When Life Gets Difficult, Develop a Positive Attitude

You may be asking how. I was also wondering the same when I was in the midst of trials after trials.

Although it may sound so simple, I know it's not, but along the way I've learned some hacks on how I can reverse engineer that feeling of being down and depressed during difficult times.

We live in a world full of surprises, but we have to learn how to handle them. 

Whenever we experience stressful events, disappointments, overwhelm, or failures, negative thoughts always come rushing in, poisoning our minds, and stopping us from taking actions. So it is obviously important that we protect ourselves from the chains of negativity. 

Keep in mind that you are stronger than you think, and that you are braver than you imagine. 

We have put together a few tips for making your thoughts work for you instead of against you.

1. An Affirmation a Day Keeps You Positive

Using affirmations can help you confront negative thinking and overcome self-sabotage. The more you repeat them, and believe in them, the more often you'll be able to do something positive.

Find ways to stay positive every day by finding items that could help you. 

Personally, I find visual reminders to be effective in keeping me focused, positive, and productive. 

And that’s the reason why I created the Epic Self Affirmation Cards, to help people like you have a simple but effective tool to remind themselves everyday to stay positive. 

Positive affirmation: why and how should I use it?

You can use affirmations to bring about positive change in any situation. These situations may include:

• Boost your confidence when limiting beliefs knocking at your door.
• Manage negative emotions such as anger, frustration, and impatience.
• Attract positivity in your life.
• Overcome a bad habit.
• Change your mindset, reprogram your thinking, and get rid of false beliefs

 

2.  Start a Gratitude Journal

Keeping a gratitude journal is one of the best activities to practice gratitude every day. 

Taking the time to be thankful for the things that you have in your life is always worthwhile. Infact, there is evidence that regular journaling is beneficial to one's mental health. To take it to a whole new level try to write down things you are grateful for. 

There is nothing complex about gratitude journaling, you just need a pen and paper, or use a notepad on your phone and dedicate 5-10 minutes every day to reflecting and writing down the things you're grateful for.

Similar to positive affirmation, gratitude journaling can:

• Increases positive energy
• Enhances self-esteem
• Provides a better night's sleep
• Makes you a happy person

 

3. Develop Self-care Routine

In my previous blog I talked about what self care is and why it is important. 

We all get overwhelmed, depressed, and stuck at times, and each of us deals with it differently. 

My advice is listen to your body and learn when to take a break. We often do a lot of things for people whom we care about, resulting in not taking care of ourselves. Make self care an essential part of your daily routine. Self care can be drinking water in the morning, affirming yourself in the mirror that you are fabulous, taking a nature walk and sleeping early. Feel free to read my 30 day self care challenge for more ideas. 

These simple self care activities can create a huge impact on how you would react in pressing times. 

 

4. Have a Visual Reminder of your Progress

Every once in a while we feel lazy and unproductive. 

My simplest hack is getting in the habit of using a daily planner tracker. 

 

If you write down your daily goals and cross them off as you accomplish them, it will serve as a great reminder of what you accomplished for the day. Looking at your list at the end of the day, you will feel great and proud of yourself.

 

While I may not always accomplish all the tasks I have written for that day, I still find it beneficial. At least I know what else I need to do the next day, it will save me time, effort and mental stress to think about what else I need to accomplish.It will serve as a motivation to be more productive.  As they say- visualization is the key to success.

Final thoughts…

Keeping a positive attitude in difficult times isn't impossible. You just need to acknowledge that you are facing difficulties, and when you are aware of it, it would be much easier for you to handle it with the actionable tips I listed above. 

Make it a habit to affirm yourself daily. 

To start your day right, thank God first thing in the morning and feed yourself with positive affirmations. 

Pick up your gratitude journal, count my blessings, you’ll be surprised how blessed you are. 

When you can't make time for yourself every day, commit to doing so at least once a week. Even a simple bubble bath or a stroll around the neighborhood can make your mind feel relaxed and energized.  

If you want to avoid feeling the stress of not achieving your plans and goals by the deadline, plan them out, put them somewhere you will see them often, so you can easily see your progress and keep yourself on track. 

Always remember...

“Life throws challenges and every challenge comes with rainbows and lights to conquer it.” - Amit Ray