We could all use some lucky girl syndrome, so here’s a list of ways you can catch it.
When you first hear about it, this idea of getting everything you want and having it all magically appear sounds ridiculous. And it kind of is when you’re thinking of it like that.
Lucky Girl Syndrome, if nothing else, is a way you can start changing the way you think. It won’t happen overnight, but you’ll start to notice that the more you give out positivity, the more you get in return.
This isn’t magic; it’s just changing the way you see the world. But, if you think about it, that’s sort of like magic.
This post is all about lucky girl syndrome.
CATCH LUCKY GIRL SYNDROME:
1. Create a vision board
Back in the day, we created vision boards using cut-outs from magazines. Now, we can use technology to help us crowdsource those images, especially since none of us get magazines anymore (good on you if you’re one of the ones who do!).
You can open up Canva, a free resource with premium options, or one of Google’s apps, a completely free resource with fewer functions to make it aesthetically pleasing. Or you can get some scissors, possibly a printer, and find yourself a poster board to go at it.
The basic idea of a vision board is to include any images that inspire you and create a collage from them so that you can manifest your way to the life you want.
2. Find three sources of gratitude daily
Finding reasons to be grateful is as simple as it sounds. You can write these down or keep a mental note—make sure you verbalize it to really internalize the process.
When you get into the habit of filtering through the details of your day for gratitude and positivity, you begin changing the way you think—and, therefore, approach—the world.
You’re less focused on the negative because you’re actively challenging yourself to seek the good, which is hard for us humans. But, the good news is that are brains can change because of their plasticity. In other words, you can rewire your own brain just by thinking differently.
3. Actively search for the positive in a negative situation
Along the same lines as finding gratitude on the daily, we can go a step further to change the way our brains are wired (and, thus, the way we think) by actively searching for positivity in expressly negative situations.
In the beginning, this will feel silly and useless because you’ll be forcing yourself to think positively without believing it. But, the more you do it, the more your brain will get used to it and the more it will change how you approach negative situations.
So, let yourself feel silly until you notice yourself tending to think more positively.
4. Develop specific goals
Whenever you make a goal, you always want it to be specific in two ways: measurable and timely. So, when you create a goal, you want to give yourself a deadline and a way to measure whether you’ve your goal. (If you want to learn more about goals, check out the books here.)
For example, if you want to start practicing the violin on a daily basis, you could say, “Practice the violin for at least 15 minutes everyday for three months.”
Now, you have a specific time period during which you can keep the goal in mind and you have clear sense of when you have that goal and when you have fallen short.
Since we’re trying to catch Lucky Girl Syndrome, we’re going to make these goals unattainable because we want to change our mindset and keep us from underestimating ourselves. So, make those goals unrealistic and the most dreamy goals you can think of.
5. Fill your cup daily
We’re glad to have you here and we’re happy that you want to take control of your life as much as you can. However, showing up with a focus on positivity, gratitude, and goals is useless if you don’t take care of yourself first.
Whether you resonate with the term “Lucky Girl Syndrome” or you’re simply looking to make doable changes to your life, you need to care for yourself. You need to experience joy, rest, love, and anything that makes you feel whole.
Filling your cup, replenishing your energy, making yourself happy—it’s all necessary for you to live the life you deserve, so put yourself first before you add try any of these strategies.
6. Use affirmations every day until you believe them
Affirmations feel silly when you start out. When you take time to sit with yourself in front of mirror and verbalize statements like “I’m strong, I’m beautiful, etc.,” it feels like a waste of time.
If you’re like me, you don’t believe what you’re saying. You find it strange to lie to yourself because who knows you better than you? But, since we also know our brains can change because of plasticity, we know that talking to ourselves is actively changing how our brains work.
So, use those affirmations, based on your limiting beliefs, and say them on a daily basis until you believe what you’re saying and feel the difference. Then, keep doing it.
7. Accept that you can change the parts of your life in your control
When you begin your journey to change the way you think and work towards the life you want, the hardest part is admitting that it’s possible for the way you think to create the life you want.
The second hardest and most frustrating part is accepting that you can only change so much about your life. If you’re female, a person of color, disabled, queer, or a member of any other marginalized group, you will only have so much control over what you changes.
You’re probably well aware of this, but it’s worth stating that you can fix sexism, racism, ableism, or homophobia with the power of positive thinking. But, you can take the factors in your control and do your best to point them in the right direction.
8. Actively do the work
There’s no substitute for doing the work and following the steps in this guide. It’s super easy to get stuck in the aspirational phase where you talk about how good it will feel to live your best life. Let’s stay out of that trap by focusing on those measurable goals and our “why’s.”
Stay on track for your goals by reminding yourself why you’re working toward them. Tell yourself why you want to manifest your dream life and why you’re always finding the positive in everything, no matter how annoying or weird it feels.
Thinking positively and meeting your goals takes time, so stay with it and give it a chance to work by showing up.
9. Reject that toxic positivity bullsh*t
Toxic positivity is not what we’re after. We can think positively and focus our minds on gratitude without rejecting pain. Life is painful, and we can be grateful for that because pain is an inevitable of trying to be happy.
But, we’re not going to reject pain or stop ourselves from feeling sad or angry because that’s unhealthy. Lucky Girl Syndrome reminds us to reset our mindsets to live happier, more fulfilling lives and that says nothing about suppressing our emotions.
Make sure you feel the pain because that’s the only way you get to feel the joy.
