Culturally, it seems so easy for us to focus on things that are so painfully negative. We often use the excuse that thinking negative is a more “realistic” point of view than a positive one. But little do we realize that being negative limits our point of view and makes us become narrow-minded.
When I decided to take a step back and look at what I was doing, I noticed that all these negative thoughts and emotions were beginning to consume me and really turn me into a person I was not a fan of. My goal for April was to really try to focus on things that are more positive; choosing to think that the worst outcome isn’t necessarily the only outcome of a situation.
In doing this, there was a few steps I had to take to actually help myself be this better—positive about life person.
Be Patient
“Being patient is not the ability to wait, it’s the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting”
– Joyce Meyer
This generation, in which I can’t avoid that I’m apart of, is so demanding. We expect things to happen instantly and can’t find the time of day for little things. For example: slow wifi drives us insane. As much as we deny it, we can’t help but be completely irritated when waiting longer than 5 seconds for a page to load. It’s the little things that we tend to immediately get so frustrated about. But if we take a step back, breathe, and just take things for what they are, we can make ourselves (and maybe even others) less frustrated.
Realize that this season/moment isn’t permanent
No matter the situation you are in, it helps to grasp the simple idea that this moment isn’t forever. This nightmare that we think we’re living in isn’t going to live with us forever, even though it’s so easy to drown ourselves in this mentality. Once we really truly accept and say to ourselves, “hey- this is happening to me” then we can learn to say “okay- this is not forever.” I’m completely guilty of thinking that awful moments are never-ending. But when we change our attitude and our minds, we can learn to be more accepting of the things that are happening and come to find peace within ourselves.
Learn how to start each day with a grateful heart
As cheesy & cliché as they may sound, this was the one thing I really had to grasp. I decided that I would wake up each morning and think of things I was thankful for whether it be: hey, I’m alive, I have a job, I have food to eat everyday, or I have socks on my feet, it helped me realize that there is so much to be happy and enthusiastic about. Sure, we may wake up with a negative outlook because of something as simple as our alarm not going off, but when these things happen I have to force myself to believe that there is some good and possibility of it being a good day still. If I don’t, I’d end up letting this small moment dictate the way things would be. Lately, I’ve been making a list and really utilizing my planner’s Thankful Thought section to really focus on things that make me happy and thankful to be where I am.
These are just some of the things that have helped me become more positive and realize that negativity comes so easy in our society, but if we learn to really hold onto these positive ideas, we can not only make ourselves better, but also make the world around us a little happier.