One of the qualities that make life brighter, easier, more enjoyable and colorful is definitely having an optimistic mindset. And who doesn’t like waking up feeling awesome knowing that they’re going to have an amazing day? While it’s not always easy to focus on the positive, it is definitely possible and just like a muscle you can train. When you apply the practices you’ll learn in this article and become more aware of your thoughts, being optimistic will become a habit over time.
But what are the benefits of becoming an optimistic person?
- You feel happier in the present moment and enjoy life more
- You are your high-vibe self even if your environment is negative
- You don’t complain about life and the things that happen to you
- You are more grateful
- Life gets less stressful because you can still see the positive (in the moment or in hindsight) and give it a meaning that is empowering to you
So here are 7 Easy Ways to become a more Optimistic Person
1. Recognize and reflect on positive events that happen every day
Here’s a little challenge for you: Every night, before going to bed, recall three positive events that happened on that day. Over time, it gets easier and easier and you will soon recognize that you can come up with a lot more than three positive events. I like saying “Where your focus goes, energy flows”. So, when you focus on the negative, you will draw more of that negative energy into your life but when you consciously decide to focus on the positive (by for example doing this exercise), you will see that there are even more things to be happy about. Another great thing you can do is smiling at yourself in the mirror. You will see how this simple habit lifts up your mood.
2. Focus on your strengths
As humans, we tend to be our own worst critics. You probably know these situations where you beat yourself up and tell yourself “I’m not talented enough, not tall enough, I feel awkward in social situations and I’m not good with numbers etc.” However, I want you to know that this is bullshit!! I’m 100% sure that you have so many beautiful personality traits and strengths that make you an amazing person. Instead of dwelling on every tiny weakness and trying to fix it, you should focus on making your strongest traits even stronger. When working on your strengths, you usually also enjoy the process which, in turn, makes your whole learning and working experience more positive and fun.
3. Reframe stressful and hard times as opportunities for growth
Being an optimistic person doesn’t protect you from the lows of life, and it’s completely natural. However, while you cannot always decide what happens to you, you can always decide how you react to it. When your car breaks down on the way to an important appointment, you can either react very negatively and feel stressed and upset for the whole day OR you view things from a neutral perspective. You are aware of what happened and instead of beating yourself up, you see it as an opportunity for growth. It gives you the opportunity to train your mind and how you react when something else happens in the future. It’s always up to YOU and the story you tell yourself.
4. Find yourself positive role models
A good way to become an optimistic person is to find yourself positive role models. Imagine how you want to feel on the daily basis, how you want your life to look like and then find people who are already living this lifestyle. It’s quite likely that you cannot find these role models in your close environment but don’t worry. These can also be people you don’t know personally. So go on the Internet, and find inspiring speeches, YouTube videos or listen to podcasts. This helped me tremendously since I couldn’t find these role models in my inner circle.
5. Use positive affirmations
Positive affirmations can also help you to become an optimistic person. When you write down affirmations every morning, you train your subconscious mind to look for the positive things. You will see how it changes your perspective and that it’s really only a matter of practice. Here are some affirmations you could use:
- I will have an amazing days
- I attract good things and people into my life
- I spread love and kindness everywhere I go
- I live from a place of inner peace in all moments
6. Gratitude diary
Another amazing practice that is most powerful when done daily, is keeping a gratitude diary. I personally write down six things I’m grateful for every morning. These don’t necessarily have to be “big” events but things like your health, your body, your family, the kindness of other people etc . When you focus on what you already have, you will always have more. There’s also this beautiful quote “It’s not the happy people who are grateful, it’s the grateful people who are happy.”
7. Live in the present moment
Finally, one thing that optimistic people have in common and that will also help you become an optimistic person, is living in the present moment. Most people either live in the past or in the future. When you live in the past, you miss the beautiful things that happen in the moment and might think of things you regret and start dwelling on them. This leads to unhappiness. Likewise, living too much in the future and worrying about what might happen and imagining all kinds of worst-case scenarios also causes unhappiness. You can try it out. Just focus on everything that surrounds you in the present moment and simply observe it. You are happy or at least content now, right? No worries, no regrets. What also helps with living more in the present moment is meditation. Then, you learn how to sit with yourself in stillness and just observe your breath and your thoughts.
Final Thoughts
Finally, I want you to know that it’s totally possible to become a more optimistic person.
It’s only a matter of practice and over time, it will get easier and easier. Make sure to surround yourself with more optimistic people in your life and become really aware of your thoughts and behaviors.
What do you use to think more optimistically? Let me know in the comments below.
Pin this for later!
Love and light,
J.
No Comments