{"id":652,"date":"2013-12-03T00:31:16","date_gmt":"2013-12-03T00:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/everydayinspiration\/?p=652"},"modified":"2013-12-03T00:32:02","modified_gmt":"2013-12-03T00:32:02","slug":"5-simple-steps-to-being-more-positive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/2013\/12\/5-simple-steps-to-being-more-positive.html","title":{"rendered":"5 Simple Steps to Being More Positive"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe don\u2019t see things as they are; we see them as we are.\u201d \u2013 Anais Nin<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We often don\u2019t realize just how impactful our thoughts and words are. Here are five practical ways to recognize negativity and take the steps to being more positive:<\/a>
\n
\n1. \tBe honest with yourself <\/strong>\u2013 To fix the problem, you must first recognize the problem. Think 5 things right now, or think back to 5 things you said or thought today. Were you complaining? Were you talking about something you dread or hate? That is negativity in action! There\u2019s a difference between venting\/expressing yourself and being negative. <\/p>\n

Ask yourself: what is the purpose of you expressing this thought, opinion, or event? If you aren\u2019t trying to get a solution, or aren\u2019t just getting it off your chest, it\u2019s probably doing more harm than good.
\n
\n2.\tCatch yourself in the act<\/strong> \u2013 Once you know what exactly negativity is in your own thought process and words you can begin to replace it with positivity. However, in order to do that, you\u2019re going to have to recognize when you\u2019re speaking or thinking negatively. <\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t able to catch yourself in the middle of a thought or sentence, pick some type of marker or milestone, like every hour, or every time you get up to refill your drink. Then, once that marker hits, use it as a reminder to consciously think back to things you\u2019ve been saying since the last marker. Have they been good or bad words? Where can you improve?
\n
\n3.\tUse positivity<\/strong> \u2013 Being positive can be an easy, natural, and learned art, but you have to start somewhere! Be positive on purpose. Take the time to think or say out loud positive things, maybe while on your drive to work or while doing your morning routine. For example, say that you\u2019re thankful for your job, that you love your kids and\/or your spouse\/partner, that you\u2019re thankful for your home, or that you love having friends close by. Creating a mentality of positivity will make going forward much easier.
\n
\n4.\tBeing positive in the face of negativity<\/strong> \u2013 Bad things are going to crop up in your life. While positive thinking won\u2019t magically fix all your problems, it will change how you handle them. You have every right to be upset or irritated any situation, but if your natural reaction is to then speak words of positivity and encouragement to yourself, you are setting yourself up for MUCH greater success. Temper the bad with the good: \u201cI got a flat tire on the way to work! Great. Just what I needed. But I will get it figured out; it\u2019s a necessary thing and I can handle this.\u201d
\n
\n5.\tPractice<\/strong> \u2013 Begin recognizing your negative thoughts and taking hold of them; speak positive things, even when you\u2019re frustrated or mad (remember, venting is okay!); make it a purposeful practice to say and think about things you love or are thankful for, even just simple, nice observations, like how nice the weather is, or how good the rain is for the ground. The more you do it, the more natural it will come to you.<\/p>\n

About Alex Blackwell<\/a><\/h5>\n

Alex Blackwell<\/strong> is the author of Letting Go: 25 True Stories of Peace, Hope and Surrender<\/a><\/strong>, which includes 10 free Peace and Balance tools<\/a><\/strong>.
\nWeb<\/a> | Inspiring Things <\/a> | Free eBook: How to Love Consciously<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe don\u2019t see things as they are; we see them as we are.\u201d \u2013 Anais Nin We often don\u2019t realize just how impactful our thoughts and words are. Here are five practical ways to recognize negativity and take the steps to being more positive: 1. Be honest with yourself \u2013 To fix the problem, you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":554,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Simple Steps to Being More Positive - Everyday Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Simple Steps to Being More Positive - Everyday Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cWe don\u2019t see things as they are; we see them as we are.\u201d \u2013 Anais Nin We often don\u2019t realize just how impactful our thoughts and words are. Here are five practical ways to recognize negativity and take the steps to being more positive: 1. Be honest with yourself \u2013 To fix the problem, you…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/2013\/12\/5-simple-steps-to-being-more-positive.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Everyday Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-03T00:31:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-12-03T00:32:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alex Blackwell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Simple Steps to Being More Positive - Everyday Inspiration","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Simple Steps to Being More Positive - Everyday Inspiration","og_description":"\u201cWe don\u2019t see things as they are; we see them as we are.\u201d \u2013 Anais Nin We often don\u2019t realize just how impactful our thoughts and words are. Here are five practical ways to recognize negativity and take the steps to being more positive: 1. Be honest with yourself \u2013 To fix the problem, you…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/2013\/12\/5-simple-steps-to-being-more-positive.html","og_site_name":"Everyday Inspiration","article_published_time":"2013-12-03T00:31:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-12-03T00:32:02+00:00","author":"Alex Blackwell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/2013\/12\/5-simple-steps-to-being-more-positive.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/2013\/12\/5-simple-steps-to-being-more-positive.html","name":"5 Simple Steps to Being More Positive - Everyday Inspiration","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-12-03T00:31:16+00:00","dateModified":"2013-12-03T00:32:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/#\/schema\/person\/71d89f4271da87423b5582b35093074f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/2013\/12\/5-simple-steps-to-being-more-positive.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/2013\/12\/5-simple-steps-to-being-more-positive.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/2013\/12\/5-simple-steps-to-being-more-positive.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Simple Steps to Being More Positive"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/","name":"Everyday Inspiration","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Alex Blackwell","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/#\/schema\/person\/71d89f4271da87423b5582b35093074f","name":"Alex Blackwell","description":"Alex Blackwell is the author of Letting Go: 25 True Stories of Peace, Hope and Surrender and the founding editor of The BridgeMaker - a blog about letting go, faith and inspiration. Be sure to download Alex's free eBook How to Love Consciously and connect with him on Facebook.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/author\/cblackwell"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/554"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":655,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions\/655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}