HOW TO STAY POSITIVE

The most common thing that we hear each and every time is to stay positive. But the question that
comes in every body's mind is that how to do it. Amidst the chaos and uncertainty, that prevails modern
day life, positivity seems a challenge. This term "positive"is a broader one, which includes one's
thoughts, perspectives, emotions and habits. All these mental processes develop our outlook towards a
particular thing and situation. Another idea is that our mental attitude and beliefs shape our actions. The
"two contrary state of soul" i.e. positivism and negativism, grow with us. So it's our free will that how we
nurture them? In another way, it is up to us that whether we try to stay positive or falls into
hopelessness and helplessness. In today's struggling scenario, one needs passion and faith to win against
the odds.

HOW POSITIVE THINKING CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Our lives are full of ambitions, goals and dreams. The path to accomplish our dreams is not an easy one.
Many obstacles can come that hinders your progress and makes you feel like a loser. But, in order to
achieve your dreams, you need to stay positive, be steadfast and put some extra effort. The positive
thinking empowers you and gives you strength to achieve your dreams. Obviously, we don't have any
control over external situations but we can control our thinking patterns. We can control how to handle
the situation. This courage and hope comes from staying positive.

POSITIVE THINKING ENHANCES HEALTH: If we Stay positive and energetic then our individual
functioning, psychological and physical wellbeing improves. It is important to understand that why
positive thinking matters at all. Positive thinking helps you live longer and live better. When you aim to
stay positive then you see a boost in endomorphines, the hormones which make u feel good and happy.
It boosts your immunity and helps you to fight with depression. Positive thinking brings positive
emotions like joy, compassion and happiness. The positive thinking helps you to face the situation in a
more productive and positive way. In other words it reduces the harmful impact of stress upon your
body. Hence, it gives you the power and brings the best out of you. On the other hand, negativity is
linked to despair, dejection and failure

Positive thinking broadens and builds: Many times we are so much engrossed in problems that we
don't see the new opportunities that any worst situation can bring. The negative thoughts stops you
from seeing the other possibilities that surround u. It increases your ability to focus and open up your
mind to new avenues of opportunities. Barbara Fredrickson, in her positive theory of “broaden and
build” also suggests that how it affects your life. It suggests that positive emotions extends your view of
find new possibilities and open up your mind. When u open your mind then it helps in building new
skills. As a result, the skills can add more value to your life. Positive thinking leads to emotions like
happiness contentment and joy makes your mind more flexible to learn. With open minded approach
you learns skills like problem solving, creativity and decision making. As a result, these skills not only
enhance your confidence but makes u more focused.

Positive thinking fosters resilience Apart from the physical and psychological wellbeing, positive
thinking tends to develop the ability of "bouncing back". Resilience is our ability to cope up with the
stress and challenges that life throws at us. It means to stay consistent, steadfast and positive no matter
what happens next. Positive thinking shapes our mindset in such a way that we face new challenges with
maximum courage. Our response towards everyday life problems focuses on resolving it .The more
positive thinking we develop, the more resilient we are going to be. In another words, it means seeing
some light in the end of the tunnel that will keep u moving. Our perspective changes and we tend to
view challenges as windows of opportunities.

HABITS TO STAY POSITIVE

It is obvious from the above discussion that staying positive can do wonders with your life. It changes
your perspective and attitude. Now the question is how we can learn positive thinking or incorporate
into our daily lives. There are some strategies that we can use to foster positive thinking in our daily
lives. In other words, if we develop these habits over the passage of time then our life can be filled with
satisfaction and happiness.

Embark on inner self-journey

The first and foremost habit that you can develop to stay positive is self-reflection. Self-reflection means
reflecting about yourself, desires and thoughts. When you search your soul then you get aware of what
pinches you and what makes you strong. It can bring positivity in a sense that you assess the situation or
a challenge from all the aspects and then single out that how you can cope with it or learn from it. In
other words how you can be your own savior. It helps in framing a positive response to any situation by
keeping in mind all the consequences. When you self-reflect, you are able to access the situation in a
better way. Then, you realize that positive thinking is the only way to success. It will save you from
despair.

Break out from the negative influence

Our mindset is developed by the environment that surrounds us. It includes the people we live with and
the way we spend our time. Interaction with positive people and engaging yourself in some constructive
activity can help you stay more positive. Surround yourself with positive people who lifts you up and
gives you courage. Think of someone who shows a positive mindset and spend most time with that
person. Reflect on how that person copes with challenges and try to follow his footsteps. Stay away
from any sort of negative information that disrupts your positive thinking. You can listen to some
motivational stories that reflects upon positivity. Also avoid negative influence be it people or situations
because it limits your ability to focus on positivity.

