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You can begin increasing positivity in your own life by viewing yourself in the correct way. You are someone who matters and what you do with your life matters. Believe this and move forward. Once you view yourself in a positive light, positivity will flow out of you through your words and actions. Positivity isn’t just a state of mind, but it is a way of life that is to be lived out consistently.
Stop Waiting For Positivity to Find You
The biggest lie you will be faced with when dealing with pursuing a positive outlook on life is that you can’t have it now. This lie will tell you that you have to go find your positivity in some big success, and on the other side of that you will find happiness, but this is so far from the truth that it hurts. Happiness can be found now, not on the other side of success. It has to do with the way you see things in life right now and it is up to you to change how you view where you are currently at in life.
Being Happy
Part of true success is being happy while doing what you do. If you have to show up on a daily basis, you might as well be happy while doing it. If you can practice happiness now in the present, you will perform better and be more determined to find success. Happiness isn’t something that comes from success, because once you find what your preconceived idea of what success is, you will just think something else in the future will make you happier. With this type of mentality, there will never be anything good enough to satisfy your happiness craving. You can be happy now by living in a constant state of positivity.
Happiness doesn’t come from outside circumstances, but instead it is comes from inside of you. Be positive about life now, because life is all around you. There are life moments happening that involve real people who need you right now. When you realize this, it will be easier to see the positivity that comes from making a difference in the lives of others.
Seeing life for the positivity that is in it isn’t refusing to see the negative things happening around you, but a positive worldview can actually change your perception, and even your outcomes. With positivity, you can predetermine that when turbulence comes, you will see these life moments as lessons, rather than dead ends. It is your choice and outlook on life that determines what you do when life doesn’t go exactly as planned.
If you want something to change, it has to begin with you. Take the permission to apply positivity to every area of your life and watch what this alone does in your life. A happy individual, family, and team at work is always more productive when positivity influences each area of life.
Think about this – In relationships, does the negative trait of fear or the positive trait of love drive a better relationship? It is always the positive trait of love. Fear strikes down all communication, but love allows for more expressive communication to take place. You will always want to do more for the people who you love rather than the people you fear, and you will want to be with these same people as well. You can have that same effect on others when you possess positivity in your own life.
Negativity
Once you experience what positivity feels like, you will want to stay there. The issue is that people have become far too comfortable in living with negativity consuming them, but in all actuality, we should run away from it as fast as we can. So, how can we get past negativity? I believe the biggest proponent of negativity is not fully understanding the amount of power that it can and will have on our lives if we allow it to. The best way to know if you have been putting positivity or negativity into your life, is to look at your thoughts, emotions, and reactions. Doing this will help you move past negativity and will help you find more positivity in your life.
Your thoughts will tell you a lot about what you have been consuming lately. Are your thoughts negative or are your thoughts uplifting? You will tend to think on good things when you have a positive outlook on life. Since positivity starts with you, let your thoughts be positive and filled with life. Do this and let your mind be free to enjoy life to the fullest. Life is too short to let negativity take over.
Are you down in the dumps on most days, feeling down and out, sad at circumstances going on in your life, or are you full of joy? Are your emotions in line with positivity? When you are full of joy, it is easy to pass it on to others. When you are sad, it is easier to pass that on to others. You can change the atmosphere with your demeanor alone. Don’t let emotions dictate where your day will go. Instead, take over your emotions and use them to help guide you, but never let them be your master. Yes, we were made as emotional beings and they are a terrible master, but we can use them to our advantage to let us know if we are leaning towards positivity or negativity.
Another good way to know if you are a positive person is to look at the people you attract. Other people who possess positivity will want to be around you even more when you are uplifting and positive with your own emotions. When you have a positive outlook on life, you can use your emotions to help influence movement for a worthy cause.
Take a look at your reactions to everyday moments. Is your tendency to fly off the handle at any little thing, or do you take most situations in stride? How you react says a lot about which way you lean, and what external components you have been putting in. Anger comes out when negativity has been poured in, and peace and calmness come out when you focus on positivity. Focus on bringing a calm to the storm and see just how good life really is.
Do you want more positivity in your life? Your answer is to put more good in. Read healthier books, surround yourself with more uplifting people, and speak life into others. That is how you control your outlook on life. The more belief you can pour into yourself from outside influences, the more you will believe in yourself.
I know people in life who have plenty – money, good health, family, lots of nice “extras,” job security and more – who are negative people (Just spent this past weekend with one). And I know many who have very little in any of these areas who are positive people that you just want to be around. In fact, I have personally known unhappy and negative millionaires, as well as happy people living in box villages in Mexico. So I can attest that you are right, Adam: happiness is a choice, as is misery.
This is not some motivational mumbo-jumbo that sounds good but doesn’t play out in real life. It’s the absolute truth. And the sooner we accept this – that in all circumstances, we always have a choice to be happy or miserable, we stop playing the role of a victim in life.
As an extra bonus, for those who live in developed countries, when we choose happiness, we also have vast opportunity for change. But that change is not always what one might call “moving up in the world.” I have some millionaire friends who, once they really accepted that happiness is a choice, realized that the largest draw to negativity was material worries and stress, and so they downsized: sold the multi-million-dollar home and moved into a cottage, made a rule to spend more on others than on themselves, etc.
Happiness and misery are, and always will be, a choice. (In fact, the first three chapters of my book are called Choice, Negativity and Positivity … because the chapters that follow will make no sense and have no application until the reader accepts these first three truths.)