3 minute read
Staying Positive In A Negative Situation
By Angeli Marie Shaw ‘The Bliss Coach’
Although challenging, staying positive and optimistic during times of crisis is crucial to your overall physical and mental wellbeing. The reality is, negative situations happen all the time, and as we can’t always avoid them, we can certainly work to counteract their negative effect on our lives and our attitudes, one step at a time.
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It’s been a tough pill to swallow, the global pandemic and its effects on the world. But what’s more heart wrenching is seeing the confidence and faith of people diminish as we navigate through the unknown.
If you are one of them, going through a challenging time, remember that you always have a choice no matter what the circumstance is. You can either choose to let panic feed on your mind and body, and let it grow stronger at your expense, or you can choose to see your situation in perspective, and end the panic then are there.
But how do you do this, let alone remain positive, when it feels like wave after wave is crashing upon you? Spend some time thinking about the consequences of your negative thinking? Learn to surf is one idea, but let’s go deeper than that.
1. Quit being the victim. It is easier to assume the role of victim than taking responsibility for yourself. But by taking the easy way, you prolong the suffering and unconsciously put off people who may be able to help. Let go of the victim label and free yourself from resentment and bitterness. Holding onto these will only block any creative energy you need to get out of your mess and put a barrier up to those that can be of assistance.
2. Focus on the positives. No matter the situation, there are always some positives to find. It’s actually your unwillingness to look for them that blinds you to the brighter side. Glass half empty? Look again, it’s half full!
3. Have a positive support group. Notice I said ‘positive’ support group. Surrounding yourself with positive people will help you stay positive! And hanging around with negative people…. Just don’t. Negative attitudes will just bring you down and be counterproductive to your cause.
4. Retrain your MIND. This one is huge, but not impossible! When we are presented with a situation that we may have experienced before, unconsciously we respond in the same way that we always do. It’s a learned behaviour that continuously pops up until we decide to consciously change it. Next time you find yourself beating yourself up, questioning your actions or doing something that holds you back, try flipping your perspective. Instead of saying ‘I can’t do this’ ask yourself ‘what CAN I do?’ Anytime a negative thought enters your head, stop, recognise it, then turn it into a positive. At some point this will become more natural as your brain begins to automatically turn negatives into positives.
5. Exercise. It’s good for the body and the mind. Moving your body releases those natural endorphins in our brains that make us feel better, and it is proven that exercise has not just physical, but emotional benefits too. You may decide to take a walk or do something like yoga or a boxing class. Either way, get moving and fight the negative effects of a bad situation.
6. Acceptance and finding solutions. The only constant in life is change, and the sooner we accept this, the quicker we can find solutions. Accepting that changes are part of life, means the resistance fades, and our focus can be put towards problem solving, not staying trapped where we are.
Tough times present hard, but valuable lessons that force us to re-evaluate the meanings we have attached to events in our lives. The power of positive thinking allows us to put negative situations into perspective and deal with them as they arise.
Still having trouble shifting your mindset? Try creating a list of all the ways your negative thinking impacts your life. Now create a new list of the ways positive thinking could be beneficial. Now run with it! (high five’s if you can physically run at the same time, we’ve learnt the benefit of that one!)
You’ve got this!
