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Our Guide on Positivity :)

ZenZen Posts: 1,989 Extreme Poster
edited July 2020 in Positivity Corner
Hey Everyone! 

Your favourite General Chat duo are here to give you our top tips on positivity! @Liam and I have been working together to create this reallyyyy long post  guide on how we try to stay positive. You do not need to read the whole of this post but I hope you can search through the titles to find what you may need :blush:

Practising Gratitude - Liam 
Gratitude is a way to show your appreciation and thankfulness for the things you have in your life. Through practising this, you will be able to notice the things you may possibly take for granted or give little thought to. In doing so you will be opening your eyes to the positive things you observe throughout the day and hopefully the good will shine through the negative which is clouding your day! Check out Liam's top tip of practising gratitude: 

Every morning when I wake up the first thing i do is list at least 3 things that i am grateful for. This is something that I have always done, my parents taught me to do it when I was much younger. I've found that it's a really good way to start off the day with a positive mind set. I write down the things that I am grateful for in my notepad but you could always just say them in your mind. It could really be anything at all,  from something small like "I'm grateful to have a roof over my head" to something large like "I'm happy to be alive today". I know that when life is particularly testing and difficult, it may feel impossible to find things to be grateful for. When my life is throwing obstacles at me, I make sure to list the small things "I'm grateful for this food", "I'm grateful for this drink", "I'm grateful for all of the love my dog gives to me". When you do it every day, eventually you'll just naturally just find that shimmer of light in even the most negative of situations. 

Being Mindful - Eleanor 
Mindfulness is a way of connecting your body with the world in a controlled way, it allows you to be present in your mind without the hustle and bustle of life getting in the way. Here are my favourite ways to be mindful: 

I try to practice mindfullness everyone morning when I wake up by filling out my mindfullness journal. This involves writing out what my senses where signalling to by mind when I woke up, what did I hear? What could I see? Was I hot or cold? I also try to do meditation when I can. Meditation really relaxes me and gives me a break from 'real life'. Learning to connect with myself was one of the best things I have learnt, when life gets a bit too much I have a safe space to retreat to which no one else can enter - the mind! 

Expressing Gratitude and Spreading Love - Liam 
Now that you know how to practise gratitude, Liam brings you his top tips on how to express this as well as the benefits of spreading love towards others: 

What helps me to stay positive is to express my gratitude and to spread love where ever possible. When I am grateful for a particular person, I make sure to tell them. I do this in different ways, it can simply be by telling them "I'm grateful to have you in my life" but there are plenty of other ways to show gratitude for example: Cooking them food, invite them out, send them a wee message to just check in with how they're feeling, give them a bell for a wee chat, buy them a random gift or just help them out with some chores.

Expressing gratitude not only makes you feel good but it also makes the person that you're grateful for feel good too and I really cannot think of a feeling much better than that. 

Changing Your Perspectives - Eleanor 
Perspectives, in my opinion, can really make or break a positive mindset. So here is how I like to keep my perspectives positive:

When I am looking at something which might otherwise disappoint me or make me feel down, I always try to look at it from another perspective. For example, if I am disappointed with my results that I got on an assignment, rather than thinking "Oh I've done really badly" I will try and look at it from another perspective "Okay, I tried my hardest and have done the best I could. I am happy now that I have to opportunity to work on this and know how to improve". I also think it is important to do this when you're having troubles with another person. When arguing with a friend or family member (a quick way to ruin your day) try to see if you can understand their point of view on the situation as well as yours, can you empathise with them? 

Smile and Laugh - Liam
Did you know that smiling takes less muscles than it does to frown? Smiling is a simple way of showing that you are positive and to also give a little bit of positivity to others! Here are the benefits of smiling and laughing in Liam's life: 

Smile so much that your cheeks are aching by the end of the day. I love smiling. It has been scientifically proven that smiles are contagious, how awesome is that?! Not only can a smile make you feel better but you can lift other peoples moods just by smiling at them and making them smile too. I like to live by the quote "If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours".  Even faking a smile has been proven to boost peoples moods. So I try to wear a smile on my face wherever possible. Laughter is also super important and super contagious. Sometimes,  life gets so busy that we just forget to have a fun time, laughing can remind us not to take life so seriously and just helps to lighten up the mood. It has been proven that 15 minutes of belly laughter is equivalent to 10 minutes of jogging. Laughing is much more fun, so whack on a comedy or a funny video and just laugh, it'll definitely boost your mood.   

