How to Maintain a Positive Attitude

Obtaining a positive attitude can be hard, but maintaining it can feel impossible at times. Once you have found a positive attitude, the stress of day to day life, tragic events on the news, and all the incoming negativity can feel like the world is trying to pull you down. Hold onto that positivity by thinking positive, feeling positive, and acting positive. If you are able to tap into and maintain your positive thinking, you'll enjoy benefits including improved interpersonal relationships, heightened creativity, easier decision making, and increased happiness.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Thinking Positive

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    Feed positivity into your brain. These days, it feels like a lot of negativity is coming at us which causes our thought process to be negative. If TV, social media, or news leaves you thinking “the world is awful” or “there is so much evil out there,” stop watching or listening. Change or counteract what you are letting in from negative to positive and it will be easier to maintain your positive attitude.[1]
    • Listen to music with uplifting lyrics and beats.
    • Read and seek out positive content through books.
    • Follow organizations and websites that promote positivity such as Upworthy or Little Things.[2] [3]
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    Tap into the power of positive thinking. Getting into the habit of thinking positively can change the way you process new thoughts, feelings, and events. Your brain is like a muscle, so like any other muscle you have to exercise even when you may not feel like it.[4] In addition to helping you maintain a positive attitude, positive thinking can provide other great benefits.
    • Lower levels of distress and rates of depression
    • Increased lifespan
    • Help with better coping skills during hardships
    • Improved immune system
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    Use the positive reframing technique. It may be difficult in situations or during times of situational stress to stay positive. To help, there is a cognitive technique that can assist you in changing the way you react to those stressors. Positive reframing asks that you notice negative events or harmful thoughts and make a conscious choice to change them or change the way you see them. This technique does not change what is happening, but it can change how you feel resulting in a more consistent ability to stay positive.[5]
    • Challenge any assumptions you may be having about yourself or the situation you are in.
    • Change the language you use when speaking. Change “He hates me and is just trying to drive me crazy” to “Yes, he was not nice, but maybe he is having a really difficult day today.”
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    Practice gratitude. Remaining positive begins with being able to see the positive everyday. Think of and concentrate on the things you are thankful for by writing down 3 new things you are grateful for that day. According to life coach Leah Morris, you can even look for positivity and gratitude in the negative, more stressful moments of life.[6] Being actively grateful can change your thinking to be more positively oriented and help you focus on what you have rather than thinking about what you don't have.[7]
    • Make sure you relish small pleasures as well as big ones.[8]
    • If you are still struggling, you can purchase gratitude journals online, or utilize gratitude journal applications on your smartphone with prompts to help you.
    • Work on your gratitude journal at night, so you can end with a positive attitude about every day.
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    Redirect or limit your negative thoughts. You are not going to be able to stop yourself from having negative thoughts.[9] [10] You will be able to train yourself to think more positively, but negative thoughts will still occur. When they do, you can redirect or limit them.
    • Agree on a short time limit (5 minutes) to engage the negative thinking. Acknowledge it, give it time and space, and then say enough, and move on with positive thinking and reframing.
    • Get involved in a positive activity until the negative thoughts subside, like helping someone, calling a friend, or exercising.
    • Sing your favorite songs so that the lyrics are what you are focusing on instead of your negative thoughts.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Feeling Positive

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    Choose happiness. This may sound strange, but when something happens in your life, you get to choose if it is a positive or negative experience for you. Even if it is something bad, you can choose what your take-away is; what you can learn from it or what positivity you can take away from it.
    • Where? Instead of looking outward for happiness and positivity (e.g.- a good job, a nice house, money), look inward (e.g.- contentment, pride, intelligence).[11]
    • When? Make happiness and positivity your top goal, search and look for it all the time. Linger on little positive moments, seek out the knowledge and skills from the world and others.[12]
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    Smile. Even if you don't feel it completely, find a reason to smile and let that positivity help with an instant attitude boost.[13] Smiling releases feel good hormones in your brain like dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins.[14] Instead of waiting for something positive to come along to boost your day, be that positivity for yourself and for others.
    • Think of the funniest joke you know.
    • Remember a happy memory.
    • Look at pictures or mementos that make you smile.
    • Read an uplifting story.
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    Change your emotional language. Maintaining your positivity may be as simple as changing the language you use when discussing how you feel. Make sure you are not using mediocre words, really identify how you feel and use more descriptive emotional words to convey it. For example, don't feel “okay” or “fine,” feel “great” or “amazing!”[15]
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    Get professional help. If you have tried to gain or maintain a positive attitude but you find that you are always feeling down, sad, or crying, it may be time to consider getting a psychologist to speak to. Alternatively, if you are a positive person and you have been maintaining a positive attitude, but a recent event has made that difficult, it may also help to talk to a professional.
    • Professional mental health workers, like psychologists or counselors, are trained to help you discover what is happening and help you reach your goal of getting back to your positive self.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Acting Positive

