How positivity can Change your life

[newness]

I have found that looking at the glass as half full instead of half empty has went a long way in improving my sense of well being.

 

I stopped letting other people's negativity and attitudes decide for me how I would feel.

 

I count my blessings and look forward to the future.

 

I concentrate on the things that make me happy.

 

My stress and anxiety level has improved greatly and my blood pressure has went down.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on being a positive person?

 

One thing that helps me is to send myself positive messages. I read positive quotes and I use affirmations.

[Buddhist]

I tried this about 15yrs ago, and when I say tried I diligently practised it for a period of around 5yrs. It actually precipitated one of the most horrendous bouts of depression of my life. I personally found that putting a smiley sticker on the less desirable aspects of life sent me on a road to hell because it was all about denial. It was the first time I tried to take my own life. There have been other attempts since.

 

No, this does not work for me. But if it works for you, all power to you.

[whichwayisup]

I have found that looking at the glass as half full instead of half empty has went a long way in improving my sense of well being.

 

I stopped letting other people's negativity and attitudes decide for me how I would feel.

 

I count my blessings and look forward to the future.

 

I concentrate on the things that make me happy.

 

My stress and anxiety level has improved greatly and my blood pressure has went down.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on being a positive person?

 

One thing that helps me is to send myself positive messages. I read positive quotes and I use affirmations.

 

Great post! I agree with everything you've said! Being kind and loving to yourself, no negative talk! Not complaining about stuff for too long (it's okay to do once in a while for 20 minutes to get it out, no one wants to hear a downer convo often and pity party). Having humour and looking half full is good too.

 

Being around happy and positive people, stop spending time with those who bring you down, make you feel blah about yourself, and toxic people, energy zappers who steal your energy or use you (takers and rarely give back).

 

Meditation, yoga and pampering oneself!

 

Of course when rough times hit and bad feelings are there, don't deny them. Embrace them and just know that life will get better. Ask for help and thank friends and family for their love and support.

 

Nobody is happy go lucky ALL the time but the main goal is to be happy many of times.

Edited March 22, 2016 by whichwayisup

[burnt]

OMG, you are so partial about thinking positive

You have such a negative attitude towards thinking negative.

 

So, here's…to add your hopeful optimism:

 

You know what a pessimist is? Someone who had to listen to way too many optimists.

 

I'm a pessimistic optimist: I hope for the worst--that way, things can only get better.

 

But seriously, don't discourage pessimism,

because society needs both; optimists invented airplanes and pessimists invented parachutes.

 

And here's my favorite:

pessimist: Oh this misery can NOT get any worse!

optimist: YES, it can

 

(full disclosure: I stole all the above from he web)

[SpiralOut]

I agree with this somewhat. It's important to choose positive people to be around, and to limit the amount of complaining you do, and to focus on solutions. That's fine. It only becomes a problem if we look at the half-full aspect while pretending the half-empty part isn't there. I've done this in the past. I walked around putting on this "I'm a positive person!" act, when really I had all sorts of anger and resentment underneath that I wasn't acknowledging. I was so determined to never feel depressed again that I acted super happy and didn't notice the depression when it did come back. Overlooking it caused more harm than good.

 

Anyway, I don't mean to knock your POV. If it works for you that's great. I just don't see negativity as being completely bad. I feel more at peace now that I've accepted that part of me. I see it as half-full AND half-empty. Hey, maybe that counts as my way of looking at the empty half in a positive light.

[Heatemyheart89]

I think for me, instead of discounting negativity completely I am just focusing on how I can control my own life. Sure bad things happen but the whole world is not conspiring against me personally.

[The_Dork_Lard]

Does anyone have any thoughts on being a positive person?

 

Yes, I have, and it's something that's taken me most of my life to understand, and reach.

 

Inversion. I'd like to talk about inversion.

 

When I'm at work, I notice 99% of the people are negative. I always hear comments such as "we're just numbers to them" or "they only enforce the policies when it suits them" (meaning the company), or sarcastic stuff such as "I'm having so much fun today".