Helping Someone Else Out - Eleanor 
Here are my top tips on how you can spread positivity as well as create it!

  • Speak to a friend who you haven't checked in with recently
  • Smile to a stranger you walk past
  • Hold a door open for someone 
  • Let someone know that you appreciate them 
  • Say 'I love you' to your close family 
  • Be the positive energy that you want to see in others

Cutting Out Negativity - Liam 
Do you have that one thing that is stopping you from having a positive mindset which you can't seem to shake, well here is Liam's top tips on cutting out negativity:

Have you ever been around someone who just sucks all of your energy out of you? It's difficult to become a more positive person when you're around people who are negative. Cutting out or taking a break from contacting those negative people in your life is a good first step to becoming a more positive person. I consider myself a friend to everyone and anyone however my social circle is small. I only add people that i am truly friends with on my social medias and i only follow pages that make me feel good. I often find myself taking a step back from social media and the news in general because the negativity just brings me down without me even realising it at times. I'm not saying be naive and ignorant but try and take a break when things are feeling too much. We are constantly exposed to negative news, it's on the internet, on the radio, on our social medias.. it's everywhere so sometimes i try to actively search for positive news stories to balance out the good and the bad. 

Finding Good in Everything - Eleanor 
Here is how I try to find good in everything:

When I am having a challenging day, I try to find all the good things I can. For example, if you have had an argument with someone you are close with, try to remember something good they have done for you, this will help you to recognise that they have good in them and may help you to be more positive when interacting with them or may push you to finally talk to them again. When all hope seems to be gone and everything seems to be negative just find one good thing about your day and focus on that! :)

Changing Negative thoughts - Liam 
Negativity can put a dark cloud over you day, trying to seek out positive thoughts in spite of this can help to boost your mood and improve your day! Here's how Liam cuts out negativity: 

Try to change your pessimistic thoughts for optimistic ones. You can get help with this one, you can ask your friends or family to point out when you're being negative and then you can work on changing your thoughts. When you notice that you're being quite pessimistic immediately shift your thoughts to more optimistic ones. For example if you're struggling with something and you find yourself saying "ughhh ill never understand this" try changing it to "I don't understand this yet but i'm going to keep trying"

For When You Need a Pick-Me-Up Now - Guest star @Aidan 
You won't be disappointed..... 


Que sera, sera - Liam
Whatever will be, will be: 
When things get tough it can feel difficult or even impossible to keep a positive mindset. No body expects you to be "positive" all of the time. When things are difficult, try to find silver linings. You do not have to ignore the negative feelings, they're there for a reason and most of the time they demand to be felt. Accept what is happening and surrender to your feelings, you don't have to fight the negatives... just accept them for what they are. You can't always control the outcomes of situations so don't waste energy by trying. Sit with your feelings, maybe have a wee cry and then try to ease them away by thinking of the silver lining, "try to find the tiniest bit of light in darkness" and see where it takes you.


Remember it's okay to not feel or be positive all of the time, we're all human! @Liam and I have put blood, sweat and tears  wracked our brains to squeeze out all of the ways we try maintain our positive mindsets but we know that everyone has their own methods! If you have any other ways of keeping positive then we would love you to share them below <3 

Liam & Eleanor 
Alis propriis volat 
Post edited by Laine on

Comments

  • Past UserPast User Posts: 1,997 Extreme Poster
    You did a fab job of putting this together Zen!  <3
  • independent_independent_ Community Champion Posts: 8,608 Legendary Poster
    Wow this is fantastic @Liam and @Eleanor, well done!!!!!!!!! :):) 
    “Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them.”
  • GreenTeaGreenTea Posts: 12,938 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    This is brilliant 💕
  • LaineLaine Deactivated Posts: 2,762 Boards Guru
    edited July 2020
    This was a fantastic read I love it :) 

    From me I say.

    Music.
    This is proven to release dopamine and relax us so listening to your favourite songs can greatly help you stay positive. Get a playlist full of the songs you love or listen to what suits your mood.

