In the heart of the worst time of my life, I found myself in strong need of a change toward positivity, if I wanted to survive--and actually enjoy my life (as much as possible). Some of you may not get even what that means, but if not--be grateful. Regardless, these aren't just things I looked up. If you ask anyone who knows me, at work for example, they'd tell you I'm a super/always positive person. They'd never know my battles. That's because I work at it. I'd like to share with you the tried and true methods I've been using to remain positive.
The ways I keep my positivity when it's not easy:
- surround yourself with positive people. Misery loves company, they say. It's a true story. I made a conscientious effort to avoid negative people at a certain point in my life, and it's been a lifesaver. I find myself naturally in a better mood, in the way I look at things, think about things, talk about things, and react to things.
- surround yourself with verbal reminders of positivity. for example, I have at my work desk a daily calendar with a quote for each day on positivity--motivating and uplifting!
- Be more healthy. I promise, exercise and diet have a significant impact on your level of positivity. The more sedentary I am the more blah I feel. When I'm in a good workout routine (and eating decently) I feel amazing. And I smile at the world. 🤣
- Do things you enjoy. This sounds selfish, and it is, but sometimes you have to be selfish. I do not participate in things anymore that I don't want to. I'm not getting together, going out, or having you over, if you and that activity don't bring me joy. Life is too short to spend your time doing things that feel like chores.
- similar to my last point, but different, do work that you love. It's hard, because you've got to find something, but you have to work doing something you enjoy. We spend too much time at work to not enjoy yourself, or at least not hate life for those 40 hours. It makes a HUGE difference when you do, I promise.
- Fake it till you make it. There's not enough that can be said about this, it's not just a silly cliche saying. For a certain amount of negative thinking, this works wonders. If I find myself in a somewhat bad mood, pretending to the world (and myself) that I'm not helps! Part of this is tricking your brain, part of this is the endorphins that are released when you smile, and part of this is positive feedback. If you're grumpy, you'll bring down those around you--and that comes back. If you're happy, you'll uplift them--and that too comes back.
- last, but most importantly, probably, is to remind yourself that you can only control your attitude, effort, and actions. It's easy to get tied up in the things that are outside of our control, but why?! Nothing will change. Nothing will get better. You'll just become more upset--you'll torment yourself essentially. If you remember the few things you have control over, it's productive in nature and also it helps you to let go of the rest.
Good luck at your attempts to stay positive throughout whatever you've got going on. You won't be disappointed, I promise!
Thanks for stopping by! before you go, tell us...what methods do you have to remain positive in tough times? Drop them in the comments, I'd love to see! Until next time...
mama gnome, a.k.a. Eliza
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