Where's my good luck?

[EY58]

I always sit in the corner and ask why does everyone is lucky and why I am not?

I hope luckiness will hug me tonight.

[Sillysausage234]

Good luck wishes coming your way

[EY58 in reply to Sillysausage234]

Thank you... 😊

[The_Color_Blue]

I hear your struggle. There's a reason they say "comparison is the enemy of happiness." It can be so easy to fall into that trap - of envy, jealously, self-pity. Oi, I struggle with this sometimes as well and it's brutal. But I also know that someone is looking at my life and thinking I am lucky - because they aren't dealing with my struggles - because they don't see how hard things are for me. And there's a lesson in that, I think.

I can learn from the people who think I'm lucky because I can try harder to see what they're seeing. Often I've encountered trite cliches about "practicing gratitude" - oh good heavens, these used to infuriate me. I felt as if people were saying that because I felt my own struggle it somehow made me ungrateful for the good things in my life. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have gratitude... and struggle. My gratitude doesn't make the struggle any less hard or any less painful. YEARS LATER I had a therapist that explained why gratitude was important. Here's what they told me:

The act of thinking of something for which you are grateful actually changes your brain chemistry. It's like you've flipped a switch and your brain has to get out of its current negative loop and step into something momentarily positive (even if that thought is instantaneous and fleeting). That act of interrupting the negative self-talk not only helps us receive more "feel good" chemicals, but it creates new neural pathways. My therapist told me to think of my brain like a muscle. Whatever I repeat to myself will get stronger. If I repeat negative things to myself, those become stronger (negativity, pessimism, anger, resentments, etc.). However, if I repeat positive things to myself, I will strengthen those as well. I am a long way from mastering this. Somedays I completely lose the battle and the negative wins. Other days, however, I find success in repeatedly breaking those negative cycles. Over time, I think it becomes easier - but it's a daily, sometimes minute-to-minute battle.

Just like people don't see our pain, we rarely see the struggles others face. We see the social media persona - the perfect image - the happy pieces (which may or may not be real), and we fool ourselves into thinking that's the entirety of their life. But it isn't. We all struggle. Maybe if we normalize admitting it and talking about it - we won't feel so alone.

Remember that you have choices and power. Remember that it's never too late to change something. Remember that you have the ability to control your thought patterns (i.e., control your reactions to your own feelings). Remember that the things that hurt won't feel like that forever. And remember that while you're figuring it all out - you're not alone.

[EY58 in reply to The_Color_Blue]

Thank you... 😊

[Agora1]

Hi EY58, I worked with a man who use to say "If it weren't for Bad Luck, I'd have no luck at all"

He won the Lottery. So you never know my friend xx

[EY58 in reply to Agora1]

Thank you... 😊

[EY58]

Thank you... 😊