It is not always easy to be optimistic. It requires perserverance and foresight. Additionally it requires a mindset that is positive and dynamic. If you a “glass half empty kind of person” it is harder to be optimistic than if you are of “the glass half full” persuasion. The good news is that you can train yourself to be more optimistic.
Train yourself to be optimistic by taiking the following steps:
- Be grateful. Practice being grateful for the people, places, and things in your life. It is hard to be pessimistic, almost impossible, in fact, when you are being grateful.
- Be mindful. Practice mindfulness on a daily basis. This is a very easy way to increase your chances of being an optimistic person. The myth is that being mindful takes a lot of work. Actually, it doesn’t require any work at all. Once you have decided to be mindful, you will see that your outlook on life changes dramatically.
- Smile. Smiling is another easy way to increase your optimism quotient. The health and wellbeing effects of smiling are proven time and time again. Additionally, smiling makes you more beautiful. What’s to lose by smiling more?
- Surround yourself with positive people. It is hard to be optimistic when everyone around you is negative. If you have negative people in your life, either learn to disregard what they say or minimize your contact with them. We all have auras, positive, negative, kind, evil, good, bad…work on keeping your aura positive and protect yourself from naysayers.
- Believe in yourself. Realize how special you are and that you can do whatever you want to do if you set your mind to it and be persistent.
- Use affirmations to boost your self-confidence and self-esteem.
- Keep a journal that includes things you are grateful for, your affirmations, goals, acts of kindness, accomplishments, prevalent thoughts, activities, general mood, progress toward life goal, people and places, and general notes on the day.
- Exercise – exercise releases endorphins, contributes to your mental and physical well-being and can increase happiness and self-esteem.
- Do something nice for someone else, even if it is something small – every little thing counts!
- Do something special for yourself each day – whether it is reading, writing, drawing, giving yourself a facial, eating some fruit…try to make an effort to make each day a bit special by doing something you love for yourself.
There will always be times that it is harder to be optimistic than others. World events can have a negative impact just as personal events do. As the song says, “Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders,” sometimes you just have to turn off the news and turn down the noise. You are ultimately the only person that can decide your fate and only your fate. Everyone else has to make their own choices and determine their own fate as well. Love yourself, love the people around you and be grateful for who you are and the people, places and things you have in your life. Awww, come on, give yourself a hug, give your loved ones a hug, and order a pizza with everything on it…