Commute with nature to stay positive

Nowadays, we spend most of our time indoors. Spending outside soothes our minds which can helps us
in thinking positively. A research was carried out by strayer (2012), who suggested that spending time in
nature restores attention circuit of brain. As a result, you are more open to positive thinking. It means
that nature heals our brain, which in turn can enhance positive thinking among us. Natural environment
gives you an opportunity to relieve your stress and to view everything through positive lens. Another
reason behind commuting with natures is that it is easy to access resource. One can go out for a walk
anytime and feel the positive influence. When we connect our self to nature then our mind catches all
the positive power from it. This positive energy can shape your life in a positive way.

Cut negative self-talk

All of us engage in self-talk. Our talk with ourselves determines our thoughts and actions. Did you hear
the famous maxim “as you sow, so shall u reap”. So the way we nurture our inner self will determine our
thinking whether it is positive to negative. Each of us has an inner self inside us that criticizes, ask
questions and make judgments. The kind of self-talk you undertake for instance if your self-talk always
include "No" or "Never" then it means you are doing negative self-talk.

According to mayo clinic negative self-talk manifests itself in filtering (when you concentrate only on
negative aspects), personalizing (when you always put blame on yourself), catastrophizing (always
considering that only worst will happen) and polarizing (one needs perfection to achieve something).
One example of negative self-talk is if friends meet out plan gets cancelled at last moment then you
think "it's because of me, nobody likes me". When you engage in such talk, then it leads to stress. A
stressful mind can't stay positive during worst situation. It makes you foresee only the worst possible
outcome whether it exists in reality or not.

Now the question is how you can relieve stress and achieve positive thinking. Firstly, replace "I can't do
it” with “let's try". The positive affirmations try to instill positive energy in you. Obviously if you cut
negative talk, u tend to give more power to the positive energy inside you. This positive energy such as
"I can do it" opens up new possibilities to approach the challenges

Staying in present moment makes you positive and motivated

Thinking about the past can also make you feel less positive and motivated. The reason is that when we
remain engrossed in past, we forget the present. We forget the opportunities that present moment
holds for us. In this way, we unconsciously shift our attention towards negativity. For instance you lost
the football match last week but the defeat has been on your nerves. On the other hand, staying in
present moment can make you assess the situation. When you self-reflect then you dissipate the
negative thoughts and shift your attention towards positive.

Once you realize that you don't have control over past and future then you focus on investing all your
efforts in present moment to make it better. Once you take hold of present then you realize that you
can change the situation. A healthy mind always tries to stay positive so concentrate what you can
identify positive in the present moment? You can notice the most positive things around you such as a
kind gesture by someone or a nice remark. This helps to shift your focus on positivity around you.

Speak out your emotions

In everybody's life, a low moment comes when you don’t feel positive and empowered. The stockpile of
negative emotions inside you can cause both psychological and physical challenges for you. Sometimes
we get so much preoccupied with our emotions that it affects us in negative way. Studies have also
suggested that repressing your emotions lead to stress. It means a mind that do not repress emotions
always think positive and stay positive. It's not only vital for your physical wellbeing but also for your
mental health. You can let out your emotions out by freeing your mind at least twice a day from fears,
insecurities, regrets and hate.

You can do it by writing it on paper or by talking. We all have experienced that merely by speaking our
heart out to anybody we trust relieves us.Self-expression is also an important aspect of positive thinking
because when you expresses yourself, you don't build up emotions inside. When you express your
positive thinking, it lends you the energy to be more focused. Thus, fill your mind with positive thoughts.

Conclusion
When you incorporate these habits in your daily life, then you tend to break away from the old habits. If
you want to be spend a happy life then you have to find positive aspects in your life. Follow these
practices to stay positive and positive things will come your way. Obviously you can't achieve positive
thinking overnight but you can gradually transform your thinking patterns. Always keep in mind that
what you become depends on what you think. Developing a positive mindset is solely in your hands.
Once you have taken this step then you brain will get accustomed to positive thinking itself. The more
you practice positive thinking, the more benefit you will see it in your life. It is a state of mind that tells
not to give up no matter what the situation is. You consider the problems as blessing in disguise because
eventually you learn how to turn the failure into success in future.