I know sometimes it can be hard to stay positive, I’m not perfect all the time and don’t expect others to be, the goal is just making sure your positive days outweigh your negatives. We can hear so much about how a positive attitude can really shape your day but it can be hard, whether its stressors in your life, unexpected situations, etc, you’re going to have moments but it’s not letting those moments define you and cause you to continue in a way where you can’t pull yourself out of feeling sadness, anxiety or whatever opposite feeling or behavior you can think of that doesn’t put some type of smile on your face. So, in doing Wellness Wednesday justice for the last week of 2017, here are some ways to shift from negative into positive thinking on a consistent basis

• Be present: Don’t think I can stress this one enough, since I’ve shared in other posts as well, but be in the moment, get out of your head and start to enjoy moments for what they are, not what you expect them to be. Start to take in the small things that are happening around you, when we get into our heads going over things that just happened, things that happened months ago, we can’t enjoy whats currently going on, we can’t be in the moment because what we’re thinking is taking us away from that so in being present, say “hi” to that person you pass everyday and may not speak to, compliment yourself in the moment maybe on the outfit you have one, or the good job you did organizing a project you’ve been working on, just stay in the moment. When you stay present, stay positive, think about the moment, smell the roses in a sense, you tend to have a positive outlook on your day. Try it.
• Be aware of triggers: Recognize things/situations that influence how you feel, sometimes we don’t pay attention to what occurred before we started to feel a certain way.  Write these moments down and look to see if you notice a pattern, if you do, change things up, work on learning how to deal in that particular situation so that whatever it is doesn’t continue to affect you. Basically learn healthy coping skills to be in control of how you feel in situations that are out of your control.
• Limit distractions: Get rid of things that take you away from being your best self. If you choose to have a morning routine, journal, etc., then maybe turning off the tv, having a “safe place” can be helpful to focus on the moment you’re creating for yourself to have a positive day.
• Smile: Pretty simple to do, right? Sometimes smiling when you feel opposite of happy can lift you up a bit, try it, next time you feel not so great, try to smile, it helps you shift your focus just a tinge on making yourself feel good in that moment and takes you away a bit from focusing on what is troubling you.
• Give yourself a pep talk: Be your own cheerleader at times, tell yourself what kind of day you’re going to have, repeat this to yourself throughout the day. Regardless of what things occur, you have to be your own personal cheerleader to get you through the day, write yourself positive notes that you can look to during the day, lift your head up and know that everything that happens will pass.
• Believe in yourself: Believe that you can create a positive energy for yourself, you have that control, so take it.

We all have choices, I know my friends cringe when I say that, but its true, we all have choices and regardless of the things that occur in our lives, we have a choice on how much energy we give certain situations. If we were to give more energy towards positive factors in our lives, our thinking becomes different, we start to recognize how much control we do have and that we aren’t defined by our situations but rather we make our situations what they are by how we choose to react.

Thanks for reading..