjoying being by myself. I'm trying to be proactive too, cleaning and going to the park. I started reading a Philosophy paper the other day which felt really good. I've never been one to enjoy things to an extreme degree, but I feel I could be happy in a variety of different situations now.
One last thing is that while I am working on myself, focusing on other people, or more specifically how they feel, helps me as well. Paying attention to other people, or trying to, and seeing what makes them happy or upset, and trying my best to make their lives easier when I can. And I feel like I do care, and I'm not doing it with some ulterior motive in mind. I want to be nice and helpful, because it makes other peoples lives better. I think I still have a bit to work on here though, I'm still working on being more aware of what is around me.
