Finding the silver lining in the humdrum of mundane life can be a challenging task, especially if you’re constantly daydreaming about something better. Still, darker moods can make that which you yearn for seem much further out of reach. Adding a little optimism to your day can make hard times easier to handle and your shoulders a little bit lighter. Here are some surefire ways to start letting the light into your life.
1. Create And Use Positive Affirmations
Quite often, the reason we hold ourselves back from happiness is that we believe we don’t deserve it, even if it’s subconscious. We go throughout the day letting negative thoughts linger in the minds that tell us we’re not good enough. Stop yourself and actively switch it to something encouraging when you notice one of these pesky voices throughout the day. Write these down and use them the next time you put yourself down.
2. Focus On Your Accomplishments
We’re so quick to focus on all other people’s successes that we forget how much we’ve done ourselves. Stop being so modest and play up your accomplishments, as they are cause for celebration, no matter how small. Take inventory of all the amazing feats you’ve overcome and start appreciating what you have to offer to the world.
3. Live In The Moment
The pessimist in you might be tempted to look at a negative experience and anticipate that it will continue to occur in the future. Instead, view bad events as isolated incidents rather than letting them tarnish your outlook on the future and your mood in the present moment. Failures or mistakes don’t mean that your history will continue to repeat itself.
4. Keep Positive Company
If you surround yourself with people who constantly complain about how everything is horrible and there’s no way out, then naturally, you’re going to start feeling this way too. A little doom and gloom never hurt anyone, and it’s perfectly normal, but a constant state of negativity is not conducive to optimism, let alone good mental health. Explore optimism in greater detail with the resources available here.
5. Write Down What You’re Grateful For
How often do you take a moment to express gratitude for the things you already have instead of focusing on the things you lack? To start reframing your mind for positive thinking, keep a gratitude journal and use it to reflect on anything and everything you have to be grateful for that day.
6. Reframe Negative Thoughts
Negative thoughts aren’t always an accurate representation of who we are or what we’re capable of achieving. They usually stem from low self-esteem or doubts about our strengths. But don’t ignore those feelings when they arise. Ruminate on them and ask yourself, is there any truth to these thoughts? Any proof that they’re an authentic representation of who you are?
7. Keep Your Eye On The Solution
The thing about problems is that they’ll remain a problem the more you spend time-consuming yourself with negativity. A nifty trick to being more optimistic is to shift your focus toward finding a solution to your problem. Even if it’s just devising a plan with small steps you can take to make your situation better, you’ll feel much better, more productive, and have a light at the end of the tunnel to look forward to.
8. Leave The Past Behind
The past only serves to teach us valuable lessons for the future. It does no good to continue to burden yourself with regrets or blame yourself and others for things that have already happened. Luckily, you have the power to move on from the past and to choose how the future will be different this time around. Tomorrow is a new day, embrace how wonderful that is and never look back.
