Written by Ashley Lopez

My mind is always going 101mph; whether it’s creating mental check-lists, getting things done right away, the need to control a situation, craving to stay on a schedule, or having to know every outcome—I have no chill.

Hi everyone, welcome back to Ashley Spills. Ashley, here. You can check out my other posts here.

I don’t know how to relax most of the time and when I am trying to do so, I am reminded why I shouldn’t be at ease and what I should be doing instead. You guessed it, I am reminded by me, myself and I.

My negative side

I’m constantly on-the-go and always running errands or doing chores that don’t necessarily have to be done. I drive my boyfriend crazy with this (I mean, imagine living with someone like this). He brings tranquility to me (well, tries to) and attempts to bring down my stress levels when I have no real reason to be stressed out.

If things don’t go my way or something happens that is not planned, I am a real wreck and I have no control over my mental and physical fidgets that begin to arise. Fun fact, as you can probably tell by now, I don’t like surprises. I even plan to plan my own 40^th “surprise birthday party” (when that time comes) which I’ve mentioned to my boyfriend on several occasions.

I believe this is my most negative trait because when I’m stressed out, I have a real attitude problem. Seeing as I’m always frazzled for no reason, it’s a big drawback I have made for myself. I am sharing this today because I want to talk about making a negative thing a positive attribute.

My negative into a positive attribute

Although my mind is always tricking me into doing things quickly— I don’t have to worry about it later. I’ll be ready for a vacation so in advance that I won’t be packing for it the night before. When I’m feeling overwhelmed about the things that aren’t done yet, I have my mental happy place to revert to. (You can read about that here.)

See, negative things, although terribly annoying, can be turned into something good if you push yourself hard enough. Whether that’s learning how to chill or realizing that you are able to learn from a self-failure, positivity is emerging. In the end, I know I am at fault for having a bad attitude or looking annoyed in certain situations; I am aware that it’s problematic and I am flourishing from the many lessons I’ve had to learn from it.

New way of thinking about negativity

Negativity brings knowledge, growth, and understanding to prepare yourself for essential personal-development.

I challenge you to think about a negative trait you may have and reflect on a positive attribute that comes from it and/or with it. If you have a hard time thinking of something positive, remember that the recognition of it alone and making a plan to work on it is a milestone.

Follow your plan and other things will begin to fall into place.

Thanks for reading, xo.