 

It's as if they begin with the expectation that everybody else should cater to their happiness, or state of mind. The forklift driver who feels pressured at the number of trucks coming in says angrily "don't they know we're understaffed?". Well, no, and they don't care anyway. They're a business, and their central concern is not your comfort, it's their profit - that's how the world works. Self interest buddy. Or perhaps take the example of a coworker you've asked about how they're doing, and they sarcastically reply "I'm living the dream, mate". Well, the only reason you're not living your dream is because you haven't done anything to begin creating it. So it's your f****** fault. Stop spreading your negative vibes onto me because of your own failings plz. k thnx bai.

 

It often gets me down living in a vortex of negativity (irony of this post noted).

 

So I decided long ago to invert everything. What do I mean by this?

 

Well, they start their days with the expectation that everything will, or should, go smoothly for them, and that everyday should be an easy day with no pressure or challenges. They get upset at the first snag. It saturates their soul. It zaps their spirit. I've seen good men turn into shells of themselves because of it.

 

So I decided to start every day with the assumption and expectation that nothing at all will, or should, go smoothly for me, that nobody gives a flying f*** about me, my comfort, or my state of mind. I start my day aware of my place. I start my day aware that the world is indifferent and cold to my plight. I start my day aware that I'm an significant speck of dust whose life is but the blink of an eye, cosmologically speaking. I conceive of myself as a cog in a machine, like we all are. I go into work everyday with the expectation that I won't be doing the job I expect to do, that I'll be told I've been made redundant, or that my cushy shift pattern has changed. I EXPECT it.

 

But it never happens.

 

It never comes.

 

So, I can only be either satisfied (if either of these things were to happen because I expected them anyway), or pleasantly surprised (if none of these things happen). As the vast majority of the time these things never happen, I'm mostly pleasantly surprised. That's a positive thing, right?

 

I expect a torrent of crap in every working day. The worst torrent imaginable, and I'm ready for it. I'm ready to tackle it head on, and work through it methodically. It rarely happens, and when it does? I see it as a challenge to which I rise to. And if I can't rise to it? Then the system collapses and the management have to assess why, and they realise they're short on manpower. I still get paid the same.

 

The same logic can be extended to all areas of life.

 

For example, one can completely eliminate road rage by expecting everybody else to be discourteous, dangerous, and disrespectful. Expect the idiot behind you to tailgate you. You'll then be pleasantly surprised at the number of people who DON'T tailgate you. Most actually don't. When you've got a green light, expect the idiot coming the other way to jump their red light. When they do (which occasionally happens) you'll feel warm inside because you anticipated it, and you avoided a potential fatality through your wisdom and superior maturity.

 

Expect MUCH less form people, and watch your stress and negativity vanish.

 

In my opinion, this is a very positive mindset to adopt, and it works 100% for me. It's turned me from an impatient, angry, negative person, into a patient, calm, and positive person.

 

It takes a few years to master it though.

 

ALWAYS EXPECT LESS, and the nuggets of beauty will shine through when you get more, and that has to be positive, doesn't it?

Edited April 4, 2016 by a LoveShack.org Moderator

[basil67]

The late Peter Brock (race car driver) contributed a degree of his success to his positive attitude. Eg; if the weather was horrendous and other drivers weren't looking forward to the race ahead, he'd be saying "this is gonna be fun!"

[youdunsay]

How can you stay positive such that even when you are not in a relationship or you have no dates, you are still happy and don't go flying off the handle and hating people around you?

[The_Dork_Lard]

How can you stay positive such that even when you are not in a relationship or you have no dates, you are still happy and don't go flying off the handle and hating people around you?

 

By choosing to have a love affair with yourself.

[Buddhist]

Yes, I have, and it's something that's taken me most of my life to understand, and reach.

 

Inversion. I'd like to talk about inversion.

 

It's as if they begin with the expectation that everybody else should cater to their happiness, or state of mind.

 

Stop spreading your negative vibes onto me because of your own failings plz. k thnx bai.

 

So I decided to start every day with the assumption and expectation that nothing at all will, or should, go smoothly for me, that nobody gives a flying f*** about me, my comfort, or my state of mind. I start my day aware of my place. I start my day aware that the world is indifferent and cold to my plight. I start my day aware that I'm an significant speck of dust whose life is but the blink of an eye, cosmologically speaking.