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    Walk away from negativity. If somebody taunts you or tries to act negatively towards you ignore it, or if you cannot ignore it, walk away. Likewise if you are in areas or surrounded by pessimism, anxiety, distrust or negative judgments, it can affect your ability to remain positive.[16] According to life coach Leah Morris, you can remove yourself from those places and those people in an effort to maintain your positive attitude.[17]
    • If it is a work situation or other situation that you cannot walk away from, try to make the interactions as brief as possible.[18]
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    Surround yourself with positive people. While trying to maintain a positive attitude, you want to make sure you surround yourself with positive people. Our outlooks, mannerisms, and attitudes can affect each other the more time we spend together, so make the time you spend be affected by positivity.[19] Additionally you want to have a positive support group of family and friends as well, to help support you and keep your goal of remaining positive.
    • Write down a list of the people you spend the most time with.
    • Consider what you observe to be their primary qualities.
    • Note if you feel they add to or take away from your positivity, or how you feel after spending time with them.
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    Participate in active community service. A great way to obtain and maintain a positive attitude is to get out into the community and begin doing good deeds for others.[20] Helping others provides you with a longer lasting sense of happiness and positivity.[21] Additionally, it will allow you to see the positive impact you are making on the world.[22]
    • Help someone you know.
    • Volunteer at a local church serving meals.
    • Work for a larger non-profit organization.
    • Engage in advocacy.
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    Practice self-care. According to life coach Leah Morris, taking care of yourself is an important way to increase your happiness.[23] Self-care is extremely important to remaining positive and can include anything you do with the intention of truly taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional health and needs.[24]
    • Keeping positive includes allowing yourself time to “recharge your batteries,” which you can do by practicing self care.
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    Engage in physical self-care.[25] Taking care of your physical self is incredibly important to your body's response to stress and your ability to remain positive and in good mental health. Addressing your physical self-care includes:
    • Eating regularly and eating well.
    • Getting good quality sleep and enough hours of sleep.
    • Attending to any medical needs or medical problems you have been having.
    • Ascetic self care such as pampering yourself with a home spa day.
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    Practice mental self-care.[26] Attending to you mental health is just as important as attending to your physical health. Just as your physical health can negatively affect your mental health, your mental health can actually weaken your immune system, cause fatigue, and headaches. Maintaining your mental self-care can include:
    • Practicing meditation.
    • Engaging counseling services like individual therapy.
    • Performing relaxation exercises such as deep breathing.
    • Using visualization to see yourself succeeding.
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    Maintain your emotional self-care. Recharge your batteries by keeping your emotional self healthy.[27] Take the time to recover from any negativity that comes your way, and get yourself back to a place where you can access the positivity you have worked so hard for. Emotional self-care can include:
    • Participating in fun activities.
    • Talking with someone you have not seen in a while
    • Giving yourself something to look forward to like a vacation.
    • Create a morning ritual that you love.[28]
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    Exercise. Exercise is one of the simplest way to get an emotional boost. It is recommended to fight common mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, as well as stress from health conditions and more serious mental health concerns.[29] Exercise has also been shown to release chemicals triggering a positive response in your body.[30] Maintaining a positive attitude may include integrating some exercise into your schedule.
    • Choose whatever exercise and level of exercise works for you. If you do not know of one, consider yoga, which focuses on exercise, but also on principles of happiness and mindfulness, both incredibly useful to maintaining a positive attitude.
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Expert Q&A

