It’s not always easy to be positive. Let’s face it, we live in a stressful world. We face plenty of challenges and have numerous obligations. It’s no wonder it can be hard to put on a smile and think optimistically sometimes. 

But a positive outlook can do wonders for you. It can relieve stress, ward off illness, help you live longer, and even attract other positive people to you. Positive thinking can generally make your life much better, so making an effort to bring more positivity into your life is worth the effort. 

To help you get there, let’s talk about some ways to increase positivity in your life. With a little effort and some practice, you’ll start to feel the benefits of having an optimistic outlook.

Read Motivating Content 

One of the biggest things that can influence how you see yourself and the world around you is the content you read. When you read an inspirational book, it can help your mind interpret things more positively. Reading motivational material can inspire you to overcome limitations, make better choices, and take positive actions more often. 

Here are some recommendations for motivational books to read: 

• Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
• You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, by Jen Sincero
• The Power of Positive Thinking by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
• Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe the World, by William H. McRaven
• Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and Its All Small Stuff, by Richard Carlson

Turn Off the News at Night 

You may not even think about it, but the time of day you read negative content can affect how well you sleep. Some say it’s best not to watch the news right before bed because it can leave you feeling anxious. And that anxiety can carry over into your dreams. Have you ever fallen asleep after watching a murder show and dreamt about death? 

Put a stop to the stress and anxiety by tuning into something light-hearted, funny, or uplifting and watch it with your partner or family. Or better yet, pick up one of those inspirational books. Then look forward to a good night’s sleep.

Banish the Negativity 

While eliminating all the negativity in your life is a rather lofty goal, you can certainly identify a few that you can shed. Taking some time to reflect on the things that cause you the most stress and coming up with a plan to solve or get rid of them is a worthwhile exercise. 

For example, one thing that causes a great deal of stress for a lot of people is clutter. You can probably relate to this one. Seeing clutter in your home, at work, or in your life can distract you from focusing on the positive things around you. 

Think about it. Imagine coming home after a challenging day at work and a long commute home to find a house in disarray. Toys strewed about, dirty dishes on the counter, and laundry on the floor. Yikes! 

Now, imagine coming home to a house where things are put away in their place and you can walk freely around your house without tripping over a toy or misplaced shoes. Much better, isn’t it? 

Have you heard of the Marie Kondo book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up? Yes, it’s a decluttering how-to book, but it also lays out a plan for banishing negative clutter and finding joy in your life. The premise is to go through your belongings and identify the ones that spark joy. The things that spark joy, you keep it. The ones that don’t, you get rid of it.

Get into Good Habits 

Finally, we get to building good habits. We know breaking bad habits is difficult, so rather than trying to stop them, focus on developing and strengthening the good ones. As you do so, you may find yourself doing less of the bad and more of the good. 

The following are some good habits to get into that are fairly easy to start: 

• Exercise more
• Eat healthier
• Go outdoors
• Keep clutter out of your life
• Smile more
• See the good in things
• Spend quality time with your family and friends
• Practice gratitude
• Meditate
• Be kind to yourself and others
  
• Practice positive affirmations (on the bottom of this page  you can download a free “Positive Affirmations Planner”

Final Thoughts 

With these tips in mind, you’ll have an arsenal of ideas to increase positivity in your life and become happier and more focused. But don’t keep it to yourself. Share these ideas with loved ones. Happiness breeds happiness, so why not bring some positivity into someone else’s life? 

After reading through them, what’s one way you can add positivity to your life? Share your idea in the comments.

Grab your Free Positive Affirmations Planner

Download your free “Positive Affirmations Planner”.  This digital download consists of a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly journal with positive affirmations as background.
You may think, why affirmations? When regularly practicing positive affirmations you alter your brain so that you start to think differently, feel better, and reach goals. Find out how to make affirmations work for you, HERE.

References: 

1. http://time.com/5125894/is-reading-news-bad-for-you/ 

2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201705/5-reasons-clear-the-clutter-out-your-life

3. https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/16/03/biology-positive-habits