Knowing how to stay positive helps with your outlook and overall sense of wellbeing! Here are tips and ideas to maintain positive vibes.

Hello, there! If you’ve stumbled upon this discussion on how to stay positive I imagine you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the negativity that surrounds us. And personally? I’m right there with you.

Life has been hectic, murky and downright painful of late. But despite it all, I’ve really been trying to make a conscious effort to stay positive and not allow myself to be completely weighed down. I can’t look you in the eye and tell it’s easy because that would be a downright lie. Sometimes it feels truly impossible but at heart – I do believe happiness is something I can take intentional steps to achieve no matter what’s going on in my life and the outside world.

POSITIVE THINKING IS POSITIVE POWER

Fact is everyone has crap their dealing with in their life. A toxic relationship, trouble in the workplace, chronic health problems, financial struggles, family issues – the list goes on. And that doesn’t even begin to include all the problems in the outside world that hits on in the face every day.

We do have the power to control every aspect of life — but we DO have the power to control the way we react. That’s something that really stands out to me the older that I get. From that I try to hold myself accountable for my actions and my thoughts because I realize that they’re the central framework for how I move through life. It’s not a flawless process but controlling my reactions is the best defense I have against negativity influencing my overall outlook.

Choosing to respond and embrace negativity is in many ways like laying yourself down on the road and giving up. But rest assured — life will not stop for you. The world will keep going on so it’s best to equip yourself with the best mindset possible to keep moving forward with it.

HOW TO STAY POSITIVE

For better or worse, when life beats me down – there are several things I do to force myself to snap out of it and get back to thinking on the bright side. Here are my go-t0 habits to help maintain a positive outlook.

GRATITUDE JOURNAL

When I first started hearing about people keep daily gratitude journals I thought it was a pretty cheesy practice. Then I started jotting down things I was grateful for and soon realized that it is an excellent way to shift your mindset into a more positive direction. Big or small, no matter what is happening in your life at the moment there are bound to be at least 5 things you can give gratitude for daily. Health, nature, a job, people who love you, a pet — the sky’s the limit.

PSST: If you’re looking for a place to express gratitude — shop the DreaminLace gratitude journal on Amazon, here.

EXERCISE

There are of course loads of physical and mental health benefits to getting active and breaking a sweat — but exercise is also helpful for maintaining the positive vibes. Be it working through anger or frustration during an intense session at the gym or breathing and tuning inward while practicing yoga. However you prefer to get moving, rest assured it’s going to make a positive difference!

SPEND TIME IN NATURE

Believe it or not – it’s a scientific fact that spending time in nature has a positive effect on your mindset and overall wellbeing. There’s even an excellent book by Florence Williams that explains the psychology behind spending time outdoors. While in nature, your body’s endorphins and dopamine levels will naturally rise creating a calm feeling of happiness.

Get outside for a walk. Watch the birds. Take in the sunset. Walk barefoot in the grass. These are all great ways to ground yourself and create a positive mindset.

BREATHING

Sounds simple, right? But you’d be surprised how much 5 to 15 minutes of breathing and meditation can turn things around. My favorite tool is the Calm app but there are also loads of outstanding guided breathing exercises on YouTube you can engage in if you need some help.

Square breathing is also an outstanding way to not just shift your mindset but also reset your central nervous system if you’re feeing anxious or overwhelmed.

To do so: breath in for four seconds, hold for seconds, breathe out for four seconds and then hold for another four seconds before repeating.

DON’T ALLOW OTHERS TO BRING YOU DOWN

The famous saying “misery loves company” is unfortunately true — but it doesn’t mean you must fall prey to someone else’s negativity. To keep yourself from being sucked in and dragged down — take a step back when you observe others behaving negatively and separate yourself form the situation. Practice something positive in solitary like spending time in nature, breathing or exercising — or connect with more positive people in your life.

RECOGNIZE YOUR STRENGTH

We’ve all been dealt a bad hand in life before and we’re surely all going to be dealt a bad hand again in the future. Life isn’t always fair and at these tough moments its easy to cave to negativity feelings of anger and resentment. But you are stronger than you give yourself credit for and a great way to remember this is to spend some time reflecting on all the hardships you’ve already survived in life. Remind yourself of your own strength!

DO SOMETHING YOU LOVE EVERY DAY

There’s a lot of discussion about the importance of taking time to care for yourself and that is vitally important. It’s also important to take pride in the things you love and allow yourself to allot time for them. Pursue passion projects that give you a sense of purpose as well as happiness, watch a favorite television show, dance to your favorite music, go to a movie, enjoy a dinner night out with friends and find a reason to laugh.

ALLOW YOURSELF A 15 MINUTE PITY PARTY – MAX!

This last tip might be a bit surprise when it comes to how to stay positive — but believe me, it works! When I feel my most defeated and weighed down I know it’s time to take pause and just mope for a while. Sometimes I cry, sometimes I scream into a pillow or at the top of my lungs while driving. Other times I just mope. This practice brings such a calming sense of release – creating space for positivity.

Thank you for reading! I sincerely hope this discussion on how to stay positive is helpful to you. Sending love! x

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