20 Ways to Brighten Your Year With Mindful Wellness

1. Remember there’s two sides to everything

There is no good without evil, no light without dark, and no heads without tails. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that everything has a balance in life. And there’s always another side to the coin. It’s just a matter of flipping it when it’s right to do so.

If you find yourself on the precipice of making a huge decision for yourself this year, it can help to weigh both the good and the bad options. This could also work for those small decisions too. Make yourself a pros and cons list, as it can help to write things out. Not only will you be able to remember what you’ve written better, it helps to visualize whatever is standing in your way. Seeing both the positive and negative impacts of your decision will sometimes make the final choice crystal clear.

Looking at things from two sides also means hearing less than favorable opinions. Yes, that includes political discourse. As we move forward into 2017, we should be cautious about the divisiveness that can come from both sides of things. If we see ourselves as part of a larger group of people instead of us vs. them, we’ll have an easier time sharing and being open with one another. Joking about our elected leaders is fine, but making every discussion about them just gets stale and boring after a while. You’ll feel better if you acknowledge at least some positives every so often.