How to stay positive on negative days
Apr 29th, 2008 by spaceagesage
One of my readers commented:
I recently chose and printed a few key affirmations and put them where I see them every day. But some days I look at them, feel like thay are so not happening, and get VERY discouraged. Any advice for feeling positive when I’m not really feeling positive?
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So, in answer to this question, here are some things that help me:
- Eat right — junk food can make my brain foggy and thus less able to stay pumped up and positive.
- Exercise and sunshine — both increase more positive thoughts
- Energize — with friends, funny movies, a motivational book, or a walk in a nice outdoor area.
- Realize there will be down moments, but stay focused on the goals — keep moving forward, and refuse to beat yourself up with guilt. Some of us have to hit bottom to move up again, but not all of us. We make the choices! Dyer says: Change your thoughts, change your life.
- Use personality type information to find out why you are wired the way you are — I like the Enneagram system of nine types. I learned from my personality type what my natural pitfalls of negativity are. Being armed with knowledge instead of feeling overwhelmed or clueless is very helpful to me.
- Focus on what is directly in front of you — to bring you into the here and now. Avoid letting the mind drift into introspective negativity, which for me makes my eyes go unfocused in thought. When I go into negative thoughts about the past or worries about the future, my mind can spiral downward, so I try to bust that cycle up as often as I can and replace it with at least the effort of being fully in the present moment.
- Develop and rely on a relationship with God — I know that being a Christian does not give me a Get-out-of-pain-and-negativity-free card, but I do know that it means all things work to the good and that this life is not all there is.
- Daily — when waking, think of something or someone you are thankful for. When falling asleep, remember the successes of the day, no matter how small.
- Totally bust it up –Give your negativity and thoughts of inner turmoil and doubt the shock treatment by chucking it all for a moment or two while you plan and implement a really nice act of kindness for someone else, even if it is a complete stranger. You will be amazed how fun life can be when you secretly pay the bill for someone else’s breakfast or coffee.
Can you add anything to the list to help my reader out?
i got one!
forgive yourself for your bad mood!
check that you’re not being a perfectionist about your quest for contentment.
indulge your funk w some dark chocolate and allow the bad mood to wash over you.
remember you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have rotten times. ride it out.
catty — good one! Thanks for the reminder that “It Happens!”
Thanks to both of you for a great list of long-term and short-term solutions to pick from!