Last Updated on May 26, 2023 by Lori
Learn the 10 actions you can take right away to develop – and keep – a positive attitude, no matter what life tosses in your direction.
Do you consider yourself to be a positive person? A glass-half-full type? A roll-with-the-punches, don’t-sweat-the-small-stuff, life is good kind of woman? Or do you feel you need to work on being a more positive person who looks on the bright side of life?
Your general outlook can raise or lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, and stress levels. It can make you feel like it’s difficult to get anything accomplished, make you sick more easily, and challenge your strength when facing adversity.
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The good news is that anyone can infuse positivity into their lives.
The power of positive thinking may sound cliché, but it is a real thing! Fortunately, we can teach ourselves to think with greater positivity.
If you want to be a more positive person, choose to become one.
Your life perspective is not locked in stone.
Work these 10 actions into your everyday life, and watch how your perspective changes to a more positive outlook.
“A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.”
Wade Boggs
How to Develop (and Keep!) a Positive Attitude
Action Step #1. Practice Gratitude
Each night before going to bed, think of (or better yet, write down) 1-3 things you’re grateful for from that day. You can jot these down in a notebook or a positivity journal.
These things may be small: a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Or they may be something bigger: praise from the boss for an excellent project you completed.
It really does not matter what you are grateful for, it matters that you pay attention and find things in your life to appreciate on a daily basis.
Make it a habit to seek out opportunities to be grateful, and you’ll soon spot them all around you.
Action Step #2. Turn Failures into Lessons
Acknowledging that no one is perfect puts things into perspective.
You (like everyone else) are going to make lots of mistakes in your life.
Probably some every day.
Instead of focusing on your mistakes and feeling like a failure, consider each mistake to be a learning opportunity. Take the time to break down what went wrong. Not so you can berate yourself, but so that you can learn from it.
You cannot succeed without failing sometimes. It’s part of the framework, so make it work for you.
Learn to see failures as chances to grow and improve, and they won’t be so overwhelming and terrifying in the future. Embrace them – growth is a good thing!
Action Step #3. Find Positive Friends
Surrounding yourself with people who are grounded and upbeat helps you maintain a positive outlook.
Negativity is contagious.
So is positivity.
Choose your friends wisely.
Action Step #4. Seek Humor
Laughter signals the brain to release serotonin, the “feel good” hormone.
Make it a point to find things to laugh about on a daily basis, such as watching a sitcom, or playing a silly game with friends, or watching children at play in the park.
Allow your natural laughter to improve your mood. Learn to seek opportunities to laugh.
Action Step #5. Assess What You’d Like to Change
What is it about your life that makes you feel negative? Are you unhappy with your relationship, your job, your finances?
Seek clarity.
This isn’t always the easiest thing to do at first. You may resist the introspection because once you understand what isn’t working for you – it becomes your responsibility to make changes, and that can be frightening.
You may find that this analysis requires several attempts over time, but it will get results and you’ll feel empowered.
Many things can be affecting the level of negativity in your life and once you put your finger on it, you can consciously change it for the better.
Action Step #6. Start Each Day with a Positive Affirmation
The goal of affirmations is to change the way you think about yourself.
Begin your day on a positive note by recognizing that good things can and will happen throughout your day.
Find several affirmations that feel meaningful to you, and start your day by speaking them into the mirror or writing them in a journal. Repeat them until you believe them to be true.
Action Step #7. Recognize and Stop Your Negative Thoughts
Observe your thought patterns. Take notes each time you find yourself focusing on the negative. Become aware of your negative self-talk or when you find yourself being overly critical or judgmental. Then, rephrase those thoughts into positive or supportive terms.
Learning to recognize and then stop negative thoughts can be difficult at first. Keep at it.
Action Step #8. Find Something You Love to Do
Hobbies are something we don’t hear of too much these days since we’re all so busy. But taking the time to engage in something you’re good at and actually enjoy fills you with a sense of joy and fulfillment.
Pick up the old hobbies that you used to do, or find new ones that you’ve never tried. It will boost your happiness, your creativity, and your learning skills.
Action Step #9. Live a Healthy Lifestyle
Eat right, exercise regularly, and get a night of good sleep and you’ll see a definite boost in your mood.
The increased strength and energy you’ll feel will boost your confidence and help you see things in a brighter, more positive light.
Action Step #10. Understand that Practice Makes Perfect
Reinforcing positive living requires practice.
The more consistently you practice these steps, the more positive you will become.
Then, one day in the midst of a crisis, you’ll find that the first thing that comes to your mind is not what has gone wrong, but how you can change your attitude in order to best cope with the situation.
Read More:
- 101 Ways to Choose Happiness Today
- 7 Proven Ways to Have a Happier Life
- Positivity Blogs Sure to Boost Your Happiness
- Happy Little Products You Can Shop for Online
Final Thoughts on How to Be Happy: 10 Secrets to Living Life on the Sunny Side
No one ever said life was easy.
There will be times when any one of us gets overwhelmed with what life throws our way. But it’s up to us to decide how we’ll come out the other end.
We have choices.
We cannot always control our circumstances, but we can learn to develop a positive attitude regardless of what life brings our way.
When life brings you lemons, do you bite the fruit or do you make lemonade?
