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It can be tough to be positive sometimes. Some days and even some years, nothing goes your way. You might be working harder than anyone you know and seeing fewer results, or you may be dealing with some truly serious life issues, such as problems within your family or with your health. However, there are good reasons to try to be more positive. When you take on this attitude, you feel more in control of situations, and in turn, you are less likely to blame others or relinquish your power to change things. Positivity can help you stay motivated and focused and make the best of even tough times. The tips below can help you get started.
Make Space
First, it’s important to understand that positivity doesn’t have to mean denying all your negative emotions. Those need to get the chance to be expressed as well, and sometimes, there’s nothing like a good venting session with a friend or a coworker to blow off some steam. Positivity is not about constantly spreading relentless sunshine but about your overall outlook, putting things in perspective, and avoiding catastrophizing. One way to honor the negative feelings without letting them overwhelm you is by compartmentalizing them. Give yourself ten minutes or an hour or even a day to feel all the bad things that you feel about a situation, but tell yourself that at the end of that time, you have to put those feelings away and refocus.
Problem Solve
Just having good thoughts about a situation is unfortunately not enough to turn it around, so you will need to train yourself to problem solve. Let’s say you have been thinking about going to college. A negative person might look at the cost of tuition and say something like they might have expected that it’s too expensive, nothing ever works out, or their life is never going to get any better. A positive person would look at that same figure and ask themselves how to get the money. There are many resources that can help you pay for college, including federal loans, grants, and scholarships. You can also apply for a private student loan, which is not need-based like federal loans are and might be faster and easier to apply for. Over time, you will find that this kind of problem-solving will become second nature to you.
Gratitude and Affirmations
Gratitude and affirmations don’t work for everyone, but they can be a way to redefine self-care, and if they work for you, they can also be a great way to remind yourself of the good things in your life. You can practice gratitude and affirmations in many different ways. You can keep a journal where you write down a certain number of things each day that you are grateful for, or you can set aside a minute or two in the morning to say positive things to yourself. A great way to think about affirmations is to imagine what you would say to a dear friend or beloved family member. In our own self-talk, we are often much harder on ourselves than we would dream of being with someone else that we cared for.