 

The same logic can be extended to all areas of life.

 

Expect MUCH less form people, and watch your stress and negativity vanish.

 

 

This is probably the best post in the entire thread. So much our pain comes down to holding unrealistic expectations of life and then experiencing disappointment when it doesn't happen that way. It's like setting yourself up for constant falls.

 

Whoever sold us the BS load that life was meant to be a joyride full of thrills and happiness was probably smoking something. It's created a culture of people unable to deal with the facts of life which are a lot more sobering. I'm in a more stable place now than before and recognising that humanity is a mass of selfishness and people, myself included, are kettles of neurosis, albeit sometimes interesting ones has made facing reality a hell of a lot easier.

 

My motto is kind of like.....don't expect sanity out there.

[The_Dork_Lard]

 

My motto is kind of like.....don't expect sanity out there.

 

Exactly, and then when you see some, it's more than a pleasant surprise.

[thecrucible]

I don't think always being positive is possible for everyone. I aim to be realistic or a pessimistic optimist which I manage to get towards most of the time. I just find that I'm really emotionally affected by events in my life. Despite being young, I have experienced some hard stuff that's toughened me up. Also I agree about setting expectations. It doesn't mean you have to give up on your dreams. You still pursue your dreams but you find happiness in other areas of your life so that if something doesn't work out well, it doesn't deeply affect your sense of self-worth.

[amaysngrace]

I try to breathe out love to people who may be in need of some. I count my blessings for sure but I like to send happiness, love and mercy to others.

 

I feel like I have more than enough happiness so I try to share.

 

I did this mission thing at my church and I learned that we don't know who we are breathing in at any given time so a good idea is to honor those we breathe in by speaking kindly and lovingly.

 

It's a hard thing for me to do because I'm generally a whiny bitch but I'm trying.

[truthtripper]

I have found that looking at the glass as half full instead of half empty has went a long way in improving my sense of well being.

 

I stopped letting other people's negativity and attitudes decide for me how I would feel.

 

I count my blessings and look forward to the future.

 

I concentrate on the things that make me happy.

 

My stress and anxiety level has improved greatly and my blood pressure has went down.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on being a positive person?

 

One thing that helps me is to send myself positive messages. I read positive quotes and I use affirmations.

Don't forget, happiness and positivity can't exist without sadness and negativity. Trying to be happy all the time will ultimately lead you in the opposite direction. It's important to let yourself experience all the downs as well as the ups, after all, that's life. Not accepting this reflects an inability to deal with life's difficulties and is a form of denial. Not helpful at all.

[truthtripper]

The late Peter Brock (race car driver) contributed a degree of his success to his positive attitude. Eg; if the weather was horrendous and other drivers weren't looking forward to the race ahead, he'd be saying "this is gonna be fun!"

Didn't he die racing? That's ironic.

[truthtripper]

ALWAYS EXPECT LESS,

AND HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOUR(but this doesn't mean condoning abusive/disrespectful behaviour).

[truthtripper]

I try to breathe out love to people who may be in need of some..

I fart on my paedophile grandfather's grave.

[amaysngrace]

I fart on my paedophile grandfather's grave.

 

I'm sorry he didn't like you because of your skin tone.

[Timshel]

'When things go wrong, don't go with them.' Elvis Presley

 

'I am an optimist. It does not seem to be much use being anything else.'

Winston Churchill

 

'I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.' Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl.

 

etc...etc...etc....

[dragonfire13]

It's good you're actively making the choice to be happy. I do think you can train your brain to not wallow in sadness. However, we're human and it's very hard to do this when life is turning out to be very frustrating.

 

Cliched quotes do little to help me, but what I do is just FEEL the disappointment/sadness. Then after a couple of days max I will not let myself be bothered by something, especially if it's beyond my control and especially if, in the grand scheme of things, it's pretty trivial. I guess it helps that I've been through trying times before and I know I'll be able to pick myself up and be happy again.

 

Like another poster has suggested though, I think the good times are all the more sweeter when you've experienced the bad.

 

My two cents.