Accentuate The Positive

Staying positive isn't the easiest thing to do these days. But it is SO important. Your health and wellness and that of those around you are dependent on positivity. Negative thinking brings us down and actually lowers our immune system. So we need to be more positive today than ever.

The thoughts/ideas in this post are taken and/or inspired by an article by Gregory L. Jantz, Ph.D., 6 Ways to Become More Positive Today. Perspective is destiny. Here's how to improve yours. Posted Sept. 24, 2014;

He quotes Lao Tzu: "Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."

In each of us are a set of message that play over in our minds. These may be words you heard as a child in your home growing up. Or they may be things you were told in school by bullies or negative teachers. Wherever they came from, they have taken over your thoughts, and like Lao Tzu cautions, they effect your destiny.

Too many of us have negative self-talk created from those messages. And they can create a negativity that creates a dark ripple that moves throughout your life. And you can only see the negative in everything. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that creates difficulty after difficulty and fuels the negativity.  "Many studies confirm the correlation between positive thinking and success."

Here are some ways to interrupt the negativity and replace it with positive thinking.

1.  Practice Gratitude-One of the quickest ways to shift your focus away from negativity, judgment, and disappointment is to list the things in your life for which you are grateful.  Practicing gratefulness can cause almost an immediate shift in your perspective. Keeping a daily gratitude journal, even digitally can help you keep your life's blessing in front of you. "Find a gratitude partner, someone who can support you in your journey to positive thinking. Each day, text, email, or tell each other 3 things for which you are grateful
2. Two Steps Forward-The shifting of your thoughts takes time. So be patient with yourself, and begin by just observing your thoughts. See if you can catch yourself judging other, focusing on failures, complaining, criticizing yourself or your body. When you observe thes thoughts, take a moment to counter each negative thought with two positive observations or gratitudes.
3. Positive Posture-The mind and body are highly connected-each has an impact on the other. If moving your mind into a more positive perspective is a struggle, try mvoing your body there first. Stand up straighter, shoulders back, chin help high, stretch your arms out as wide as they will go. "Feel powerfu. Feel positive. Carry yourself with positive posture encourages your mind to feel more positive as well." 
4. Smile-This also can trick your mind into being more positive. Simply smiling, even if there isn't necessarily anything to smile about, can instantly change the way you feel internally. You will be surprised at how your mind reacts. Practice smiling at a co-worker or stranger. They might smile back. You've just help someone else feel more positive.
5. Ditch the Crabs-Surround yourself with positive people. It is easier to maintain a positive perspective if you are constantly pulled down by the negativity of others. If you find yourself caught in a negative conversation, gracefully try to change the subject to something more positive. If you find yourself surrounded by negative people, it may be time to change your circle of friends to find mor uplifting individuals.
6. Do Something Kind-Rather than get submerged in your own misfortune and forget about the people around you, step outside your regular routine to help someone else. "This can provide an amazing perspective and fill you with positivity." Do random acts of kindness. 

Life isn't always easy. Sometimes it gets really hard. "But it is our own perspective that ultimately determines if we will druge through life puckered and sour, or skip along with a glass of sweet lemonade."

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

About the Author

Gregory L. Jantz, Ph.D., founded The Center for Counseling and Health Resources in Edmonds, Washington.

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Are You Happy?

That's not a question I ask myself often. I wonder what happiness means to you. I don't know that it is a simple all or nothing thing, at least not for me. So I thought I'd explore it a bit. What is Happiness?

For me it is made up of little pieces of happiness that are present even when I don't consciously identify them. Life is a mosaic. Some of the pieces are unhappy but most are not. Most are little bits of positive everyday experiences. I can choose to focus on a bit of negativity (unhappiness) or a bit of positivity (happiness).

That's not to say I should ignore the negative. It gives me information about what needs changed. And if I ignore it I probably won't do anything about it. And if it is negative to me it probably is negative to others. So if I can change it I can then change the experience for others. Yep, I'm back to changing the world again.

You should know that I'm passionate about changing the world for the better. So it doesn't help to ignore the negative. It also doesn't help to ignore the positives, which we often do. How much better our lives are when we acknowledge all the small positives we experience. We enhance our happiness by noticing the pleasure of small things - a drink of water when we are thirsty, the song of a bird outside our window, the breeze on our face when we are hot, the taste of our favorite food.

Accumulating awareness of those small things can keep our happiness charged and our perspective positive.

What small things do you experience as positive? Would you share them in the comments?

Some of my happy moments? Sewing machine needled threaded at first try; big sewing project completed; cat laying in my lap. Now, what are some of yours from your day?