In our life, we have all received the well-intentioned advice to stay positive. Sometimes it can be hard to stay positive in life when you are drowning in the waters of negativity. Happiness isn’t the only type of positivity definition. There are many ways to stay positive in your life, even when you’re experiencing anger, sadness, or challenges. The definition of being positive is having hope and confidence in one’s ability to handle what’s tough, along with remembering that nothing is all negative all the time.
Research says that we have powerful capabilities to choose positive ways and emotions of thinking. Our emotions change our body at the cellular level. Rather than trying to get rid of negative feelings, we can choose to respond to them differently. To live a happier life, it’s essential to learn how to highlight the positive thinking and improve your outlook on life.
Here are simple ways to stay positive and happy.
Make an effort to find a positive side in everything
You can’t control what happens to you, but one thing you can control is how you respond. It’s up to you to look for the right side in everything and react most positively.
For example, when you are waiting for your friend and he is late, don’t get angry, rather make it an opportunity to develop your patience level.
Always be grateful
It is impossible to feel depressed in life if you have so many things to be grateful. No matter how inferior things may turn out, you must realize that we still have things in our lives what most people on earth don’t have. The research found that your brain always focuses on the negative elements of life, like tragedies, failures, worries, etc. That’s why we need to focus more on good things. To do so, you should make a gratitude list and read them whenever you get a chance. It will attract more blessing, and you will feel much better in life.
Create a positive environment
It is vital to have positive people around you who will help you to stay positive in negative situations. Circle yourself with people who will support you and lift you instead of dragging you down.
You can also spend time reading positive books, watching motivating movies, or listening to good music.
Exercise more
The University of Toronto found in research that physical activity helps to fight depression. Research shows exercising daily releases, good mood endorphins, which makes your mood better. Exercise has both physical and mental benefits. It will keep you in better shape and boost your self-esteem.
Treasure your experience more than possessions
Research done by Thomas Gilovich, a psychologist at Cornell University shows that it is healthy for our brain to treasure a memorable and pleasant experience rather than the material things. Comparing possessions and look at better objects after purchase can be demoralizing and ruin the initial pleasure. But treasuring experience does not affect the initial pleasure; rather, they provide long-lasting happiness.
Help others
Volunteering or doing charity can boost your spiritual health and give you internal peace. Buying a big house and cars will not increase your overall happiness in the long run. Contributing to the betterment of the people will also make you realize how much fortunate you are than others.
Researchers found that when we dedicate a little time or money in helping others, this has a significant effect on our happiness. This is because our total focus will be on how you can give or be of service to others and paying less attention to negative people and things around you.
Go outdoors
Nature always gives us positive energy and helps us think positively. In today’s busy world and desk-bound jobs, it has become impossible to go out and spend some time with nature. Spending some time outside in good weather will increase your energy, boost your mood and help you work efficiently. If going out isn’t an option, you can always surround your workplace or home with plants.
Meditation
Meditation will improve your focus, attention, clarity and will keep your mind calm. It keeps you from getting stressed out and keeps you happy in the long run. It is beneficial for both the body and mind.
According to a Harvard researcher Matt Killingsworth, wandering mind will not make us happy. Meditation helps you to concentrate and pay attention to the present and accept it without judging. It is useful in forgetting about the past and not worry about the future.
Get enough sleep
When we don’t get enough sleep, negativity takes over our mind. Your body needs to recover from the day before stress. There are tons of natural remedies to help you sleep better. Sleep helps your mind to stay focus, be productive and happier. People who get good sleep tend to feel less anger and stressful.
In research, it showed that hippocampus, a part of a brain, which processes positive and happy thoughts, starts to creak and starts developing more negative thoughts than before, when we don’t get enough sleep.
Express your feelings
There is a lot of things that keep happening in our life, which we hold inside ourselves. And when we express those emotions, we feel relief. You should always have someone trustworthy you could talk to and someone who can understand what you are going through. And if you don’t find that right person, you can just write it down.
Reduce your worries
Worrying habit about anything is a powerful reason to destroy anyone’s thinking. Most of the thing you fear in your life never happens. They are just like nightmares of your mind. It grows stronger day-by-day and leaves you feeling stressed.
Accept and find solutions
Most people are repellent and can’t accept the change in their life. They must learn to accept that change will happen. We continually go through changes, because this is how life is meant to be. You can experience the worst phase of your life, but you should look for the positive aspect and find a solution to your problem. When you train your brain for staying positive in all situations, even tragedy can’t destroy you.
Further Practical steps to Stay Positive
Life is constantly throwing unexpected challenges at us — so here’s how to stay positive no matter what.
Change Your Perspective
Being positive starts with changing your perspective on how you see things. If you believe something is negative, then it probably will be (and vice versa). Challenge that negativity by embracing the mindset of a fixer and a doer. If there’s a will, there’s a way! That’s truly how to stay positive.
Take A Step Back
Take a deep breath and take a step (or two) back. Let go of your negative energy, let go of the anger and resentment, and focus on improving and finding a positive. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, you just have to find it.
Be Mindful
To stay positive means being self-aware and in touch with your feelings. Don’t let fear take over and have you convinced that things won’t work out for the best. Accept the criticism that comes your way and know that most things in life aren’t personal.
Create A Positive Environment
Create a positive environment for yourself. Surround yourself with positive people that bring you up, support you, and want only the best for you. Avoid bringing yourself into situations that don’t add anything to your happiness — they are a waste of your precious time.
Take It Slow
Take things slow, and don’t be so hard on yourself. Learning to stay positive is a process. Trust that your patience and optimism will pay off, and that good things will come your way when the time is right if you allow them to.
