Positivity isn’t the easiest thing to come by these days. Work, family and the world around you sometimes make it difficult to be positive.
Yet, being positive is crucial in order for you to not only be happy, but also be an action-taker, dreamer, and achiever. If you feel like you might be a negative person, then it’s time to take measures that’ll help you become more positive.
How to Be A More Positive Individual
However, strategies exist that can help you become a more positive individual. You can be a happier person. And here’s how:
1. Be Thankful
Easy enough, right? Most of the time, you think about the things you don’t have.
You don’t have the shiny sports car. You don’t have the mansion in an exotic location. All of this worry about what you don’t have leads you to overlook the positive things right in front of you.
Whether it is your good health, a roof over your head or simply family, focus on what you do have. You can control your mindset and your gratefulness in this way, and it will bring you inner peace. You can’t control what you don’t have.
2. Focus on the Present
Ever wonder about what could have been?
Have you laid in bed at night, thinking about the girl (or guy) who said no to you, or the choices you made yesterday? You can think about that all you want, but nothing is going to change unless you make a change.
You need to shift your focus to the here and now. The past can’t be changed, however the present can be. Once you realize you have control over the present, you’ll begin to feel more positive about your current situation.
3. Understand That Negativity Is Common
It’s okay to feel negative every once in a while. Did you know that one in ten men and one in five women will experience depression in their lifetime? Depression is more common than you think.
Unlike sadness, depression lingers and lasts longer. When you realize you aren’t alone in the fight against a depressive time, you’ll begin to have hope. Hope leads to positive thoughts and actions.
Sometimes, though, when those positive actions you take each day aren’t enough, it’s okay to ask for professional help too.
4. Know That Positive Thinking Affects Your Body and Mind
Some people may dismiss positive thinking as “pseudo science”. Well, a little experiment proves those people wrong. Negative thoughts constrict your vision of the present and the future, while positive thoughts broaden your horizons.
Science shows that positive thinking alters your emotions for the better. You want to live your life thinking that you can succeed. You can always believe that you’ll fail, but that gets you nowhere.
Not only does positive thinking enhance your emotional health, but it also helps with your physical health.
Physicians say that positive self-talk and positive thinking leads to a reduced rate of cardiovascular disease, lower levels of depression and even a better resistance to the common cold. Positive thinking pays off in more than one way.
5. Meditate
Meditation is one of those healthy practices that most people haven’t tried. In fact, according to a 2015 study, only 8% of the U.S. population has meditated.
Most stay away from mediation because they don’t understand it. They feel they can’t do it or it’s not necessarily going to help. However, it does, and if you believe you can do it, you can.
Meditation is just a clearing of the mind. It lets you be alone with your thoughts. Once you de-clutter from the noise in the world, you can begin to listen to your thoughts and think. This thinking leads to positive thoughts and lets you gain control of them.
6. Write Down Your Thoughts
No, you don’t have to be Ernest Hemingway to write. Grab a journal. A diary. Even just a random piece of paper.
Start writing. Write about your worries. Write about your fears. As you write your thoughts down, you’ll be surprised at how what you’re thinking can change as you work out your thoughts in written form. You might realize some of your fears are unfounded.
Our minds tend to blow things way out of proportion. Some of us may even think of the worst-case scenario more often than not. Writing helps quiet our mind.
Words bring your thoughts into reality. Through writing, you gain a new perspective on your problems. Hopefully, you may even find a solution to your problem.
7. Surround Yourself With Positivity
This can sometimes be difficult to do. Make an effort to do it. Listen to positive podcasts. Talk with people who lift you up. Interact with those who inspire you.
You absorb a lot of information in today’s 24-hour-news-cycle and social-media-driven world. Start to observe the messages you are receiving.
You may be astounded at how many of these messages are negative in nature. If you surround yourself with positivity instead, you’ll begin to think positively.
8. Exercise
Movement helps you clear your mind.
In a study from Harvard University, exercise has been shown to reduce depression. What happens when you reduce depression? Negative thoughts begin to dissipate.
Negative thoughts are replaced with positive ones. These positive thoughts will lead to positive actions.
Summary
A quick recap on how to be a more positive individual:
- Be thankful
- Focus on the present
- Understand that negativity is common
- Know that positive thinking affects your body and mind
- Meditate
- Write down your thoughts
- Surround yourself with positivity
- Exercise
Being a positive individual is attainable. It’s reachable. These steps prove that. Even if you try just one of these strategies, you won’t regret it. Now, go out there and start thinking positively!