Life is not easy. We all face negative situations from time to time. Countering all the negativity surrounding us through positivity is something that we hear all the time. To stay positive, you need to first understand what it means to stay positive? Positivity is not limited to happiness. It is much more than that, in fact, you can stay positive even during the most challenging life situations. In short, positivity can be defined as being hopeful and having confidence in your ability to handle and bear whatever life throws at you without beating yourself up.
According to scientific research, our brain is capable of positive emotional thinking. These emotions have a good effect on our bodies. In order to adopt a positive approach to life, we need to rewire ourselves to respond to negative situations. This will help us to think positively and have a new and improved approach towards life.
12 Ways to Stay Positive
Staying positive is not that difficult as it’s thought to be. Here are 12 ways to help you work towards a positive approach to life.
1. Try to find a bright side of everything
You are not always in control of different life situations. However, what you can always control is the way you look and react to different situations. Instead of looking at the negative side, try to find positive aspects in everything that happens. If you keep practicing, you will soon be a glass half full person. For instance: when stuck in a traffic jam and getting angry, consider it as a chance to practice patience.
2. Be Content & Thankful
Develop gratitude. It is impossible to feel sad when you are content and thankful for all your blessings. Even when you are faced with the most difficult and frustrating life situations, think about how worse it could still have been and focus on what you have instead of what you don’t have.
Scientific research suggests that your brain always focuses on the negativity surrounding you such as failures and worries etc. However, this can be changed by focusing on good things. Make a list of things that you are grateful for and make it your habit to go through it once in a while to feel content. This would always make you feel better.
3. Join a Positive Support Group
Surround yourself with positivity and one of the best ways to do this is to join some positive support group. You will meet like-minded people in such groups which would help you to stay positive in negative life situations. Stay away from people who bring your morale down. You can also spend time doing productive things such as reading a book, helping someone out, listening to something motivational, etc.
4. Engage in Physical Activity
According to research conducted by the University of Toronto, engaging in physical activity helps in fighting all the negativity in your brain. Physical activity such as daily exercise helps to release positive endorphins which lifts up your mood. In short, exercise helps to keep you in shape while enhancing your self-esteem.
5. Focus on our Experience instead of Materialistic Items
According to Psychologists, focusing on a good experience and memory keeps our brain healthy rather than material items. Never compare yourself. Treasuring memories provide a life long happiness, whereas looking at a better job or a possession after making a purchase destroys the initial happiness.
6. Be Helpful to People Around You
Lifting others up and charity enhances you spiritually. Buying a big car and house turns yellow at some point in life. But helping those in need around us is evergreen and also makes us realize the blessings that we may take for granted on a daily basis.
Researches also suggest that dedicating your time and money to help your surroundings automatically changes your focus to positivity which has a powerful impact on your happiness.
7. Stay in Touch with Nature
Nature helps us to think positively. Today, when we all are busy with hectic life routines that revolve around desk-bound jobs, it has become more important to keep in touch with nature to increase our energy, mood, and work productivity. You can also keep plants at your home in case you are not able to go outside.
8. How About Some Meditation?
Meditation will improve your focus, attention, clarity, and will keep your mind calm. It keeps you from stressing out and helps to stay happy in the long run. It is beneficial for both the body and mind.
Meditation is like an exercise. It is one of the best physical activities that you can engage in to enhance your attention span, focus, and peace of mind. It affects both your mind and soul positively. Meditation increases your focus which helps to concentrate on important things, forgetting the past and stressing over the future.
9. Good Night Sleep
Sleep is critical to staying positive. The Hippocampus, a part of your brain is responsible for producing happy thoughts. If you are sleep deprived, it starts malfunctioning and as a result, you become vulnerable to all the negativity around you. As a human being, your body needs complete and proper rest to recover from the physical workout of the day. You can also practice natural remedies to improve your sleep. People who sleep appropriately feel less angry and stressed.
10. Express yourself instead of holding emotions inside
Different situations happen in everyone’s life from time to time. Instead of holding emotions inside yourself, learn to express those emotions. This way you will feel relieved. Find someone trustworthy to talk to. However, if you are unable to confide in someone, write down everything that happens to get it out of your system.
11. Don’t Beat Yourself
Retrain your mind and stop beating yourself up every time something wrong happens. You can always rewire your brain to stop questioning you in tough situations. Avoid talking negatively to yourself or else you will fall prey to it.
Focus on positive thinking and practice it whenever some negativity happens in your life. This would rewire your brain into thinking positively automatically in frustrating situations!
12. Accept Reality and Solve Problems
Most of you are not open to changes in life. You need to have a realistic mindset and accept change as part of life. We as humans continuously go through change on a daily basis and cannot resist it. Last but not the least, think in terms of solutions to solve your life problems. Instead of breaking down during tough times, focus on solving your problem. Always remember that when your brain is wired to focus on being positive, nothing will break you down.
Conclusion
Staying positive is full of emotional and physical health benefits. If you are struggling with life and turning into a pessimist, don’t lose hope. You can always change your behaviour by applying the above-mentioned tips and start living a positive and happy life you are meant to do so.
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