5 Ways to Train Yourself to Have Happy Thoughts
It is very easy to see the drawbacks or negatives in any situation but it takes a strong mind to be able to see the positives even in a negative situation. Since school, you are advised to be happy and have a positive frame of mind in all situations. While it is not wrong to be sad or upset at times, it is important to be able to pull yourself out of that sadness or negativity.
Who said remaining positive was easy? It does not take much to get upset or sad in your routine life. Minor challenges in your routine life can make you upset. Your dog falling ill, skipping that workout, household help on a vacation or you not getting that promotion, not getting the desired grades in exams, anything can cause you to get upset. It takes great strength and willpower to be able to keep yourself happy and positive under trying times. But is it really possible to do so? How do you possibly gather all the strength it takes to remain happy and positive?
Here are 5 ways which you could use to train yourself to have happy thoughts:
1. Stay Away From Negative People
Many times, even though there might not be really much that should upset you or cause you to feel negative when you are surrounded by people who are eternally negative, it starts impacting you. You begin to focus on the negatives of everything in your life. Hence, it is important for your mental and emotional well-being that you try and stay away from negative people in life.
2. Be Realistic
When your expectations are unrealistic, you tend to get disappointed a lot more often, which in turn upsets you or makes you sad and add negativity in your life. One way to train yourself to have happy thoughts is to be realistic with your expectations – from life, friends, family, and colleagues and most importantly- yourself. If you have set a goal for yourself, for example losing weight, keep it realistic.
3. Make Others Happy
Sometimes, no matter how much we try to get over a loss of something in life, be it the loss of a loved one or a lost opportunity, it doesn't help. In such a case, the best way to deal with it is to try and bring happiness. Do things that would bring joy in the lives of others. Whether it is spending time with your family or an old-age home or spending time with kids and making them smile, nothing makes life more meaningful than making others happy.
4. Being Happy is a Choice
Haven’t you looked at some people and wondered how is it that they are able to remain happy and positive, no matter what the circumstance. Well, that is because they have made a choice to be happy. It is easy to blame all kinds of external forces for all the negativity in your life- destiny, experiences, people, etc.
But it is you and only you who can determine how much you want to allow those external forces to control your happiness. Remaining negative or positive is a choice and the day you decide to remain happy, you will experience the difference it brings to your life.
5. Happiness is a Journey
When you consider happiness a destination, you are likely to remain sad and negative. For, happiness is not a destination. It is a journey which you need to take. Take each day as it comes and learn to see the positive in things and do not focus on what’s missing.
Never forget to make happiness a priority for yourself. While it may seem a daunting task to be positive in most situations, being positive and happy is a choice you have to make. Take small steps each day and focus on what you have achieved, not what remains to be achieved.
