Six Ways to Stay Positive Even When It Seems Impossible

This week has been a tough one for me. I lost a family member and have spent most of the week driving and attending a funeral. As the week progressed, I became more and more negative as I thought about death and life, and that's when I had to stop and remind myself that being negative won't bring anyone back. It won't fix anything, and it definitely won't help you move on. It's important to stay positive, even when it seems like there's no possible way to do it.

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Here are six things that I do to stay positive. They may or may not work for you, but it's a good idea to find out what does and to write them down for reference for the next time you start to feel blue.

1. Be thankful for what you are fortunate enough to have. Chances are that someone in the world is dreaming of being so lucky.
2. Smile. Either think of something funny or fake it. Simply smiling can help change your mood.
3. Make a list of good things that have happened in the past few days. And before you say that nothing good has happened....
4. Remember that every thing that isn't a bad thing can probably be considered a good thing. Even if it's a small thing, it still counts. 
5. Talk to someone. A lot of the time, talking to someone about what's bothering you is a good way to get it off your mind so that you can focus on more important (and hopefully positive) things!
6. Work out. I'll be the first to admit that working out is the worst, but when I finally get off my butt and do it, I feel so much better afterwards. Once your blood gets flowing, it seems like it pushes all of the negativity right out of you. 

Do you have any other tips? How do you keep your chin up when times are tough?

On getting rid of negativity and negative people

One of the things that I struggle with the most is staying positive. If you ask any of my friends, I always say to keep the PMA (positive mental attitude), but it's so difficult for me to actually follow through on that because I've surrounded myself with a lot of negative people. It's difficult to stay positive when everyone and everything around you makes you feel otherwise.

One of my new resolutions/goals/changes is to get rid of the negativity. I don't have time for people who are constantly bringing me down, and I won't tolerate it anymore. I am about to start my adult life, and I need to go into it with my head held high and feeling good about myself. People with no ambition or aspirations and people who only complain have no place in it.

I couldn't decide if I wanted to wait until graduation to let these people naturally fall out of my life, but I refuse to take another second of it. I want to make drastic life changes, and I either want to be inspired by those around me or not have anyone around me at all.

I am moving forward.

Concrete Steps To Feeling Better About Life

I know I'm no expert on life, but lately I've been making an effort to improve myself and my outlook on things. I want to be a better person and enjoy life to the fullest, and I wanted to share my list of things that have helped me in case there is anyone out there also looking to improve.

1. Get a better diet. 
• Cut out all the fast food and other unhealthy food that you eat.
2. Exercise.
• Commit to exercising a few times each week. You'll feel better and eventually look better as well.
3. Spend less time wasting time.  
• Spend less time browsing Tumblr, lurking around the internet, napping, and/or watching Netflix when you're bored. Instead, spend that time doing something you're interested in or getting a head start on something.
4. Have less stuff.
• Get rid of a lot of the clutter and useless things that you've collected over the years. If you haven't used it in the last 30 days and aren't going to use it in the next 30, you can probably get rid of it.
5. Maintain a cleaner environment. 
• Keep the places you spend a lot of your time cleaner.
6. Make more ME time.
• Spend time alone and use it for things that will help your future. Write, create, do whatever you need to to better yourself.
7. Dress better. 
• Take the time to dress better; you'll feel better.
8. Take vitamins.
• Take a Vitamin C and multivitamin every morning.
9. Pursue your interests. 
• Research some potential interests or careers and then actually try to do those things.
10. Stop trying to be like everyone else. 
• Just be yourself instead of trying to be a combination of people you like. It will make you feel less stressed about not living up to someone else's lifestyle.
11. Stop procrastinating and creating unnecessary stress in your life. 
• Do things earlier rather than later. All-nighters really aren't that fun, especially when you had plenty of time to get whatever you're working on done early. 
12. Try harder.  
• Give everything you do your all. You want your name to be associated with someone who works hard. 
13. Stay positive.  
• Positive energy pays off. There's a good quote about not being able to control your situations, but being able to control how you react to them. Try to see the positive in everything. It might be hard at first, but just like anything, after you do it enough it will just become second nature.

If you have any other suggestions for ways to be happier or have a better life, please leave them in the comments! I'd love to hear them.