There are a lot of reasons to try to be more positive. It can help you deal with stress better and feel more motivated. You can’t always make good things happen to you simply by being positive, but you can weather the bad things better. The tips below can help you bring more positivity into your life.
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Think Gratitude
Maybe you’ve never considered this approach, or maybe you have heard people talk about things like gratitude journals so much that the concept has lost its meaning. The truth is that making a habit of expressing gratitude regularly really can make you feel better by reminding you of what is valuable in your life. It can be easy to take the good things around you for granted. Making a regular practice of gratitude also forces you to notice the good things when everything else seems bad, even when they are small things. For example, taking a moment in the middle of a bad day to do an outdoor activity or enjoy a cup of coffee can create small but significant pleasures.
Reframe Your Thinking
How do you react to disappointment? Do you say things to yourself like, “this always happens to me,” or “I’ll never get what I want”? Do you tend to leap to assumptions when things don’t go your way about how nothing will ever get better? When you find yourself doing this, counter those negative thoughts. Instead of “this always happens to me,” for example, you could think “that didn’t go the way I wanted it to, but I can work on my public speaking and do better next time.”
Give Yourself Rewards
It’s a lot easier to think positive if you can enjoy some tangible rewards from time to time. Give yourself something special when you’re accomplished something or gotten through a difficult challenge. What you give yourself will vary based on your personal situation. For example, if you’re rewarding yourself for sticking to your budget, the reward probably shouldn’t be buying something, but you could give yourself some time to do something you enjoy.
On the other hand, as long as your challenge isn’t about spending, then you might want to get yourself a treat. For example, if you enjoy vaping, you might want to consider buying yourself a Mighty vaporizer, which has set the standard for portable vaporizers over the past six years. It’s easy to use and offers a stellar vaping experience, and it’s also selling fast, so you could get yourself one while it’s still available. Other ways to treat yourself could be spending time with a friend, playing a video game you enjoy or giving yourself a spa day.
Be Patient
If you aren’t careful, the struggle to be positive can, ironically, make you feel negative. The reason is that you may set your standards too high. You might be angry or frustrated at yourself for not remembering to be grateful or for reacting negatively to something that happens. Remember that you can’t change your thought patterns and how you react to things all at once. Even noticing when you are being unnecessarily negative is a victory. Go easy on yourself, and don’t expect to change overnight.
