5 Ways to Keeping Positive

“An entire sea of water cannot sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship.  Similarly, the negativity of the world cannot get you down unless you allow it to get inside of you!”
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The world is a hard place to function at our highest level with so much negativity constantly swirling around us.  Avoiding negativity completely is impossible yet there is a lot we can do to limit our exposure and stop the negativity from getting inside. 

Too often though we get stuck in the negatives, dwelling on failures much more than our gains.  Most of us are conditioned to lean toward the negative.  And some studies have shown that it is a lot easier for people to dwell on and accept the bad than the good.  It is also proven that once we view something as negative, that negativity gets “stuck”, and the ability to view that same thing in a different way becomes very difficult. 

Understanding this reality that the negative can come quicker, and sticks easier and longer helps us realize we must begin the process of staying positive.  Remaining positive requires work but is well worth it.  Here are 5 simple ways to keeping more positive. 

The first thing we can do is avoid inviting negativity into our life.  Knowing that the negative is hard to shake, we can remove our exposure to it.  For example, not long ago I subscribed to a news feed so that I could keep up with what was going on in the world. Though I was better informed with daily updates, I realized how negative the news was and that I was reading it nearly every morning.  This bad news instantly brought negativity to my day.  I’ve noticed a difference since unsubscribing to the news feed.  Much like this simple example, we often innocently invite negativity into our life.  Look for ways to eliminate the negative form your life and seek opportunities to surround yourself with the positive.            

Another way to stay positive is to express gratitude.  Something as simple as training ourselves to make a daily list of things we are grateful for can help clear our minds of negative thoughts and help us stay grounded in the good. 

Another way to thwart out the negative is to share good news with others.  Too often when we talk we are sharing something negative.  Try hard to become aware of what you are sharing and frequently share the good.  Doing so has a positive effect not only on you but others as well. 

Smiling more is another simple way.  I know to some this may sound silly but making a conscious effort to smile more will help you stay positive and energized.  

One last thing we can do is forgive others.  Many of us are holding on to grudges or injustices in our life which only produce negativity.  Let these things go as they are never worth the energy and bad feelings they produce. 

Finally, there are many negative things that we do that we are told are helpful but usually aren’t.  One common one is venting or sharing our frustrations with others.  People sometimes say that getting it out and laying it on the table helps but venting normally does not do anyone any good.  Instead it trains our minds to focus on the bad and often leads us to exaggerate and feel worse than we had originally felt in the first place.  It also can bring the person down with whom we are sharing the information with. 

So remember, once we focus on the negative it gets stuck and makes it hard for us to reverse our perspective and our course.  It is a lot easier for us to just stay positive by expressing our gratitude, sharing good news, smiling, forgiving, and avoiding the negative.  Though we are conditioned toward the negative, let’s focus on the positive.  After all, we can’t be sunk by it if we never allow it to get inside.