7 Tips to be positive now

How can we be more positive in our everyday life?

Have you ever experienced someone telling you to be positive when things are not going so smoothly for you?

Maybe you lost your job or maybe you broke up with your partner or you need to take care of a sick member in your family?

Well, it’s easier said than done right?

But staying positive doesn't mean being positive every second of your life ( first of all it would actually cause even more damage to suffocate your feelings and pretend they don’t exist),

what we are talking about here is to learn to have a resilient and realistic response as nothing is all negative all the time.

First of all, let's define what being positive is.

Positivity is the ability to identify sunnier moments of relief from negative situations, which not only impact your quality of life but also possibly your longevity.

Studies have shown that positive people tend to have better mental and physical health and also to live longer by an 11-15 % compared to those who practised little positive thinking.

What are some techniques that mental health and psychologist share that can help train our brain to have a brighter outlook

1) Pick a personal mantra ( you need to talk to yourself in a nice encouraging way as you would to your best friend)

Studies have shown that talking to yourself can influence your thoughts feelings and actions especially if you do it in the second or third person.

For example “you can get through this” “you will be OK” obviously this also works if you do it in a negative way towards yourself.

Another way of doing it is to recite a personal powerful mantra to yourself for example ” I deserve to have joy in my life” I am allowed to speak up” or “it is what it is and “when one door closes another and bigger one opens”, this will give you a bit of relief through your challenging situations.

2) Turn your rumination and negative thoughts into a useful problem-solving task.

Instead of fixating yourself on the thing that went wrong focus on the solution, let’s say you didn’t do that well on a job interview and say I can't believe it went like that try and say what can I do to make a better impression next time or to be more prepared?

3) When painful situations happen you want to be kind and compassionate to yourself.

Don’t try to squash your emotions allow yourself to feel them it's not helpful and even harmful in the long run.

a 12-year study by the Harvard school of public health and the University of Rochester found that those who suppressed their emotions were at higher risk of premature death.

4) The energy we put out in the world is the energy we get back, which means that if we are always sending out negative energy that is what we are going to get.

Have you ever had one of those days when you wake up already angry or annoyed or late, and from then on your day transforms into a living hell?

Well, you know what I mean then!

5) Start a gratitude journal.

Never underestimate the power of gratitude!

A study published in the journal of personality and social phycology had 3 groups of people, one group was asked to journal about the things they were grateful for second one about the things not so pleasant to them and the third one about neutral events that they felt neutral about.

Well, guess who after 10 weeks resulted to feel happier and more optimistic?

Exactly, the 1st group, the ones who were grateful and on this, I want to testimony as well because I did it myself and gratitude really changed my mood and made me feel happier for sure!

6) Go outdoors apparently all you need is 17 mins a day in nature to feel the magic and well being. No need to go hiking somewhere.

To benefit from this you can simply take a nice walk around your neighbourhood or at the local park.

And the 7th and last one is one of my personal favourites in this period.

I do this, first thing in the morning, and this really helps me set a positive mood for the whole day.

After all, that’s what the saying “well begun is half done.

7) Dancing to your favourite energetic song!! Or if you prefer to sing loudly one of your favourite songs ever, it's fun what do you have to lose?

Try it!

A song usually lasts 3 or 4 minutes but the benefits are amazing.

Well, that is it my friends, write this list down and start practising one thing for one week and in the end choose your favourite one or maybe you want to do them in turnswhy not? that is also OK.

So today I invite you to answer these questions in the comments if you please.

Have you tried any of this?

Do you have a favourite one?

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BOOKS ON BEING MORE POSITIVE

1) The Power of Positive Thinking BY NORMAN VINCENT PEALE

2) A Year of Positive Thinking: Daily Inspiration, Wisdom, and Courage (A Year of Daily Reflections) Paperback – December 11, 2018

by Cyndie Spiegel (Author)

3) Don't Sweat the Small Stuff . . . and It's All Small Stuff: Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Series) Paperback – January 16, 1997, by Richard Carlson (Author)

P.S. I HAVEN'T READ THEM MYSELF BUT THEY HAVE GREAT RATINGS.

picture credits Unsplash.

Data and article inspired by Oprah Everyday.