Thursday, October 6, 2016

The Power of Positivity


Positivity: noun, plural positivities. 1. the state or character of being positive : a positivity that accepts the world as it is. 2. something positive.

Being positive is an ongoing process that, like anything, takes time. One thing that is important to know is that YOU have the ability to choose your mood each and every day. Sure, it is easy to look at things with a negative outlook, but there are so many benefits of being positive including lifting your own mood, self-motivation, self-confidence, and so much more.

So, what's the big deal with positivity?

For me, being positive helps me deal with life's curve balls with a more open mind. An example of this would be when I was asked at work to move into a new office. At first, my mind automatically put on the brakes. No, no, no. Nope, not happening. So, I wasted the weekend dwelling on the thought of this change, and made myself miserable thinking about the negatives. I made the mistake of not looking at the positives of the situation. Once I gave myself some time to reflect, I decided: how is this going to impact my life in the long term? To be honest, it is such a small change that I decided to stop wasting my energy on the thought and just DO IT with an open mind and see what happen. What's the worst that could happen, anyway? I decide I don't like it? No big deal.

I made the choice to change that NO to a YES and give it a shot. Why not!

And you know what? I love it. One thing that helped me was focusing my energy in a positive space now. The biggest thing you can do once you are faced with a hard decision or a stumbling block in your life is step back from the situation. Think: is this person angry at me, or the situation? What can I do to solve this and make things easier for myself? Often times, when you focus your mind on negative energy, everything in your life kind of tumbles down, too. While it can be more simple to just throw in the towel, keep your mind open and curious about what could happen if that shift was made to positive energy and the wonder of what comes along with that.

When a negative thought pops into my head, I acknowledge it, then roll my eyes inwardly. Negativity, who invited you? Not me. Don't care. Moving on, positively.


You can apply positivity to any aspect of your life, too. It's not just when you are confronted with a struggle, or when someone is really pushing your buttons. Think about all those times when you don't want to go to the gym, don't want to go to an event that you've committed to, or don't want to clean your house.

Here's a trick. Think of how good you will feel when you are done, or how showing up will help support a friend (whatever the case may be).

Last week I made an effort to go to the gym EARLY in the morning. Like, at the gym by 5:30am type of early. Sure, I'd rather be sleeping, but I thought about how I wanted to spend my time after work. My perfect evening is spending time at home with Ryan and Nala, making a nice meal, and visiting with my little family whom I love so much. So, how do I get there? Go to bed a bit earlier than usual in order to still be rested for my early work out. Set an alarm extra early, and when it goes off, spend a moment thinking about WHY the hell I am doing this instead of hitting snooze a million times and having to drag my butt to the gym after work, and missing out on that family time. On Friday morning that was reason enough. I hit snooze once (it lasts all of 8 minutes), then once the alarm went off I sprang out of bed, threw my workout clothes on, and got my work out in.

Find your WHY and just DO IT.

Yes, I understand this is easier said than done. In fact, I spent the whole week prior trying to wake up early and start my morning gym sessions sooner. However, my mind hadn't shifted to that positive space yet, and I didn't truly believe in my WHY, I suppose. Yeah, I'll go after. Yeah, we'll still have some time together in the evening. Oh yeah, we have puppy training class tonight... Oh, and this has come up.

You have to embrace your inner bad ass and push past those feelings. Then you will feel that positive change.

Something else that can truly help shift your mind into a more positive state is starting each day with a grateful heart. Life is busy, and during all the running around it can be easy to let the things we love and truly make us happy slip from our mind. 

So, here's 5 things that I am grateful for today:

1. My wonderful family (including my partner) who supports me with all of my crazy ideas
2. My dog, who has shown me that it is possible to find something to get excited about every day
3. Working out, to start my day off on an energized note and allowing me to release any stress
4. Curling up with a good book to unwind after a long day
5. Coffee, especially when enjoyed while reading or blogging

See. How AWESOME is it that we, as living, breathing, thinking humans, have the ability to change our outlook simply by looking inward? Not to get all woo-woo on you or anything (but it's happening anyway), by simply being grateful for what we have in life can help put our mind in a positive space and change the tone of our whole day. This is pretty darn powerful to me - don't you think?

There is something positive to be found in every day. I heard a quote once that was something like, if you think positive thoughts they will radiate through you and you will always look beautiful. It is so true! There is so much in life to smile about and be thankful for, so next time you feel that negative energy creeping in, give it a swift kick out of your way and carry on, positively.

No comments:

Post a Comment