Whenever I share something about being positive or changing your perspective, I always get a little push back.
“Easier said than done.”
“Easy to say when you’re not going through it.”
“It’s easy to be positive when you’re looking back. It’s hard to do when you’re in the thick of it.”
Now that I’m on the other side, I think people sometimes forget that I’ve actually been through this hellish journey myself.
Believe me, I get it. I understand how hard it is. I have been through it, too.
I have been in your shoes.
I have been in the thick of it.
I have done all of the things that I tell you to do and it was damn hard.
And yes, it’s easier for me to say these things now than it was for me to do them then.
But friends, it was a choice.
It was a choice I made to focus on the good.
It was a choice I made to practice gratitude.
It was a choice I made to change my perspective.
And it was a choice I made every single day—sometimes multiple times a day—when I was in the thick of it.
It didn’t come naturally to me and I wasn’t perfect at it. I struggled just as much as any of you.
But I continued to try my best to choose joy, gratitude, love, and my own perspective.
Every single day.
I don’t share any of these things to make you feel bad about where you currently are or to make you feel like you’re a negative person.
I share these things to inspire you and to show you what’s possible because I know if I could do it, then so can you.
I share these things because I have never heard anyone say, “I wish I had focused more on the negative when my loved one had Alzheimer’s.”
I have never heard anyone say, “I wish I had been less grateful for what I had when I still had it.”
And I have never heard anyone say, “I wish I would have made less of the time I still had with my loved one.”
So friends, make the choice.
Challenge yourself to change yourself.
You got this.
And I am here to support you.

*If this post resonated with you, you should consider joining the Alzheimer’s Daughters Club!
**If you liked this post, you would love my book “When Only Love Remains: Surviving My Mom’s Battle with Early Onset Alzheimer’s.” It’s available on all Amazon marketplaces.
Practising gratitude builds resilience and is a survival technique. It isn’t always easy but it’s a much better choice than focussing on the hard stuff.