When everything and everyone around you continues to have negative vibes or continuously sees the glass as half empty, how are you supposed to stay positive? We need to be the glass-half-full kind of people who see things in a positive light with a positive outcome to overcome the negativity. 

Seeing things positively isn’t always that easy. To stay positive, you need to constantly focus on the positive in life; we are evolutionally hard-wired to see the dangers and negative things in life. 

Staying positive around negativity is difficult; it’s a black hole where you need to find the solutions to be positive. We have some solutions for you to recognize the negative and come up with the answers to find positivity in life. 

Ways to stay positive 

Positive thinking is a way of life; it doesn’t mean that everything in life needs to be rainbows and flower fields, but that you need to recognize the negative and approach it in a more positive way. You can start with something like self-talk, telling yourself that whatever it is that is bothering you will pass. 

Self-talk helps you recognize the issue at hand and makes you work through it to not overreact or take whatever it is personally. This could be used as a general rule of thumb, of course, there will be many instances and different environments that will set off different negative thoughts or actions. 

In each environment, there could be different ways to control the situation, observe what is causing the negative energy and give yourself time to reflect and acknowledge to react positively. 

In your positive self-talk, recall that everything in life has both positive and negative. We have to consciously choose to only give emotional energy to the positive. We can consider and accept negative aspects, but we must choose not to become emotionally involved in those ideas.

How to stay positive at work

1. Get enough sleep

Getting sleep is not only necessary for your health, but also affects your mood. A sleep study found a correlation between mood and sleep, and getting less sleep directly affects your mood. Sleeping less than 5 hours a night will result in more feelings of sadness, anger, and stress. 

When people are not getting enough sleep, they become irritable, and in the world we live in, some will put work before sleep, but that is not benefiting anyone. It causes stress on our bodies and makes us lash out in unnecessary circumstances. 

2. Learn to take criticism in a healthy way

Work can be a place of learning and growing, but to do that there will be times of criticism, and learning to take it positively will help negate the negative feeling that most of us feel when being criticized. 

Learn to do this by listening without interrupting or thinking that you did something wrong; take what someone is telling you as an opportunity to improve your skill. Know that what they are telling you is a positive thing to improve. This will help you not overreact to feedback. 

3. Don’t stress about things out of your control

There are a lot of moving parts in a company or business and not all of it can fall on one person. Focus on the things that you have control over, whether it is your team or your work. Spending too much time on things you have no control over can damage your mental health and make you feel like you are not completing your tasks. 

Try only putting time and energy into things that you can control and not putting too much of a load on yourself. 

How to stay positive in a negative world

1. Add positivity to someone else’s life

Everywhere around us there is negativity, as humans, we see the worst. We constantly criticize ourselves, and with the increasing popularity of social media, we compare ourselves to others covered in filters and unrealistic expectations. 

Doing good for others will not only bring joy and positivity to your life but theirs as well. Hopefully, your doing good for them will then encourage them to pay it forward and bring positivity into someone else’s life. 

2. Think before reacting 

I know I am guilty of this, reacting to situations without having the full story or taking things out of context because I thought I heard something the way I wanted to. These are perfect examples to take a step back, breath, and think about the situation as a whole. 

You can think to yourself “how can I make this negative situation into a positive one?” Changing the narrative can create a more positive outlook on all situations. 

Learn more about managing your triggers

3. Keep an Optimistic Perspective

Having negative thoughts or feeling is human, so do not fault yourself for having them, but notice when you are and try to change your perspective. Changing the narrative will create a healthy environment to consider the things you have done well and allow you to try new things. 

Instead of thinking “I can’t do this” say to yourself “I have done and learned things I never thought I could and I can do this also.”  Changing your thought process will allow you to believe in yourself and be proud of your accomplishments, big or small.  

Final thoughts 

Being able to stay positive takes a lot of willpower, and will have to almost reteach yourself how to stay positive in negative circumstances. What you cannot allow are negative feelings or situations to obscure your overall view. Implementing some breathing techniques or taking time for yourself will allow you to reset and take on the negative with a clear head. 

Being mindful of your reactions and how you view life will create more positivity in your life, and in turn, create more positivity in others.