Positivity is a choice. It’s the decision to see the bright side of things rather than finding fault in people or situations. It means that we focus on the one thing that is right when a zillion other things went wrong. It means we choose to see the good in people, even if we have to dig a little bit deeper and it means we trust ourselves.
Reality is, we all have an internal dialogue that plays over and over in our heads and influences every single word, action, relationship, habit and ultimately the quality of our lives. More often than not, this internal commentary is negative and we walk through life with a dark cloud constantly hovering over our heads.
Realize that holding on to all the struggles and hardship is only making you feel worse and traps you in a cycle of negative self-fulfilling prophecies. Instead of seeing the glass half empty, choose to brighten your view of the world and infuse more positivity into your life, because if you can change your thinking, you will change your life for the better.
Here are our TOP 10 tips to become a glass-half-full kind of thinker and look at the bright side of life.
#1 Have the Desire to Be Positive
Before you can be a positive person, you have to have the strong desire to be positive and you can only develop the strong desire to be positive, if you are convinced that being positive will enhance the quality of your life. Think of positivity like an aura that draws more positivity to you. Once you have adopted a positive mindset, you will experience that people start to trust you, colleagues will be more polite, opportunities will appear and your life will be a lot brighter.
#2 Be Realistic
While being a positive person comes with a plethora of benefits, don’t overdo it by trying to become a saint. Everybody, even the most positive person in the world, has negative emotions every now and then, especially in the face of a bad situation. Disappointment and failure are a natural part of life, but instead of reverting to negativity, adopt the overall attitude of positivity and know that you will always find a way out of any difficult situation that life may throw at you.
#3 Change Your Speech and Body Language
Have a good hard look at the way you talk and the way you move your body. Then make a conscious decision to infuse your speech with positive words and adopt a body language that will make you come across as open, approachable and friendly. Laugh when someone says something funny, congratulate someone when they achieve success, give others the chance to tell their side of the story, be humble and take up positive activities like having sex, going for a run, having a fun night out on the town with friends or simply tell a joke.
#4 Seek Positive Company
Toxic people and circumstances are one of the biggest influences on a negative mindset, but keep in mind, positivity is just as infectious. Make it a point to choose a positive company and eliminate the negative people from your life as much as you can. We mirror the behavior and mindset of the five people we surround ourselves with the most. In order to be more positive it is imperative to have a circle of friends that is happy, positive and energetic. Soon enough, you will carry that kind of positivity with you everywhere you go.
#5 Practice Awareness
The big difference between those who have a positive mindset over those who have a negative mindset lies in their observations. A person with a positive mindset will immediately try to squash automatic negative thoughts as soon as they appear. Keep in mind, our brain is hardwired for negativity as a survival mechanism and most negative thoughts aren’t conscious. Most of the time we aren’t even aware of those negative messages we are telling ourselves. But when you practice awareness, you have the ability to stop those negative messages and turn them into positivity.
#6 Feed Your Positivity
In order to become a more positive person, you have to engage in activities that support your desire to cultivate positive emotions. Meditation, visualization and journaling are great practices to feed your mind with positivity, but so are reading inspirational books, watching motivational movies or listening to empowering podcasts, just like spending more time with family and friends that are happy and positive. Whatever you do, engage in activities that make you feel good and your thoughts will become more positive in no time.
#7 Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude
If you want to be more positive, learn how to be grateful. Gratitude is one of the fastest ways to shift your focus away from negativity, disappointment and judgment to positivity, appreciation and love. Don’t make your gratitude practice complicated. Simply be grateful for the sun that comes up every morning, the smile you receive from the person who makes your coffee, the bed you sleep in at night, the people you love and care about and the body that lets you experience your life each and every day. Keep a gratitude journal and make it a point to write in it every single day, even when you feel like the world is against you.
#8 Go Slow
When you go too quickly, when you try to think, talk, eat and move around your world too fast, usually things don’t go too well. You start to build up stress and with that negative thoughts tend to come up and your personal power disappears. Make it a point to slow down just for a few minutes each day. Savor your food and eat slower, force yourself to walk at a slower pace and think before you speak. When you can slow things down, you will realize that your body and mind calm down and it becomes a lot easier to find your positive, constructive, optimistic perspective.
#9 Add Positivity to Someone Else’s Life
A surefire way to be a more positive person is to add some positivity to another person’s life. Smile at the stranger who has a frown on his or her face, lend a helping hand when someone is struggling with their groceries, listen to your friend’s problems and lend a supporting ear when they need to vent for a moment, volunteer at a homeless shelter or bring your partner a sunflower to brighten their day. You don’t have to resort to big, material gestures, simply treat another person with love, compassion and kindness and the positivity will come back to you tenfold.
#10 Exercise Regularly, Eat Well and Sleep Enough
This one is simple and very obvious, but sometimes we need to spell it out. We all know that having a good night’s sleep or an amazing workout can have a hugely positive impact on our mood that can help us to think clearly and positively, but did you know that food also influences your mood? What we eat has a huge impact, so make sure that you feed your body with wholesome, nutritious food that lifts you up and gives you energy, rather than pulls you down and makes you feel sluggish. Just like taking care of our mind and feeding it with positivity, we need to take care of our body and feed it with positivity every chance we get.
Research shows that being a positive, happy person is more of a choice than purely impacted by circumstances. While a negative attitude appears to be the logical reaction when something goes horrible wrong, it doesn’t mean we have to adopt it. If you decide to stay positive and constructive even when times are tough, you can work towards something better that will have a profound impact on your life.
FEEL FREE AND OPTIMISTIC
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked
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