Four Ways to Maintain Positivity In Your Life

Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling

With all the negativity in the world today, it can be difficult to maintain a positive attitude on a daily basis. Constantly being faced with life’s challenges, negative attitudes, and bad circumstances can often leave you feeling in a bad mood overall. Over time, these bad days can turn into you feeling disappointed, depressed, stressed, and anxious for months or even years. While it is cliche, a positive mindset can make a world of a difference when it comes to your mental health. By learning how to manage negativity through a more positive lens, you will be able to grow as an individual, move past the negativity, and become happier in the process. Below are a few tips that aid in maintaining a positive mindset even when it feels like everything in your life is negative.

Spotlight The Positives

Anyone can get caught up in the constant negativity coming from the news, work, home, your significant other, etc. All humans are programmed to hold onto and focus on negativity, therefore the positives that happen on a daily basis can be overlooked. Try writing down two positive things every day that you are proud of yourself for, have accomplished, or have experienced that day. It may be difficult to come up with them at times but there are always positive things in our lives that get overlooked each and every day.

Use More Positive Words

You may not be aware of it, but we can use language that is incredibly negative. You may use phrases such as, “I can’t”, “It’s impossible”, “I am not good enough” which you may begin to believe about yourself over time. Try replacing the negative words and phrases with positive ones such as “I will do my best”, “I know I can do it”, “I am proud of myself for x”. Using positive words helps you be more mindful of when you are being negative and turns your attitude into a more positive one.

Redirect Your Thoughts

Redirecting your thoughts is a technique that is used in therapy all the time. You are in charge of your own thoughts, therefore, when they begin down a negative route it is within your power to challenge them. When you begin to feel down or anxious guide those thoughts into the present moment. Rather than focusing on the negative, begin to focus on a positive place, memory, or affirmation to keep you going in a more positive direction.

Forgive Yourself

When things in life go wrong, it can be easy to blame yourself, call yourself “stupid”, and dwell on what went wrong. Constantly beating yourself up about things that went wrong won’t change anything. Try to forgive yourself as you would forgive a family member or best friend. Showing yourself some forgiveness helps you let go of some of the negativity you may be holding on to.

If you have a highly negative mindset and would like some support to challenge it, it may be useful to connect with a therapist. Contact Symmetry Counseling at 312-578-9990 to set up an appointment with one of our very skilled therapists today!