Bring Positivity to Others
When it comes to how to stay positive, it starts by bringing positivity to others! Be generous with others, be respectful, be open-minded, and all of that good energy will surely make its way back to you.
Practice Being Grateful
Being grateful for what we have can help us see how many amazing things we have in our lives and help us focus on the good. Being stuck on our problems and what we don’t have will never get us anywhere. Keep a journal or a diary to express your daily gratitude, even for the smallest things.
Enjoy Nature
Nature is a great way to stay positive and bring more happiness into your life. If you’re feeling down, treating yourself to some quiet time outdoors is always a good idea. It’s been found that we react better in natural spaces, and that spending time in nature can both reduce stress and increase creativity. One study conducted in Finland found that urban dwellers who walked through nature for even just twenty minutes daily were less stressed compared to those who walked through the city.
Reduce Materialism & Ideals
Our modern society puts all kinds of ideas into our heads — that we have to be a certain way and have certain luxurious, material things in order to be a worthy person. But before social media and television, we never needed such things to self-justify. Get rid of these ideals, and focus on the reality, not what you think you should be.
Listen To Music
Music is always a wonderful way to bring more positivity into your life! There are endless feel-good songs and playlists out there that can surely get you singing and dancing, forgetting what you were even upset about in the first place. In fact, it’s actually a scientific fact that listening to music releases dopamine, the feel-good chemical in your brain.
Smile!
When you’re happy, you smile. But believe it or not, when you smile, it also makes you happy. Practice smiling even when you don’t feel like it. Look at yourself in the mirror, and show yourself what a beautiful, big smile you have. Smiling is key when it comes to how to stay positive in a negative environment.
Follow Your Passion
Do what you love! When it comes to being positive, you have to surround yourself with things and people that make you feel good. For example, if creative writing is your passion, then do that! Even if it’s not your current job, make sure to find the time for the things that bring you joy.
Join A Support Group
Being alone can be hard. Having a support group to share your feelings with can be highly beneficial in learning new techniques on how to stay positive no matter what.
How Does Staying Positive Benefit You?
There’s no doubt about it that being positive can benefit every aspect of your life.
Being positive has been found to improve health and increase longevity. In fact, it’s been found that those with a positive attitude can add as much as 10 years to their lives!
Being positive has also been found to help with career advancement, team building, financial success, and even with athletic performance for those that have emotions such as gratitude and appreciation.
When it comes to relationships, positive people tend to have more friends, which is key to happiness and living a long life. Couples with a more positive-to-negative ratio of interactions are also found to last longer.
The body-mind connection is absolutely undeniable and is key when it comes to happiness. In order to bring more positivity into your life, working out on a regular basis, eating a balanced diet, meditating, and getting sufficient amounts of sleep (at least 7 hours) are all great ways to make for a healthy body and mind.
A Friendly Reminder to Not Give Up!
It can be hard to constantly stay positive, but it’s important to keep your head up and always trust that everything will be ok. When it comes to how to stay positive, the secret lies in the power of positive thinking. While our life circumstances might not always be in our hands, the way we react to those circumstances is in our hands.
Say stop.
In your mind, shout “STOP!” or “NOPE, we are not going down that path again!” as soon as thoughts of this kind starts to spin in your head.
Breathe.
After you have disrupted the thoughts by shouting stop sit down and just be still.
Breathe with your belly and focus on just you’re in-breaths and out-breaths for a minute or two to calm your mind and body down.
Refocus.
Question your mountain building thoughts by talking to someone close to you and getting a more grounded perspective on the situation by just venting or by getting his or her input.
Improve your self-esteem.
I have found over the years that with a stronger self-esteem, things drag us down less and they don’t ruin our day as much.
Start your day in a positive way.
How you start your day usually sets the tone for the rest of your day. So be careful about how you spend your mornings. If you get going at full speed, lost in future troubles in your mind then the stress, perceived loss of power of over your life and negative thoughts will ramp up quickly.
If you on the other hand start your day by moving slowly, by having an uplifting conversation with your family or friend or you spend some time with reading or listening to inspiring and helpful articles or podcasts over breakfast or during your bus ride to work then that can make a big difference for how your whole day will go.
Mindfully move through your day.
When you spend your time in the present moment then it becomes so much easier to access positive emotions and to stay practical about what you can actually do about something in your life.
When you get lost in the past or future like so many of us have spent a lot of time on doing then worries very easily become bigger.
And failures and mistakes from the past being replayed over and over in your mind drag you down into pessimism.
By moving slowly through your morning and hopefully through much of the rest of your day it becomes easier to mindfully stay in the moment you are in.
Another simple way to reconnect with the moment you are in and to put your full attention there again is to focus just on what is going on around you right now for a minute or two with all your senses.
See it. Hear it. Smell it. Feel the sun, rain or cold wind on your skin.
It might sound like a small and insignificant thing to do. But this simplifying reconnection with the moment can have a very positive effect on the rest of your day.
Conclusion
If you think that there are a lot of problems and responsibilities in your life and it’s too impractical to stay positive all the time, think again. It’s never too late to live a positive and happy life.
Adapted from
Sothern Careers Institute (SCI)– 10 Tips on How to Stay Positive when you are Stressed: 10 Tips on How to Stay Positive When You’re Stressed (scitexas.edu)
WikiHow-How to be Positive: How to Be Positive (with Pictures) – wikiHow
Mbgmindfulness-12 Steps to stay positive in a Negative World: 12 Steps To Stay Positive In A Negative World | mindbodygreen
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