Stay Positive

You wake in a panic as you realize that your alarm should have gone off 30 minutes ago. In that moment your negativity takes over and you tell yourself that you’re in for a bad day. In your haste you spill coffee on your shirt. Your spouse is giving you a hard time over a household project that you never completed. You finally get out the door only to find yourself sitting in an endless traffic jam. Your boss calls asking where you are, then proceeds to tell you that you’ve just lost your largest client. You may argue that some of these circumstances may be out of your control, but your reaction to them is certainly in your control. You always have the ability to stay positive, sometimes it requires a little discipline.

Whether you believe you can or you believe you can’t, you’re right

If you think your day will be bad, your attention will be drawn to things that justify your outlook. This will cause you to focus on the negative situations you encounter. If instead you have the belief that your day will be amazing, your attention will be drawn to those things that reinforce a positive viewpoint. The bottom line, start your day with the thought that it will be great. Stay positive.

Negativity is the root of unhappiness

Imagine two people with virtually identical life situations. One is happy, the other is miserable. The miserable person looks at life through a lens of negativity, while the happy person sees things from a positive perspective. The negative person experiences more stress, has a more difficult time dealing with life’s challenges, and fails to appreciate his surroundings. The good news is that with a few simple techniques you can overcome negativity.

Appreciate life and the things it offers

Before you get out of bed each morning, find three things for which you are thankful. It’s a great way to get yourself going and it puts you in the mindset of appreciation. As you proceed through your day you will be more tuned into the positive things that are happening around you.

Reframing

When things aren’t going our way, we tend to fall into a mindset of negativity. Reframe your situation. No matter what your circumstances you can find something positive. Put your focus there. Having a trigger can help. When you find yourself heading down that undesirable mental path, flick your wrist and reframe your mind to something more positive.

Eliminate negative influences

If you’ve watched Headline News you know it’s produced by a well-resourced global team, dedicated to uncovering the worst atrocities occurring on the planet. If that isn’t enough, it’s an endless cycle that updates and repeats 24 hours a day. As you watch the negativity, it is being ingested by your subconscious mind. Even as you sleep with the television on, your subconscious is taking it in. We now live in a world where you can choose the type and method of information you receive. News aggregation services like Flipboard search for topics that interest you. Why not choose more positive, uplifting topics?

Limit your exposure to negative people

I’m a firm believer that life is too short to spend time with people that bring you down. Become picky about the people around you. There are plenty of positive people in the world. Seek them out and make it a point to surround yourself with people that bring you up.

Every day you have a choice to make: Do you choose to be positive or negative? Being positive leads to greater happiness, provides health benefits, and helps attract like-minded people to you. Applying some mental discipline can help ensure that you stay positive.