  • Question
    What are examples of positive attitudes?
    Leah Morris
    Leah Morris
    Life Coach
    Leah Morris is a Life and Relationship Transition coach and the owner of Life Remade, a holistic personal coaching service. With over three years as a professional coach, she specializes in guiding people as they move through both short-term and long-term life transitions. Leah holds a BA in Organizational Communication from California State University, Chico and is a certified Transformational Life Coach through the Southwest Institute for Healing Arts.
    Leah Morris
    Leah Morris
    Life Coach
    Expert Answer
    Change the way your mind questions your experience. Alter “Why is this happening to me?” into “How can I learn from this and use it to grow?”
  • Question
    How can I be more happy?
    Leah Morris
    Leah Morris
    Life Coach
    Leah Morris is a Life and Relationship Transition coach and the owner of Life Remade, a holistic personal coaching service. With over three years as a professional coach, she specializes in guiding people as they move through both short-term and long-term life transitions. Leah holds a BA in Organizational Communication from California State University, Chico and is a certified Transformational Life Coach through the Southwest Institute for Healing Arts.
    Leah Morris
    Leah Morris
    Life Coach
    Expert Answer
    Happiness is all about finding balance in your life. It's good to focus on your career and goals, but take time to nourish your body, mind, and spirit as well. Eat healthy foods, see your friends, exercise, and take time to relax. All these things will help you live a happier, more peaceful life.
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References

  1. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/17/fashion/Websites-Thought-Catalog-Upworthy-Aim-to-Uplift.html?_r=0
  2. ↑ https://www.upworthy.com/
  3. ↑ http://www.littlethings.com/
  4. ↑ http://daringtolivefully.com/morning-habits
  5. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-the-face-adversity/201209/positive-reframing-optimistic-thinking
  6. ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/howtoimprovementalhealth.html
  7. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-jessen/gratitude-journal_b_7745854.html
  8. ↑ https://daringtolivefully.com/positive-attitude
  9. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/anxiety-files/201007/why-thought-stopping-doesn-t-work
  1. ↑ http://www.anxietycoach.com/thought-stopping.html
  2. ↑ http://time.com/2974086/how-to-be-happier/
  3. ↑ http://new.www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/scientific-proof-that-you_n_4384433.html
  4. ↑ https://daringtolivefully.com/positive-attitude
  5. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201206/there-s-magic-in-your-smile
  6. ↑ https://daringtolivefully.com/positive-attitude
  7. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sapient-nature/201303/dealing-negative-people
  8. ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950
  9. ↑ http://thinksimplenow.com/happiness/how-to-deal-with-negative-people/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ThinkSimple+(Think+Simple+Now)
  10. ↑ http://cchealth.org/mentalhealth/mhsa/pdf/positive_attitude.pdf
  11. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/20/international-day-of-happiness-helping-_n_6905446.html
  12. ↑ http://time.com/4070299/secret-to-happiness/
  13. ↑ http://cchealth.org/mentalhealth/mhsa/pdf/positive_attitude.pdf
  14. ↑ https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/health/what-is-self-care
  15. ↑ https://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/VIPCenter/downloads/self%20care%20defined.pdf
  16. ↑ https://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/VIPCenter/downloads/self%20care%20defined.pdf
  17. ↑ https://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/VIPCenter/downloads/self%20care%20defined.pdf
  18. ↑ https://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/VIPCenter/downloads/self%20care%20defined.pdf
  19. ↑ http://daringtolivefully.com/morning-habits
  20. ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470658/
  21. ↑ http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/12/exercise.aspx

About This Article

Leah Morris
Co-authored by:
Leah Morris
Life Coach
This article was co-authored by Leah Morris. Leah Morris is a Life and Relationship Transition coach and the owner of Life Remade, a holistic personal coaching service. With over three years as a professional coach, she specializes in guiding people as they move through both short-term and long-term life transitions. Leah holds a BA in Organizational Communication from California State University, Chico and is a certified Transformational Life Coach through the Southwest Institute for Healing Arts. This article has been viewed 52,002 times.
2 votes - 50%
Co-authors: 13
Updated: December 16, 2022
Views: 52,002
Categories: Optimism | Attitude
Article SummaryX

If you’re struggling to maintain a positive attitude, try improving your mood by listening to upbeat music or watching positive, funny shows. Alternatively, remind yourself of all the good things in your life by writing down what you’re grateful for at the end of each day. Additionally, do some form of exercise or physical activity at least a few days a week, which can help reduce stress and anxiety. You should also try surrounding yourself with positive people, whose mannerisms and attitudes can help you keep your goal of remaining positive. For more advice, like how reframe negative questions so that you can see them as positives, keep reading.

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