How To Be Positive Even When Times Are Tough

Ever notice how the whole world seems against you when times are tough? Or on the flip side, when you wake up on the right side of the bed everything seems to magically come together to your benefit.

The thing is…

Your attitude (whether positive or negative) is a direct reflection of what you predominantly think about.

Research suggests that happiness is a choice that anyone can make. So it’s not the world that treats you differently, it is you who chooses to see the world differently.

As Psychologist William James writes brilliantly:

Tips To Be Positive All The Time

Eat good, wholesome food
What you eat plays a crucial role in how much energy your body produces, which in turn affects your levels of mental energy and focus. According to Mind (a UK-based mental charity), improving your diet alone can give you positive feelings, clearer thinking, calmer moods and more energy. One study found that a vitamin deficiency could cause a decline in mental health leading to stress, anxiety, depression, addictions and other psychological disorders.

Eating a healthy balance of foods rich in vitamins, protein, minerals, fibre and antioxidants can help to increase the cognitive function of your brain, keeping you alert and even lifting your mood.

Exercise regularly
The benefits of regular exercise are not only those visible in the mirror. Studies show that regular exercise is a way of increasing the levels of serotonin in your brain without the use of drugs. Why would you want to increase the levels of serotonin in your brain? Well, serotonin is the chemical in your body which is responsible for maintaining your mood balance. So higher levels of serotonin equal happier days and more stable moods.
Meditate
Most people regard exercise as a no-pain-no-gain venture, so it’s easy to downplay the role of meditation as an exercise of the mind. Meditation in its simplest terms is mindfulness. It doesn’t necessarily require sitting cross-legged and staring into space – all that is required is finding a quiet space in your head. This practice – which can be carried out by anyone, anywhere and at anytime (provided you can clear your head) – has been shown by one study to reduce anxiety. Apart from reducing stress and inducing relaxation, another study has shown that meditation can also change how you perceive and process the world around you. Get your FREE guided meditation download here.
Try Hypnosis
We are capable of a lot more than we give ourselves credit for. The conscious mind can be very limiting, and hypnosis is a great way to awaken it and transcend the limits defined by your conscious mind. Through hypnotherapy, you can reprogram your thoughts and align them towards a more positive path. Hypnosis has been successfully used to tackle addictions, weight gain, stress, physical pain, insomnia and a lot more. Hypnotherapy by a professional can be expensive, so try self-guided hypnosis for FREE here.
Surround yourself with positive people
According to research, stress is contagious and the more you surround yourself with it, the more it is likely to affect your thoughts. Thankfully, studies also show that happiness too is contagious, therefore there is a choice to be made in which of these you want to be affected by. To maintain their positive disposition, positive thinkers surround themselves with people and things that will help that attitude flourish. So, avoid negative people like a plague and make excuses to spend time with positive, optimistic people.
Reflect on positive things
The best way to expand any skill set is to practice habits which reinforce the set of skills. This applies to building a positive mentality as well. The nature of the world we live in today means that our brains react much more intensely to bad news than they do to good news. To override this default setting of the brain, make a habit of spending a few minutes to reflect on those few, positive moments you encounter. Keep a journal, create a vision board and affirm what you have on the board. Record your perception of positive events, the changes you want to see in yourself and the changes you already notice. Review this regularly and tweak them if necessary. You will find that gradually, you will learn to look for the good in situations, and slowly teach your brain to not get overly excited when presented with negative information.
Be positive and grateful
Developing an attitude of thankfulness and gratitude is a scientifically-backed way to create a positive sense of well being, and just like surrounding yourself with positive influence – this is also under your control. Gratitude is one of the most effective ways to shift your focus away from the negative things in your life, towards the positive. According to a study in The Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, grateful people tend to appreciate simple pleasures in life, defined as “those pleasures in life that are available to most people,”. Be grateful to sleep in a bed each night, for access to food, for the opportunity that each day brings, for access to the sun that comes up each morning, for the customer service agent who greets you with a smile, for the people that love and care for you, and for a body that lets you experience life each day.
Speak positively
As with any sort of training, the more you practice, the better you get —and you can practice being positive. If this is new to you, the easiest way to start is to by being positive when reflecting on who you are. Tell yourself you’re awesome. Tell yourself you look good. Tell yourself you did a great job at work or raising your kids or whatever it is you do.

Be honest with yourself, be positive, and do your best to look for the good in you. And, whatever you do, don’t focus on the negative. It’s okay to not like everything about yourself, but don’t focus on what you don’t like. We all have positive attributes, and it’s up to you to remind yourself of them every day.