Mute the negativity

Credit to the Angel

We are surrounded by negativity. If it wasn’t bad enough that most of us were cursed by a preponderance of negative self-talk, we are also inundated with negative messages seemingly wherever we turn -- the news, social media and even gossip at the water cooler.

The truth is that its human nature to be more attentive to negative content, and research shows that the average human is more physiologically activated by negative (rather than positive) news, for example. But just because we might get a rouse out of it doesn’t make it right.

In fact, negativity not only limits our potential, it also has a real tangible effect on our health. Research has shown that people who cultivate negative energy experience more stress, more sickness and less opportunity over the course of their lives than those who choose to live positively.

Although it’s not possible to completely eliminate negativity, the key to becoming more positive is to limit the amount of negativity that we experience by filling ourselves up with more positivity. Here are some ways to get rid of negativity and become more positive.

• Be grateful for everything. When we practice gratitude regularly and appreciate everything in our lives -- from the roof over our head to the car that gets us from A to B to the daily struggles that refine us -- we shift our attitude from selfishness and entitlement to one of appreciation. The crazy thing is that we begin to receive more of what we’re grateful for because we’ve opened ourselves up to the idea of receiving instead of taking.
• Laugh more. Quit taking life -- and yourself -- so seriously. Laugh more, especially at yourself. When you’re serious all the time, it often results in negative and performance-oriented thinking.
• Help others. Negativity and selfishness are partners in crime. On the other hand, positivity goes hand-in-hand with purpose, and the most basic way to create purpose and positivity in your life is to embrace a servant mindset and do things for others. As Albert Einstein said, “A person starts to live when he can live outside himself.
• Change your thinking. Change starts from within. If you want to become more positive, be more mindful of your thoughts and how you talk to yourself. There’s arguably no one harder on you than you, and a stream of negative self-talk is corrosive to a positive life.
• Surround yourself with positive people. They say that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time around. What does your inner circle look like? Are they feeding you encouraging, positive feedback? Or, are they contaminating you with negative, withering talk and thoughts? Becoming more positive may mean cutting out the negative people in your life, and it may also mean taking time off from social media, which tends to be a negativity hotbed.
• Don’t be the victim. Take full responsibility and stop playing the victim. You and only you are responsible for your thoughts. People that consistently believe that things happen to them handicap themselves to a victim mentality. Taking full responsibility for your life, your thoughts and your actions are one of the biggest steps in creating a more positive life.

Make positive choices in favor of yourself.