Choosing to be positive is a conscious decision you have to make every day. And when I say being positive, I don’t mean fake positivity with forced smiles. It’s more of a state of being — how you choose to view the things that happen in your life.

For me, having a positive perspective allows you to move through life with a sense of calm rather than constantly wondering what’s going to go wrong next. Negative thoughts can be exhausting. Those unnecessary worries and “what ifs” that fill you mind can distract you from the good that is happening right in front of you.

And when you already have a full plate, that mental weight becomes even heavier. It can cause you to spiral, to lose focus, to miss out on the present.

I’m not saying every day will be rainbows and sunshine — especially not in the world we live in today. We have so many inputs coming at us from every direction: social media, news, family, work, and even our own thoughts.

Sometimes we just need to quiet the noise and focus on what really matters. What is right in front of us. Not something we have no control over and something that may or may not be real.

For me, that’s my family, my job, and my personal wellbeing.

There’s not a lot I can do about things outside my sphere of influence — like world events. When we focus too much on the many difficult things happening around us, it can feel suffocating. Crushing, even.

The pandemic in 2020 was a powerful example of that. It affected all of us globally. It was hard to ignore and even harder not to worry about what was going to happen next. To our loved ones, our jobs, and even our mortality. For many people, it took a real mental toll and led us down some dark paths. How could you see the good in something we didn’t fully understand while watching such devastating impacts unfold around us?

And yet, even in the middle of all that uncertainty, there were small moments that reminded us what truly mattered. Families spent more time together than they had in years. People checked on neighbors. We slowed down — whether we wanted to or not — and many of us began to reevaluate what was most important in our lives.

It didn’t erase the fear or the hardship, but it did create space for perspective. It allowed us time to think. Time stood still for that year, and people started to wake up from the rat race of everyday life.

For me, it reinforced something I had been learning for years: we don’t always get to control what happens around us, but we do have a say in how we respond to it. It’s about asking yourself: What is mine to carry, and what is within my control?

Holding onto that mindset helps keep me from drifting into that darker place where everything feels heavy and overwhelming. And if I’m being completely honest, some days it feels easier to throw my hands in the air and say “Jesus, take the wheel!”

What I’m realizing more and more as I get older is that my words matter – not just to me, but to the people around me. To my husband. To my children. To the employees I work with every day. Sometimes my words can set the course for someone else’s day. They can set the tone for a good day… or not such a great one.

Being in a leadership role — both as a mom and as a manager — means I have the ability to shape the environment around me. I can bring positivity and calm into a situation, or I can unintentionally bring tension and negativity. And while I certainly don’t get it right all the time, I try to remember that the energy I bring into a room often spreads to the people in it.

At the end of the day, positivity isn’t about pretending life is perfect. It’s about deciding what deserves your energy and finding a way through. Some things are simply outside of our control, no matter how much we worry about them or wish they were different. But the way we speak, the way we respond, and the perspective we bring into our homes and workplaces — that is within our control.

And those small choices matter more than we think. They shape the environment around us. They influence the people we care about. They create moments of calm in the middle of very full and very busy lives.

I’m still learning this every day. Some days I get it right, and some days I have to remind myself to pause, breathe, and start again. But when I focus on what truly matters — my family, my work, and my wellbeing — I’m reminded that positivity isn’t about ignoring life’s challenges. It’s about choosing the mindset that help you move through them.

And that choice, even on the hardest days, is powerful.

With gratitude,
Sonia

“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.“

— Mahatma Gandhi