10 Tips to Help You Keep a Positive Mindset

Does this sound like you? 

• “I’d like to be more positive, but that’s not really my personality.” 
• “I wish I could stay positive like my friend does.” 
• “I’ve tried to be positive, but it isn’t long before something gets me down.”

We’ve all been there; trying to stay positive often feels like a losing battle. The thing is, humans are hardwired to focus on the bad and minimize the good. So, positivity is absolutely a battle, one that must be fought and won over and over. 

Switching analogies on you, it’s like a twisty, winding path we need to walk every day, but instead, we tend to think of it as a ladder. We climb, making progress toward some vague, unreachable goal of “being positive.” Then one slip-up sends us crashing downward, erasing all our hard work.

It’s time to get off the ladder and start walking the path. Use these tips to tap into your inner positive mindset.

How to Be More Positive Every Day

Get Your Basic Needs Met

Sleep and eat well. Being tired or hungry will naturally cause a dip in your mood. It’s more difficult for your body to function at its fundamental levels and keeps your mind preoccupied in a bad way.

By extension, try to stay physically comfortable whenever possible. Keep yourself warm or cool, depending on the temperature. Choose shoes and clothes that fit well (and look good if that’s important to you).

You’ll feel better in body and spirit.

Exercise or Go Outside

Or both! As you may have realized, our bodies and minds aren’t really independent…like, at all. We like to pretend one is more powerful than the other, but they’re always working together. Exercising and going outside are two different objectives that fulfill similar needs.

• Physical activity can put us in a good mood as it releases endorphins and stimulates blood flow. 
• Focusing in on something physical also helps de-stress and clear the mind, leaving no space to wallow in our worries.
• Going outside is an excellent catalyst for light physical activity. 
• And if the sun is out, that will work wonders, too — it is good for your immune system, circadian rhythm, and serotonin production.

Do Good and Positive Things

Smile often. Try to laugh. Listen to a few upbeat songs (the feeling of a piece of music affects your feelings!).  Compliment someone. Encourage someone. Help someone. Do something kind even if no one can see it. Set aside time for something you enjoy, even if it’s something as small as a midday coffee break. Spend a little quality time with a friend or family member (and yes, we’ll count snuggling with a pet). Unfollow that person on social media — you know the one. Remember that trying to stay positive doesn’t have to be hard. It just has to be consistent. Small steps will affect each of your days for the better and add up over time.

How to Stay Positive When It’s Tough

Facing difficulties or hardships are some of the biggest obstacles to staying positive. Sometimes self-inflicted, sometimes circumstantial, and other times someone else brings you down.

The source doesn’t really matter. In times of stress, all but the most optimistic of us will default to negativity. That initial reaction is normal, and you shouldn’t try to force it away — but neither should you hold on to it. 

Harness a positive perspective to build your resilience and learn to bounce back.

Reshape Negative Thoughts 

They may be the first response, but honestly, negative thoughts aren’t constructive. 

In a bad — or merely unsatisfactory — situation, don’t force unnatural positivity or optimism. Not everything has a good side. But you can try looking for one anyway, just in case. 

Ask yourself: 

• Is there anything I could learn from this? 
• Can I take useful action in response to it? 
• Is that negative thought even true, or is it exaggeration/self-deprecating/self-sabotaging? 

When you can’t pick out anything positive, aim for non-judging neutrality. See the negative emotions running through your head like you’re scrolling through a feed but aren’t logged in. You can’t add anything, and you can’t save anything.

Don’t Hold on to Negativity

We’ll all struggle with difficult or uncomfortable situations. But sometimes it’s something as simple as an unkind remark, or an unproductive argument, or seeing something online or on TV that upset you. 

Do not dwell on those things. Don’t respond or rehash for the sake of being angry or hurtful. Acknowledge your feelings and then let them go. There are times when how to remain “positive” becomes how not to stay negative.

Break the Cycle

Have you ever dealt with disappointment or emotional turmoil by berating yourself? Going over all the things you could have done differently or pointing out each of your flaws that made this happen? What about getting bogged down with anxious thoughts and staying up all night with your eyes wide open?

• In both situations, you’ve fallen into a pit of unproductive negativity. 
• These thoughts don’t pass after a few minutes, and your own fears and insecurities fuel them. They’re hard to reshape or put down and end up running away from you.
• The only thing you can do is forcibly stop. 
• Physically and mentally redirect your energies. Pre-plan an alternate activity you can turn to, and then turn to it — make it an automatic habit for channeling away negative spirals.

Learning How to Think Positive

Finally, here are some long term techniques that’ll help you cultivate a positive mindset. Yes, you should also be using all of the previous methods long term. But these, in particular, work best as learned habits.

Make Room for Gratitude

Be grateful for things every day, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. It’s important to devote mental space to good things since we overfocus on the bad. 

You can do it in the moments it arises — silently, or out loud if you’re grateful for a person or their actions — or keep a gratitude journal. The journal forces you to reflect and also collects a gratitude list over time so that you can look back on it.

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness often gets used interchangeably with meditation, but it’s more than that. 

• Mindfulness is being kind to yourself: slowing down, coming to attention, and staying in the present moment. But there’s no judging if your mind still wanders. That’s the practice…bringing yourself back to mindfulness. The more you engage with it, the better you become.
• It’s usually linked to feeling your breath or your body or engaging the five senses. You can take a mindful pause for 30 seconds at a time or sit and meditate for half an hour — the effects should be similar.
• It helps you refocus, refresh, and momentarily calm your thoughts. Within this space, it’s easy to bring out internal positivity.
• Meditation specifically lets you devote a chunk of time to this gentle focus practice. It isn’t relaxation per se, but it feels good to give yourself this quiet daily gift.

Expand Your Circle of Positivity

This is one thing that sounds like it’s a new age philosophy about cosmic auras but is actually pretty literal. If you want to stay positive, you should increase the positivity in your life. 

Don’t hang out with people who tear you down and pretend it’s for your own good. Find loved ones who cherish and support you. Do something you’re passionate about that you can’t help but feel positive about. Seek out friendly communities for your interests. 

Be happy and reach for your best life with both hands. Or you can start with one hand, or by looking toward it — sometimes we don’t need a revelation, we just need a little hope.

Consider Using Kratom to Help Stay Positive

There are many ways to supplement a positive attitude. Maybe you just aren’t going to be positive before 9 A.M. without a hot cup of coffee. It happens. One lesser-known supplement worth your attention is kratom. 

• Kratom is a plant related to coffee, with some unique properties. 
• Depending on the proper kratom dose, it can act as a stimulant or a depressant — plus, it has some pain-relieving properties. 
• As we’ve already discussed, it’s extra hard to keep up a positive mindset if your body isn’t doing well. 
• More than that, kratom is one of the only natural extracts you can use to put pep in your step first and later help you quiet down and relax. 

Organa Kratom offers loose powders or convenient capsules that have been formulated to help you energize and concentrate (during the day, for example) or unwind and de-stress (so you’ll be ready for a good night’s rest). There’s also a balanced formula to support overall wellness, similar to how a vitamin has generalized benefits.

Takeaway

So, what do you think? Learning how to be positive isn’t so bad. You shouldn’t be intimidated! 

Above all, positivity should focus on different forms of kindness. That includes being kind to yourself. You can start inward and work your way out or start with external kindnesses and internalize it. 

Whatever your battle, don’t be afraid to get a little help — whether that’s from kratom, community, an article online, or the loved ones in your life.