Humans are highly susceptible to “emotional contagion,” meaning that the feelings of those around us influence our own. Steer clear of bad behavior and negativity so that it will not rub off on you.  Choose your friends wisely. The friends we surround ourselves with can have an overwhelming impact on our outlooks — both good and bad. If your friends are always being negative, consider sharing your own positivity process with them. Encourage them to learn ways of being positive, too. If they’re still bent on staying negative, you may need to detach from them for your own sake. Do only what you feel comfortable with. If you don't feel comfortable doing something, you're likely to feel bad, guilty, or concerned about doing it. That doesn't make for a positive experience. Learning to say "no" to things you don't want to do can help you feel stronger and more at ease with yourself. This is true with friends and loved ones and in work situations. It’s easy to get swept up into a pattern of “automatic” or habitual negative thinking, especially about ourselves. We can become our own harshest critics. Each time you encounter a negative thought, take the time to challenge it. Try to turn it into a positive thought, or find the logical flaw in the negative thought. If you do this long enough, it will become habitual, and it'll make a tremendous difference in improving your positive thinking skills. Say "I can!" more than "I can't!" Remember, everything can be framed positively; make a relentless effort to do so.  For example, if you get angry and snap at a friend, your instinct might be to think, “I’m a horrible person.” This is a cognitive distortion: it makes a general statement about a specific incident. It creates feelings of guilt but not anything that you can use to learn from. Instead, accept responsibility for your action and consider what you should do in response. For example: “I snapped at my friend, which probably hurt her feelings. I was wrong. I will apologize to her, and next time, I will ask to take a little break when we’re discussing something intense.” This way of thinking doesn’t generalize yourself as “horrible,” but as a person who made a mistake and can learn and grow from it. If you find that you frequently have negative thoughts about yourself (or others), make it a habit to find three positive things to say about yourself for every negative one. For example, if the thought shows up that you’re “stupid,” challenge that thought with three positive ones: “I’m having the thought that I’m stupid. But just last week I finished that big project to rave reviews. I have solved difficult problems in the past. I am a capable person and am just having a hard time right now.” Even when we don't get what we want, we gain valuable experience. Experiences are often much more valuable than material things. Material things slowly waste away; experiences stay with us, growing, our entire lives. There are both positive and negative aspects in most situations. We get to choose which ones we will focus on. We can try to catch ourselves when we're being negative and try thinking the opposite. There's no sense in worrying about the negatives if they cannot be changed. Some parts of life are "unfair." That's because life just "is." If we waste energy and happiness on the things we can't change, we'll only make ourselves more frustrated. If you find yourself feeling consistently unhappy, upset, or negative, you may have some underlying issues that need to be dealt with. Seek professional help in dealing with traumas, such as past abuse, exposure to stresses, natural disasters, grief, and loss. Look for a licensed mental health professional, particularly one who specializes in treating trauma if you can find one. Working through your traumas with a counselor or therapist can be difficult, even painful, but you will emerge stronger and more positive at the end. To paraphrase Franklin D. Roosevelt, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. We will fall down and make mistakes. It's about how we get back up again that counts. If we're expecting to succeed, but not afraid of failure, we have the best chance of staying positive throughout it all.
تجنب التأثيرات السلبية. تحد الأفكار السلبية. تعامل مع الجروح الماضية. لا تخف من الفشل.