Being positive can be learned, just like any other skill and is very closely related With changing your attitude Y mentality .
In this article I will explain How to be positive , Happy and optimistic In your thoughts, actions and in general in your life.
Sometimes it is difficult to see things from the positive point of view, even if everything seems to your advantage. It is a trend that arises in the Cerebral amygdala ; Imagining the most negative situations has allowed our ancestors to survive.
However, today there is not much danger as in prehistory and before. In fact we lived in the most abundant time in history.
A year and a half ago I finished a master's degree in HR. The vast majority of my colleagues complained that there was no work (we were in the middle of a financial crisis in Spain).
However, it can also be seen as an opportunity to undertake or to go abroad to work and learn languages.
How you live your life depends largely on your way of thinking.
In my opinion, you can change your life by making changes in:
- Your attitude.
- Your way of thinking and interpreting events.
- Your expectations.
You can not always control your external circumstances, but you can change your thoughts.
You can see this often in your life. In yourself or anyone around you. Each second can be interpreted in different ways.
The way you interpret your life will depend on what kind of approach you have. If you have the negative focus, you will see the negative situation. If you have the positive approach, you will see it positive.
A pessimist sees the difficulty at every opportunity; An optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.-Winston Churchill.
We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.-Anais Nin.
You can not live a positive life with a negative mind.-Joyce Meyer.
13 Ways to be positive from today
1-Get down!
Usually, the faster you do things, the less you will enjoy the moment And less positive things you can perceive.
Negative stress (having a little stress is good) occurs when you have too much stress and it is when the Negative consequences to your health .
Besides, you will not enjoy life and you will see the negative things.
If you do things more slowly, trying to enjoy the moment, your body will calm down and you can focus on the positive things.
2-Be aware of your thoughts
From now on, try to look at your thoughts as mere thoughts, not facts.
If you have to carry something of this reading that is this: get used to being aware of what you are thinking and your mood .
Each person has thousands of thoughts a day. This internal dialogue influences your actions, way of communicating, relationships and finally in your whole life.
Too often the pattern of internal dialogue to which people are habituated is negative.
If you have that negative dialogue, it is as if you wear glasses of negativity; Look where you look, you'll see everything negative.
You will even create unreal situations that do not really exist.
I recently traveled with a friend who had never traveled. If I saw someone strange, I thought he was going to rob us. If we walked unknown places, I thought we would lose.
That negative approach to life can become a self-fulfilling prophecy ; You believe so much that a negative situation will occur that you unconsciously make it happen.
If you are aware of that negative internal dialogue, you can stop it or at least not pay attention and let it go.
When you realize that you are interpreting a situation in a negative way, simply let go of that thinking and interpret the situation in a positive way.
If you are not conscious, negativity will have power over you. Being aware of your thoughts is a skill and will take time to practice.
The more you strive, the more you will improve. I recommend you read about it in This article on mindfulness .
3-Ridiculates the negative
One way to build positivity is by ridiculing the negative.
Obviously, I do not mean serious events like deaths or traumatic events here.
I mean interpretations that you do as:
- Must public speaking .
- Having to submit a job in a short time.
- Being in a jam.
- Have a bad day.
If you realize, all those events can ridicule you with humor.
The key is to learn to laugh at yourself or think about the worst that can happen (usually the worst that can happen does not carry anything negative).
4-Practice gratitude
Think of a negative person you know. Someone who always complains and does not realize everything positive in his life.
These toxic people Have built a habit of complaining and seeing everything negative. They wear the negative glasses.
However, you can also get used to seeing things positively. For this, I recommend practicing gratitude. How can you do it?:
- Write a journal of gratitude in which to describe everything so that you can be thankful each day.
- Engage conversations with someone you trust for 10 minutes in which you propose to talk only about things that you can be grateful for and things you can take advantage of.
- Make a list every day of things you can be grateful for.
5-Take care of your non-verbal language
Try to be positive with your shoulders squatting, your head looking down and your arms difficult.
It will be really difficult for you because they are all defensive postures and your non-verbal language has an influence on your mood.
Try to stand straight, shoulders back and chest forward, chin high and arms open.
With this attitude you will feel stronger and positive.
Another way to feel more positive is to smile, since it is impossible to smile sincerely and feel sad or negative at the same time.
The simple act of smiling, even if you do not have anything to smile about, will make you feel better inside.
