How I Stay Positive. Part 1

At the start of the month I wrote a post detailing ways in which I am making 2015 a positive year. I mentioned that I'm not the type of person who makes New Years Resolutions as I believe you don't have to wait for a new year to make a change. You can make a change at any time of your life. So during Autumn last year that's exactly what I did. I made a conscious effort to become more positive.

Isn't this just like real life Tumblr?

I mentioned in various blog posts last year that I was getting quite down, due to many factors but mainly through post graduation job rejection. To be honest I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I read various pieces of literature, spoke to different people and quickly realised that there are many things in life which we cannot control. We can however take control of our thoughts. I was the only person who could help myself. Now, deciding to be more positive is one of the easiest and most difficult changes to make. It's easy as you can quickly decide to do it, and don't really need much outside help as it comes from yourself. However, STAYING positive is a little harder. I really had to retrain my thought process. These are a few things I do to stay positive:

Gratitude.
Thankfulness, gratefulness and appreciation is a feeling of a benefit. No matter how big or small it can have a positive affect on your mood. When I think I have nothing to be thankful for I always go back to my breath. Start from your breath and build from there. I do this in the morning and it really helps my mood throughout the day.

Stop and Think
During work when things aren't going right or even if its just been a busy day. I stop what I'm doing and think for a few moments about how I'm feeling and what thoughts are going on in my mind. By doing so I am instantly aware, and it helps me stay on a positive track. We all lead busy lives and our thoughts can get away from us, just stop for a couple minutes, and think about whats going on in your mind.

Mental Cleansing
This goes hand in hand with the above. Much like how you detox from bad foods this is like a detox of a mind. Getting rid of any mind clutter. Social media plays a big part in mind clutter as we're often bombarded with information which may have a negative effect on our mind. I like to take 10 minutes out of the day to get rid of any thoughts or worries cluttering my mind. Usually mental cleansing takes place in the shower, I guess its the whole symbolic thing of bad thoughts being washed away?

These are a few things I do to stay positive, sometimes I find myself falling back into old ways of thinking. Then I remind myself that I have control of my thoughts and I begin to reprogram again.

How do you stay positive?