A New Year

Hello again readers. It has been a little bit since I last posted. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a turn into a new year has passed since I last posted about winter weather, more of which is still to come for the next 2-3 months (Spring can't come soon enough). Anyway though, I did not repost to talk about winter weather again. I am here to talk about a new year and a change that I would like to make for this upcoming year, a change though that is very difficult for anyone but especially for someone on the spectrum like me. The change I would like to make is to be calmer and more content. This change includes remaining calm and being content with the present situation, even if it is an aversive/unpleasant situation. This change stems from the simple yet often forgotten notion that happiness is something internal that can from within, not an external thing controlled by present situation. It is the overlooked idea that one can still feel contentment internally and not put themselves into a negative emotional state even in unfavorable circumstances.

It is a simple idea, yet putting it into actual practice can be quite the challenge, especially for someone on the Autism Specturm such as me with my propensity for anxiety  and my high-strung demeanor. Often times, my brain tends to switch to anxious/upset mode almost instantly in reacting to negative stimuli making it tough to maintain my goal. This has made remaining calm and content often a struggle for me. Multiple times, I have found myself reacting to negative stimuli by getting upset/anxious and have had to remind myself to calm down and try and be content. Often times it is part of my high-wired active brain that seems unable to be slowed down sometimes. Knowing how active my brain is sometimes deflecting my brain onto something positive can help me calm down, even thinking about calming down can help. It goes back to the idea that sometimes the best way to stop a negative thought or behavior is not by eliminating that negative thought/behavior, but by replacing it with a more positive thought/behavior. This new change will be a challenge, and it will take some time as it will be going up against decades of how my brain has worked in the past, but it is worth trying and will be rewarding if I am successful.