Have you noticed that today there is a lot of gloom and doom in the world?
If the doomsayers had it their way, we would all be thoroughly miserable, down and out, and licking our wounds.
Today more than ever you and I need to keep things in perspective and continue to be aware of all the good things in our world.
This is not in anyway to deny the reality of all the challenges we face today. Only last week, I wrote about why you shouldn’t see the Japanese earthquake as a Hollywood movie set.
It’s heart breaking to know just what challenges and trauma so many people in the world are going through right now.
In light of what’s happening around us, it is more imperative than ever before that more people like you adopt a positive and upbeat attitude.
Look back on your life – have you ever met someone who is always so positive and a joy to be around – someone with lots of energy and who can see the sunny side to everything?
You may know someone today who is like that or you may well have been like that yourself once.
Maybe you are scared of being annoyingly positive and losing your boring friends!
Well, you too can learn to be such a positive person too, no matter what stormy times you are going through in your personal life or what challenges the world faces.
“Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life.
A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results.” – Author unknown
So often we cannot do anything about certain circumstances such as the loss of a job, the end of a relationship or bereavement. Or we cannot do much about global events such as earthquakes or a war on the other side of the globe.
However, it is how we react that really determines how long we stay down and out.
Without playing down the trauma and pain of life changing events, it is really up to you to decide how you will continue with your life.
It is an old cliché, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going. We always have a choice and we can choose to see the positive side to everything.
You may well ask – what’s the positive side to the loss of thousands of lives in an earthquake or in a war?
I honestly don’t have an answer to that except that maybe this is an invitation and a prompt from nature to look deeply at how we are living our lives and how we are treating the planet.
I would of course welcome your thoughts about this.
So looking at your own life, is your glass half full or half empty?
To help you to see it as full during these challenging times, here are my tips to adopt a more positive attitude at all times:-
1. Get Away from the Doomsayers
This is possibly the most important thing you can do – simply get away from all the doom and gloom!
Switch off your television, stop surfing so much and refuse to even scan the newspaper headlines.
And harsh as it sounds, distance yourself from people who whinge and moan about the state of the world. And of course make sure you don’t become one of them, by reading the rest of this article.
2. Look for the Positive
Ask yourself what’s the worst thing that could happen or has happened. Hard as it may seem at the time, look for the fabled silver lining.
Often things that apparently go wrong for us are a blessing in disguise. For example, many people who are divorced by their partner, and who wished for the marriage to continue, realise years later that their ex-partner had actually done them a favour.
Their life takes on new meaning and helps them grow in previously unimaginable ways.
What’s the worse thing that could happen today in your life?
Right now, at this very moment whilst you are reading this, you still have your faculties, your body and your home. So what’s the problem!?
3. Let Go and Move On
Be willing and ready to forgive others when you feel you have been slighted.
Have the awareness that everyone is doing the best that they can, with the understanding and knowledge they have. Assume the best in others.
Forgiveness can take time and a lot effort, but it will bring you so much relief and healing.
4. Have No Expectations of How Things Should Be
One of the biggest causes of upset is our expectation of how things should be.
If something didn’t quite go the way you would have liked ask yourself – does it really matter? In the scheme of things, so what if someone cuts you up in traffic?
Have NO expectations about how things “should” be, and see how quickly you lighten up.
5. See Life as an Adventure
Do you see your life as a drag or an adventure?
Take on the attitude that no matter what happens today, you are going to enjoy whatever the day brings you.
Each new day brings you an abundance of gifts – it is up to you to open your eyes to them.
6. Adopt a Can Do Attitude
No matter what challenges you face today, there is always a solution and a way out.
Learn to cultivate a belief in your ability to cope with whatever life may bring to you. There are always resources and people that can help you.
7. Stop Dwelling on the Past
What is done is done, so begin to work on your present circumstances, which will ultimately help you create the future that you seek.
You can learn key lessons from the past but this does not mean that you wallow in the past.
8. Build Up your Self Esteem
Spend a few moments right now, reviewing all the good things that you have got going in your life and all your achievements to date. Include “minor” achievements too.
You will soon realise that actually you have a lot going for you.
What if the world tells you to be miserable?
No matter what others may say, there are a lot of good things in the world today. The challenge you and I face is to constantly remind ourselves and others about this.
At the end of the day, adopting some or all of the above will rapidly bring about a very positive outlook in your life.
No matter what the world tells you how you should behave and feel miserable, you can stay focussed on the good things in your life and in the world.
Above all, be enthusiastic about life and all that it brings – remember everyone loves to be around a positive buzzing person, and you can be such a person.
Finally, remember to chill out and have more fun in your life. Laughter, playfulness and relaxation are beneficial to the mind as well as the body. By having some fun in your life, you affect how rapidly you age, your immune system and how your body reacts to stress.
So here’s to a more positive you!
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image courtesy of Steve Weaver
Hi Arvind,
Great article as always. There is both good and bad in the world, it is all a matter of what we decide to focus on. I don’t have much tolerance for those who spread nothing but doom and gloom. It just makes me feel icky when I am in their presence. As of late I have taken to envisioning an invisible shield around myself that their negativity cannot penetrate. I also try to limit the amount of time I am around those persons. I always feel like I need some sort of cleansing after an encounter with one of them.
Hi Lisa,
Welcome to my blog again. As you say, there is both good and bad in the world, it’s all a matter of what we decide to focus on. So get away from those who make you feel icky!
Keep up the great work, Lisa:-)
Arvind
I think you’ve got all the fabulous suggestions here Arvind so you must be an upbeat soul forever looking for the good stuff (well I know you are to be honest). And that’s one I would add – keep your eye out for the great, the positive, the inspiring, the love filled. Look for the ever existing evidence of what’s special in life and soon it will come to you. Seek and ye shall find a very famous book once said!
