15 Choices that Lead to Finding the Silver Lining in Life

When your world is shaken – by a diagnosis, natural disaster, crime, you name it – finding the Silver Lining in life becomes very difficult. It’s easy to be happy when things are going along swimingly in life, when the biggest worry of the day is what to make for dinner (I happen to love those days!).

What I learned when I was sick is that finding Silver Linings is a choice. There may be certain days when you have to turn over every boulder in life to find them, but they are there. Pinky Promise! As a matter of fact, just yesterday, I had to do something that I really (really!) didn’t want to do and happened to be a bit grumpy about it.  However, I said to myself that there must be a Silver Lining somewhere. It turns out, I found a beautiful and unexpected Silver Lining that ended up being the highlight of my day.

Because finding Silver Linings is indeed a choice, here are 15 choices (that I try to make each day) that lead to finding Silver Linings:

1. Express gratitude for what you DO have in this moment.
2. Smile often.
3. Be playful. Put a bounce in your emotional step.
4. Take breaks from technology.
5. Express love, even to strangers.
6. Sleep.
7. Look at challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.
8. Eat healthily, but treat yourself.
9. Focus on the present.
10. Exercise.
11. Be open to change.
12. Do what makes you happy.
13. Simplify.
14. Don’t “Should” on yourself.
15. Decide that – no matter what – you will find a Silver Lining.