    Challenging negative thoughts.
    Instead of saying "could things get any worse!?" Or "God why do I suck?" 
    Try and think what good could come out of this situation? Or "how can I fix it" 


    An important one is limiting your time around negative sources. 
    This can be hard if a family member is the source. So spend some time away especially if it's affecting your day, have some me time. And for love nor money, stay away from the news and negative sources of information ;) 

    And most importantly. 
    Cutey pets! 
    Aw




    Honestly if you need a cute pet pic I'll hook you up 😂 💕

    🌈Positive thoughts🌈

    "This is my family. I found it, all on my own.
    It's little, and Broken, but still good. Yeah. Still good." ~ Stitch

    "Lately, I've been struggling with all the simple things in my life" ~ Cian Ducrot

    "I don't know if it's because my heart hurts or I'm insecure" ~ Juice Wrld
  • Past UserPast User Posts: 1,997 Extreme Poster
    edited July 2020
    Awesome additions @Laine .. thank you! however I’m  a wee bit gutted you didn’t add the chihuahua wearing a croc pic?! 🤣



  • lucyking200lucyking200 Deactivated Posts: 130 The Mix Convert
    Good one I love the pet  pictures 
  • DandelionDandelion Posts: 1,911 Extreme Poster
    This is amazing, thanks guys x
    The steps you take don’t need to be big, they just need to take you in the right direction. 
  • LaineLaine Deactivated Posts: 2,762 Boards Guru
    How could I forget @Liam ! Thank you 😂

    🌈Positive thoughts🌈

    "This is my family. I found it, all on my own.
    It's little, and Broken, but still good. Yeah. Still good." ~ Stitch

    "Lately, I've been struggling with all the simple things in my life" ~ Cian Ducrot

    "I don't know if it's because my heart hurts or I'm insecure" ~ Juice Wrld
  • ZenZen Posts: 1,989 Extreme Poster
    @Laine @Liam Now that is one positive dog if I ever did see one :joy:
    Alis propriis volat 
  • ZenZen Posts: 1,989 Extreme Poster
    So I owe a huge apology to @Liam because I forgot to add one of his tips! @Liam I hope you can forgive me, I'm positive that you will :wink:

    Que sera, sera - Liam
    Whatever will be, will be: 

    When things get tough it can feel difficult or even impossible to keep a positive mindset. No body expects you to be "positive" all of the time. When things are difficult, try to find silver linings. You do not have to ignore the negative feelings, they're there for a reason and most of the time they demand to be felt. Accept what is happening and surrender to your feelings, you don't have to fight the negatives... just accept them for what they are. You can't always control the outcomes of situations so don't waste energy by trying. Sit with your feelings, maybe have a wee cry and then try to ease them away by thinking of the silver lining, "try to find the tiniest bit of light in darkness" and see where it takes you.
    Alis propriis volat 
  • ZenZen Posts: 1,989 Extreme Poster
    I’ve just found this article on positivity during lockdown, it’s got some really great links in it so I thought I’d share 🧡

    https://www.harvard.co.uk/how-to-stay-positive-in-lockdown/
    Alis propriis volat 
  • JustVJustV Community Manager Posts: 5,276 Part of The Furniture
    Late to the party, but this is so brilliant and relevant. Well done guys - nice to see you collaborating!
    All behaviour is a need trying to be met.
  • SienaSiena Posts: 15,454 Skive's The Limit
    Love this thread <3
    “And when they look at you, they won't see everything you've been through. They won't see the **** that turned to scars that began to fade with time. They won't see the heartbreaking things that shook up and changed your entire world. They won't know how many tears you cried or even what it was you were crying about. They won't see how strong you had to be because you had no other choice. What they will see though is how compassionate you are because you experienced pain. What they will see is how kind you are because you experienced how cruel the world is. What they will see is how good you are because you've seen how bad things or people can be. The difference between you and your experiences are who you choose to be, despite everything that could have turned you cold and unkind.You are the good the world needs and the best of us.” ~ Kirsten Corley
  • ZenZen Posts: 1,989 Extreme Poster
    Aww thank you @Shaunie
    Alis propriis volat 
  • GreenTeaGreenTea Posts: 12,938 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    I keep refering back to this.
    It's really helpful to remind myself sometimes
  • ZenZen Posts: 1,989 Extreme Poster
    I'm glad you find it useful @GreenTea It makes the time spend on it all worth more the while! <3
    Alis propriis volat 
  • GreenTeaGreenTea Posts: 12,938 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    It's a really appreciated post 💕💕💕
  • MilsyRoseMilsyRose Posts: 198 Trailblazer
    Ooo, this is great! May help me out sometime if I need it. :)
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