How to Be More Optimistic

Sometimes the world may seem like a negative place, which makes it hard to be optimistic. However, there are some things that you can do to alter your outlook so that you can be more optimistic during your daily routines.

While everybody is sad sometimes, if you are experiencing overwhelming sadness or cannot seem to shake a deeply negative outlook that makes it hard to function, then you may be suffering from depression. If that is the case, you should check out the therapists at BetterHelp.

Surely most of us would like to look at the world through an optimistic perspective, but how can you achieve that? Let’s look at some of the things that you can do!

Positive Reframing

This may seem obvious, but try to shift your thinking towards happier, more positive thoughts. If you feel negative thoughts and emotions coming on, try to look at the positive aspects of what triggered those emotions. You can often put a positive spin on the most negative circumstances and doing so will allow you to work out your positive outlook muscles and train your mind to look at the world in an optimistic way.

Surround Yourself with Positivity

Are you friends negative or pessimistic? Do you watch negative news stories all day? Well, these things could be contributing to your pessimistic thought processes.

Try to surround yourself with positive people, news, and environments. Just doing that can make a huge difference in your outlook. Both positivity and negativity can be infectious so who your keep company with can have a profound impact on your mood and thoughts.

Keep a Journal

Keeping a journal can be beneficial for a couple of reasons. First, it can help you look at things in a more objective manner. This may help you see that your negativity may not have much of a basis in the way things really are or turn out to be.

You can also try keeping a gratitude journal by writing the things that you are thankful for. This can help to foster happiness and positivity by allowing you to see more of the positive things in your life and less of the negative.

It may also help you see your negative thoughts and feelings and learn to adjust to reduce them. You may find that you have a lot more negative thoughts that you can easily adjust to look on the bright side of things.

Acknowledge Lack of Control

You will never have control over everything, and bad things are bound to happen. However, sometimes we try to control everything too much and it can harm our spirits even worse when it still does not go our way.

Try to acknowledge that you will never have complete control, but still strive to do the best you can on a daily basis. Remember that even when things go your way, it is best to be positive.

Be Kind

Being nice can make us feel more positive, plus it can brighten up someone else’s day. Try to compliment someone at least once each day. It doesn’t have to be anything big, but just express your appreciation.

Now, turn around and do the same for yourself. Before bed, try to think of all the wonderful, great things you did that day. Mentally congratulate yourself for your small “wins” and accomplishments.

Focus on a Positive Future

Imagine that things will go your way. That you will get that promotion you have been wanting, that you will get a great night’s sleep, and that you will be able to take a relaxing vacation in the Summer.

Conversely, do not focus on the past. What has happened before cannot be changed. The way you move forward is the only thing that matters after that. Do not blame yourself or others and try to learn from mistakes and work towards building the positive future that you are imagining.

Focus on Solutions

It can cause anxiety and stress to always focus on the problems. Everyone has problems and, sure, they can be distracting. But it is better to look at the solutions because that is the only thing that can change the outcome of the situation.

Think about all the possible solutions and how you can plan to achieve them. This will give you a future focus instead of dwelling on the past which is conducive for a positive perspective and motivation.

Fake It Until You Make It

You may have heard that if you try to fake laugh for long enough, you will start to laugh for real. Well, optimism operates in a similar way. It may not come naturally, but just trying your best to be positive can make it happen without effort in the future.

Try to smile and laugh as much as you can. Wake up in the morning and think about how great you look, how much time you have, and everything you will accomplish. Sooner or later, you just might find that you are happier and more optimistic without trying to be.

Conclusion

You want to be optimistic, so what are you waiting for? You can start some of these things right now to foster a positive outlook. Try to alter your negative thoughts and look at everything using a positive perspective. This may be difficult at first, but will get easier over time until you are the optimistic person other people want to be.