Negativity drains your energy, damages your respiratory system, affects your productivity, and raises your stress to the point of raising your blood pressure (if not worse).
If that's not reason enough to make you aware of how much negativity influences your life, we don't know what is. The news, social media, your work environment, sometimes even your family and friends can give you a reason to see things in a more negative light. But for your physical and emotional health, it's important that you do everything you can to stay positive: see the bright side in the most diverse situations.
There is a difference in looking at some bad events as a bad day or a bad life. Life is too short to choose to live with the latter option. To avoid this, we list 5 tips for you to learn to be more positive.
- Eat foods that boost your energy
You are what you eat. If you want to feel more positive, you're going to need more energy. There are several foods that can help you with this. Salmon, Greek yogurt, dark chocolate, whole grains, and even popcorn (because of the carbs it contains) can give you an extra boost of fuel. Don't forget to drink plenty of water too. The less toxins in your body, the less lazy you will feel.
- listen to happy songs
Music is powerful. It can change your mood from happy to sad (and vice versa) in a matter of moments. A study carried out indicated that our mood changes according to the genre of music we listen to. If you feel anxious, listen to some blues. For a burst of energy, choose rock. Reggae calms anger, pop is great to work with, classical makes you calmer and dance music makes you happy. All you need to know is what you're feeling at the moment and work your magic.
- Avoid negative conversations
The next time you're around someone who's complaining, gossiping, or upset, pay attention to how you feel. You will find yourself using words like “heavy”, “angry” and “on edge”. Being around negative people can affect your blood pressure and increase your stress levels. Nobody is worth your health. Not all conversations will be pleasant, but they should lead to some resolution. If you feel that everything is heading towards negativity, change your focus or get out of where you are. For the good of your mind, your body and your spirit.
- Leave the internet for later
One of the benefits of smartphones is that you are always connected. This is also a downside. Being able to be constantly on top of the news, celebrity gossip and what people are saying and doing on social media can overwhelm you, leave you negative and drained of energy. Someone once said that people reach the phones every hour for an average of six and a half minutes. This is not good. Set times in the day to check your emails, Twitter and Instagram. For the rest of the day, leave your phone on silent. That way, you will only be informed when you have some notification and you won't be stuck with all that negativity.
- Do something you enjoy after work
Sometimes, no matter what you say, there are those days when you can't wait to get home. But if you make an effort to see the bright side of things in the midst of this heavy feeling, give yourself a gift. Do something you like. It could be watching a movie, stopping by your favorite coffee shop, or even sitting on your porch with a magazine and watching the sunset.
Life is too precious to see it as something “bad”. When you're having one of those days, try to take a different look at the situation. And try to stay positive as much as you can.
Text written by Amanda Magliaro Prieto of the Eu Sem Fronteiras Team
