HOW TO BE MORE POSITIVE IN LIFE: 13 PRACTICAL TIPS - ARTE - 2025

Being positive can be learned, just like any other skill and is closely related to changing your attitude and mindset. In this article I will explain how to be positive, happy and optimistic in your thoughts, actions and in life in general.

Sometimes it is difficult to see things from a positive point of view, even if everything seems in your favor. It is a tendency that arises in the brain amygdala; imagining the most negative situations has allowed our ancestors to survive.

However, today there are not nearly as many dangers as in prehistory and before. In fact we live in the most abundant time in history.

How you live your life largely depends on how you think. You can change your life by making changes in your attitude, your way of thinking, and your expectations.

You cannot always control your external circumstances, but you can change your thoughts. You can observe this often in your life, in yourself or in anyone around you. Each second can be interpreted in different ways.

How you interpret your life will depend on what kind of focus you have. If you have the negative focus, you will see the negative situation. If you have the positive approach, you will see it positive.

13 tips to be more positive from today

Slow down!

Normally, the faster you do things, the less you will enjoy the moment and the less positive things you will be able to perceive.

Negative stress (having a little stress is good) occurs when you have too much stress and that is when the negative consequences for your health arrive. Also, you will not enjoy life and you will see the negative things.

If you do things more slowly, trying to enjoy the moment, your body will calm down and you will be able to focus on the positive things.

Be aware of your thoughts

From now on, try to look at your thoughts as mere thoughts, not as facts. If you have to take something from this reading, let it be this: get used to being aware of what you are thinking and your state of mind.

Each person has thousands of thoughts a day. That internal dialogue influences your actions, way of communicating, relationships and finally your whole life.

Too often the pattern of self-talk that people get used to is negative. If you have that negative dialogue, it is as if you are wearing negativity glasses; no matter where you look you will see all the negative. You will even create unreal situations that don't really exist.

I recently traveled with a friend who had never traveled before. If I saw someone strange, I thought they were going to rob us. If we walked through unfamiliar places, I thought we would get lost.

That negative approach to life can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy; You believe so much that a negative situation will happen that you unconsciously make it happen.

If you are aware of that negative self-talk, you can stop it or at least ignore it and let it go. When you realize that you are interpreting a situation in a negative way, simply let go of that thought and interpret the situation in a positive way.

If you are not aware, negativity will have power over you. Being aware of your thoughts is a skill and it will take time to practice. The harder you try, the more you'll improve. I recommend you read about it in this article on mindfulness.

Ridicule the negative

One way to build positivity is by ridiculing the negative. Obviously, I am not referring here to serious events such as deaths or traumatic events.

I mean interpretations you make like:

• Having to speak in public.
• Having to submit a job in a short time.
• Being in a traffic jam.
• Have a bad day

If you realize it, all these events can be ridiculed with humor.

The key is to learn to laugh at yourself or think about the worst that can happen (usually the worst that can happen does not entail anything negative).

Practice gratitude

Think of a negative person you know. Someone who always complains and does not realize all that is positive in her life.

These toxic people have built a habit of complaining and seeing everything negative. They wear negative glasses.

However, you can also get used to seeing things in a positive way. To do this, I recommend practicing gratitude. How can you do it ?:

• Write a gratitude journal in which you describe everything you can be thankful for each day.
• Establish conversations with someone you trust for 10 minutes in which you propose to talk only about things you can be grateful for and things you can take advantage of.
• Make a list each day of things you can be thankful for.

Take care of your non-verbal language

Try to be positive with your shoulders down, your head looking down, and your arms difficult.

It will be really difficult for you because they are all defensive postures and your non-verbal language influences your mood.

Try to stand straight, with your shoulders back and chest forward, your chin high, and your arms open. With this pose you will feel stronger and more positive.

Another way to feel more positive is to smile, since it is impossible to smile sincerely and feel sad or negative at the same time.

The simple act of smiling, even if you have nothing to smile about, will make you feel better internally.

Get rid of negativity

Anything negative you see or hear will influence your mood. If you are listening to the news three times a day, it is normal for you to feel negative.

If you read sad books, listen to sad music or watch depressing movies, it is normal for you to feel negative.

