How To Be More Positive This Month

Let’s be honest, we would all like to be more positive.

Since we just started a new month, I thought it was a good moment to start fresh & more positive. March is the 3rd of 12 chapters, what are you going to write?

The good news is that you can train yourself to be more positive, and a significant portion of that happens in your own head. Now, being more positive doesn’t mean you need to pretend you have a perfect life, let me be clear about that. If anything, it’s about dealing with setbacks differently. Here’s how I’ve been trying to be more positive lately:

Listen to music that reflects the mood you want to be in

Do you listen to sad music when you’re sad? I’m definitely guilty of that. Time to start listening to music that reflects the mood you want to be in, instead of listening to music that reflects the mood you’re already in. Consider both the tone and type of the music, and often it will bring back positive memories of the past. Music is incredibly powerful, and listening to some happy mood-booster playlists on Spotify has truly made my life better.

Surround yourself with positive people

This has made an incredible difference in my daily life. Of course, we can’t always choose who we surround ourselves with, but just making the conscious effort to not be affected my other people’s negativity has made a huge difference for me. I’ve also followed a bunch of positive Instagram & Twitter accounts. Social media can be a big mood killer for me, but this way it actually has a positive effect on me.

Get a pet

I’m personally not much of a dog person (I know, it’s a sin) but when my boyfriend rescued a cat, it gave me another reason to smile every day. I also recently discovered I really, really like fish. There’s something so soothing about creating a mini ecosystem in an aquarium and making sure your fish are healthy and happy.

She loves laying in the flower pot!

Encourage and help others

Volunteer. Help a friend. Studies have proven that a lot of our happiness actually comes from making other people happy. We feel good about ourselves when we have a positive impact on others. It builds confidence, self-worth and motivation. You’re literally bringing a smile on your own face by bringing a smile on someone else’s face, win-win!

Ask yourself: will this matter in a year?

Or a month. Or a week. A good way to create some perspective for yourself is to ask yourself ‘will this matter in a year?’ Chances are, in a year you’ve completely forgotten about this trivial thing you’re currently worried about and it will not by any means occupy your mind. Let it go!