My sister always says its best to elevate higher when dealing with people of a negative mindset. Feeding into their ideology will only bring you into a place of toxicity and frustration. Negativity is a slippery slope because once you get a taste of it, it becomes more challenging to get back up to a higher moral ground. These 5 tips aren't always going to seem easy to execute but with time and practice you will find yourself capable of rising above the negative person, thoughts or situation in your life.
1. Recognize the feelings triggered by your thoughts: everything we think about causes an emotional reaction. If you sit and engage in negative self talk and self criticism, you may find yourself experiencing discomfort, sadness and disappointment. Being aware of this can help you question your reasoning for this self affliction. Are you feeding in to what others think of you? Are you comparing yourself to someone you perceive as being in a better situation than you? If people are saying negative things about you it is best to separate yourself from those people for the benefit of your own well being or confront them and set the story straight. If you perceive your situation as not great in comparison to someone else's then work on fixing what you find wrong with yourself and stop focusing on someone else's progress.
2. Refrain from verbalizing negative words: it may seem corny but spoken words are powerful. That's why praise, encouragement and recognition can play a huge part in boosting someone's moral. If you hear it enough you tend to believe it. The same can be said for hurtful words, discouragement and criticism. Instead of telling yourself a situation isn't going to get better or that it is useless to even try, speak positive affirmations into your life. Keep a positivity journal and read from it out loud. Place in there things you are happy about or that are going right. Visualize the bad situations with the ideal results that will fix them and start to speak out what it is that you can do. Talk yourself through a plan to get to a better place. Read books of encouragement and talk to positive people. It takes work but aren't you worth it? 3. Halt negative people in their tracks: now this is a tough one. When people come to you to vent you think you are being a good person by listening and empathizing with them. But if you aren't providing a solution you are only feeding into their problem , stop them in their tracks and let them know that this discussion without a purpose of making things better will only make things worse and it isn't healthy. Not everyone wants to hear this but at least you won't have to hear it and they will think twice before bringing their drama to your doorstop. Remember misery loves company and that's not the kind of company you want to keep. 4. Recognize that change is GOOD: sometimes as people we feel that if we aren't consistent with our feelings we will look wishy washy. One day we are spitting out the most vile of things and then we become this positive princess overnight. We slip back to some negative chatter and then pull ourselves out again. Human beings aren't meant to be static so don't fight change and don't fight the little slip ups. Acknowledge them before yourself and before those that will pounce on you for making a single mistake. Remind them that you are human and just as a person choosing a healthier lifestyle might skip the gym or eat a "bad meal" but keeps pushing forward, you too can be awarded the same luxury of falling of your positivity pedestal momentarily. 5. Smile: it's that simple. You may not think you have something to smile about but you are alive, breathing and surrounded by limitless beauty and opportunity. Smiling and happiness is contagious. I am always known for my smile. I am not always happy and can be one of the most negative people you meet but only for a split second because I have learned to smile my way through to a more positive outcome. I choose to smile today and face my circumstances head on like a warrior and I may not have all of the answers but I am not afraid to fall a few times until I find them. Don't beat yourself up no one is perfect and we should never strive to be perfect just human.
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