Have you ever seen a photo or movie that made you feel positive? For example In search of happiness, one of the most viewed films of the last decade.

I don't mean that you suddenly watch hundreds of movies or don't inform yourself. The idea is that you surround yourself with positive things in your life and begin to bring out the negative.

You can make positive stimuli around your life that infect you. For example:

• Listen to positive music.
• Watch positive videos or movies.
• Look for positive news that happens in the world.

And also with people…

Connect with positive people

Is it better to be alone than in bad company?

I think so, and there is a huge difference when you speak with constructive people who contribute and with people who do not contribute anything.

The people you interact with have a great influence on your life. It may be the best day of the year and someone negative will tell you "the world is bad, only bad things happen."

If you do not have a critical attitude, you will fall into that game and your vision will also begin to be negative. It is extremely difficult to have a positive outlook if you are surrounded by negative people.

In addition, you will be missing what people you do not know yet can contribute and who can bring a lot of positivity to your life.

I would tell you to look for people who:

• Have energy and desire to do things. That is, take advantage of opportunities.
• They like to enjoy many areas of life.
• Be healthy physically and mentally.
• Advance you personally or professionally.

Do something nice

Have you ever done something nice for someone and suddenly felt good? Well, you can repeat that often.

In my opinion, we do not do acts of solidarity because we tend to go along with the social mass. For example, we see that nobody helps someone who is on the street and neither do we.

If the dough did, we would too. Try to get out of the "crowd" and do kind deeds. You will not be able to do it at all times of your life, but if you have the time and desire.

Take criticism as learning to improve

If they haven't criticized you already, get ready because they will. The only way they won't is to stay at your house. Luckily or unfortunately, there are people who only know how to criticize destructively and you are going to meet them sooner or later.

Fear of criticism can prevent you from doing what you really want to do. I mean, it's a mental barrier. But you can act and see those criticisms in a positive way. The important thing is to learn to handle them properly.

You will find two types of criticism:

1-The personal ones: for example if they say "clumsy" or "stupid". In this case, I recommend using humor.

You do not have to insult, but you can use a technique called fog bank: it is used to avoid a direct conflict when a person speaks to you in an aggressive way or makes an attacking comment.

It is based on saying unexpected responses to curb aggressive behavior.

Example:

-Your partner: Ana, what ugly clothes you wear.

-You: yes, I want to introduce a new fashion.

If the insult or personal criticism is very attacking or violent, you can ask for a change in attitude or behavior.

2-Homework: criticism is based on something you do.

For example:

-Ana, I don't like how you've done the job.

-Ana, you were wrong. It's actually done…

In this case, it is best to take criticism as something constructive with which to improve. In addition, you can ask them to specify what things you have done wrong.

Put on the positive filter

In any situation or person that you find yourself in life there is something positive. Most of the time it is not obvious. You just have to find it and act.

When you walk down the street, propose to see the positive things that exist, which can actually be hundreds. From the people on the street, to the workers, to the trees, animals…

The idea here is to get used to focusing your attention on the positive things, rather than wandering around with your negative self-talk.

Look at the possibilities, not the barriers

Positive people focus on what they can do, not what they can't do. There are thousands of things you cannot do and thousands that you can do.

Instead of wasting time thinking about how you can't do something you want to do, spend your time thinking about how you're going to do something you can do.

Ultimately, get used to looking at the possibilities rather than the barriers.

Reinforce your positivity

When you have really found yourself thinking positively, seeing the positive in the environment, or focusing on the possibilities, it is time for you to reinforce yourself.

That is, give yourself an award for having done something that benefits you. That way, you will be more likely to do it again.

You can tell yourself "you are great", "you did very well" or you can do something that you like. It is important that you be honest, not give yourself awards when you have done what you do not propose.

Accept the moments of sadness

You won't always be able to be in a high mood. From time to time, certain events will occur that will cause your mood to drop.

In those cases, it is best to accept them, see them as something normal in life and realize that they are temporary.

The positive attitude in this case would be to think that you will get over it and that it will pass. The negative attitude would be to think that that sad moment will last forever.

And what do you do to be positive? I am interested in your opinion. Thank you!