Thanks John for your kind feedback – I do the best I can in terms of keeping upbeat.
And thanks for your added suggestion about keeping your eye out for the great, the positive, the inspiring and the love filled.
Also, as that very famous book also said, do to others what you have done to you:-)
It has been said that I am too positive about living on the Island of Roatan, Honduras, that I see life here through “rose coloured glasses”… I’m okay with that!
Lol, Genevieve!
One can never be “too positive” – long may you continue to see life through rose coloured glasses.
Hi Arvind,
I m new here. Your articles are so refreshing. Your regular contributions on how to enrich your life is so addictive that I look forward to read them and often I would say, ” hey thats so true…”
Thank you Arvind – for sharing.
Dear Akmar,
Welcome to my blog – and thanks for your kind words. Much appreciated.
I look forward to sharing many more articles with you:-)
Wishing you all the best.
Arvind
Hello Arvind — nice blog!
My dear friend, Keith Davis, pointed me in this direction. Well, he actually pointed me to your post “Bloggers Make The Best Lovers” — one of the most cleverly-written pieces I’ve seen in a long time. Made me smile. And there certainly was a lively conversation going on in the comments!
#7 and #8 in your post today really resonated with me. You know what I say about the past, Arvind? “All the yesterdays are canceled checks.” And you’re absolutely right about taking inventory of all your achievements and good deeds. I believe most of us would be pleasantly surprised, if not SHOCKED, to see what turns up on that list. 🙂
Write On!
Melanie
Dear Melanie,
Thanks for your kind words and welcome to my blog.
Nice of Keith to point you in my direction via the post “Bloggers Make The Best Lovers”. Glad it made you smile – and as you noticed there was some interesting conversations going on in the comments section too!
As you say, we all under-estimate our achievements and successes . And a nice way to see all our yesterdays as cancelled checks:-)
You too keep up the good work!
Love and best wishes
Arvind
I always remind myself that life will be over before I know it; so stop worrying and start living. I have 0 patience for doomsdayers and naysayers.
Justin, welcome to my blog:-)
That’s a great attitude, having zero tolerance for doomsdayers and naysayers.
As you say, life will be over before we know it. Just focus on all the miracles around us in our daily life and we realise just how much we have got going for us.
This is so timely for me right now because some things are happening in my life (no earthquake) that other people judge as tragic and disastrous. I’m having a hard time maintaining a positive attitude in the face of all this judgment, but I know it is so important for myself and for my family for me to keep the doomsayers at bay, and not to become one myself! Thank you for some timely inspiration!
Galen, glad that this article came at the right time for you:-).
I am happy to have reminded you to maintain a positive attitude – long may it last. Just remember that other people’s opinion is none of YOUR business!
Arvind, this is a very timely article, and I thank you for sharing it.
You see, I’ve recently made the decision to quit my job. The money isn’t worth the stresses and strains, and I wasn’t learning anything new. I’ll soon serve out my notice and become unemployed, but I’m not afraid of being jobless. I’m actually looking forward to the challenges ahead!
I now get to follow my heart, follow my dreams, and do what I truly want to do. I have all the time to do this now, and I believe that now I have aligned myself with the universe more, I’ll be able to experience a happier and healthier life than I was otherwise. I’m very excited, and a little scared, but I’m confident that I will get through the rough patches and emerge a better and brighter person.
So thank you Arvind, for sharing this with us, it means a lot 🙂
Stuart, congratulations for taking the plunge and quitting your job!
I am sure that you will now be happier in doing what you really want to do. And I am delighted to have been able to help you with my article.
Good luck:-)
And keep us posted as to what you will doing next.
Hi Arvind,
I’ve consciously chosen to limit my time around doomsayers which means rarely watching or reading the news. This has helped me a lot. Also my belief that we are eternal souls and life is “school” or a “game” has helped me put a lot of personal and big picture events in perspective. We can’t always change the circumstances but we can view how we react to them.
Blessings,
Pamela
Pamela, welcome to my blog:-)
Thanks for sharing.your belief that we are eternal souls and that life is a school or a game. I can see where you are coming from, but at times all the doom and gloom can get too much especially when we are experiencing real grief in our lives such as say when we lose loved ones.
At such times, it becomes more important than ever to remember that we are indeed eternal souls.As you say, we can’t change or even “control” circumstances, but we can certainly change our reactions.
Wishing you all the best in your “news-free” world:-)
Arvind
Hi Arvind,
Very nice article! One of the things that has helped me is to look for the positive in every situation. When I learned to interpret situations correctly and always look for the positive, I can’t tell you how much my life has changed, stress got less and everything improved. It is all about the attitude and our mindset Arvind. Thanks for sharing! Great job
Dia, welcome to my blog.
Thanks for sharing your tip about looking for the positive in every situation.
Your approach may seem rather simplistic to some people but on the contrary, it’s extremely powerful.
As you say, it’s all about your attitude and mindset.
Keep up the good work.
Best wishes
Arvind
Arvind,
“A picture is worth a thousand words”.
The picture at the top of the post seems to say: “Lord, I’m done, please take me”.
The way we capt the world depends on our way of thinking.
“If you smile, the world smiles back to you”.
Simple to say, difficult to implement.
First step is to accept your situation, and then, a desire to change it.
Only then you will see “the glass half full”.
Be well,
Julio.
Julio, welcome to my blog and thanks for interpreting so accurately the picture at the top of this post:-)
Smile and the world smiles back at you. As you say, to start smiling accept your situation and then create a desire to change it.
Good luck on your own journey of making your glass full, and not just half full.