Already speak other non-verbal language tricks to feel better in this article .
6-Get rid of negativity
Any negative thing you see or hear will influence your mood. If you are listening to the news three times a day, it is normal for you to feel negative.
If you read sad books, listen to sad music or watch depressing movies it is normal for you to feel negative.
Have you ever seen a photo or movie that made you feel positive? For example Looking for happiness , One of the most watched films of the last decade.
I do not want to say that suddenly you get to watch hundreds of movies or you do not report. The idea is that you surround yourself with positive things in your life and begin to draw the negative.
You can have positive stimuli around you that infect you. For example:
- Listen to positive music.
- Watch positive videos or movies.
- Search for positive news that occurs in the world.
And also with people...
7-Connect positive people
Is it better to be alone than badly accompanied?
I think so, and there is a huge difference when you talk to constructive and contributing people and people who do not contribute anything.
People with whom you have relationships have a great influence on your life. It may be the best day of the year and someone negative to say"how bad the world is, only bad things happen".
If you do not have a critical attitude you will fall into that game and your vision will also begin to be negative.
It is extremely complicated to have a positive outlook if you are surrounded by negative people.
In addition, you will be missing out on what you can bring people you do not know yet and that can bring a lot of positivity to your life.
I would tell you to look for people who:
- Have energy and desire to do things. That is, seize opportunities.
- They like to enjoy many areas of life.
- Be healthy physically and mentally.
- They make you advance personally or professionally.
8-Do something kind
Have you ever done something kind to someone and have you felt good all of a sudden? Well, you can repeat that often.
In my opinion, we do not act in solidarity because we tend to go along with the social mass. For example, we see that nobody helps someone who is in the street and we do not either.
If the dough did, we would too. Try to get out of the"mass"and do kind acts. You can not at all times of your life, but every time you have time and desire.
9-Take criticism as learning to improve
If you have not been criticized already, get ready because they are going to do it. The only way they will not do it is to stay in your house.
Luckily or unfortunately, there are people who only know how to criticize destructively and you will meet them sooner or later.
Fear of criticism can keep you from doing what you really want to do. That is, it is a mental barrier.
But you can act and see those criticisms in a positive way. The important thing is to learn how to handle them properly.
You will find two types of criticism:
1-The personal: for example if they say"clumsy"or"silly." In this case, I recommend using humor.
You do not have to insult, but you can use a technique called fog bank: it is used to avoid a direct conflict when a person speaks to you aggressively or releases some attacking commentary.
It is based on saying unexpected responses to curb aggressive behavior.
Example:
-Your partner: Ana, what ugliest clothes you have.
-You: yes, I want to implant a new fashion.
If the insult or personal criticism is too aggressive or violent, you may ask for a change of attitude or behavior.
2-The task: criticism is based on something you do.
For example:
"Anna, I do not like the way you did the job.
"Anna, you were wrong. In fact it is made...
In this case, it is best to take criticism as constructive with what to improve. Also, you can ask them to specify what you have done wrong.
10-Insert the positive filter
In any situation or person you encounter in life there is something positive. Most of the time is not obvious. You just have to find it and act.
When you walk down the street, propose to see the positive things that exist, which can actually be hundreds. From the people in the street, to the workers, to the trees, animals...
The idea here is to get used to focusing your focus on positive things, rather than wandering with your negative inner dialogue.
11-Look at the possibilities, not the barriers
Positive people focus on what they can do, not on what they can not do. There are thousands of things you can not do and thousands that you can do.
Instead of wasting your time thinking about how you can not do something you want, think about how you're going to do something you can do.
In short, get used to looking at possibilities rather than barriers.
12-Reinforce your positivity
When you've really found yourself thinking positively, seeing the positive of the environment or focusing on the possibilities, it's time for you to reinforce yourself.
That is, give yourself a prize for doing something that benefits you. That way you're more likely to do it again.
You can say to yourself"you're great","you've done very well"or you can do something you like.
It is important that you be honest, not give you prizes when you have done what you do not propose.
13-Accept the moments of sadness
You will not always be able to be in a high mood. From time to time, certain events will occur that will cause your mood to subside.
In such cases, it is best to accept them, see them as normal in life and realize that they are temporary.
The positive attitude in this case would be to think that you will surpass it and that it will happen. The negative attitude would be to think that sad moment will always last.
And what do you do to be positive? I am interested in your opinion. Thanks!