By now, you probably know what is required from you to be more positive. Creating a vision board, doing positive affirmations, and starting a gratitude journal, are all part of the plan. However, with all the crazy stuff happening around you, how can anyone purge negativity and keep on the sunny side of life?
If you classify yourself as a realist, you don’t see the glass as half empty or half full. Rather, you see it at face value. When you have a mindset based on facts, not faith, it’s hard sometimes to stay positive.
You might be having a great day, but one call from a disgruntled customer can change everything in a minute. Working in customer service comes with its challenges. It’s easy to see what a hostile world exists around you when you deal with unhappy people constantly.
How are you supposed to stay positive and purge negativity when you may be the only one around with a smile on your face? Thankfully, there are ways to remain optimistic and even rub off on the people you encounter each day.
Why You Should Purge Negativity: Positivity Can Be Infectious
Did you know that you can make an impact on the world around you? Take, for instance, “Pom-Pom” Pearl. This 89-year-old works at her local Arby’s restaurant in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. There’s nothing easy about working fast food, and it can be taxing.
However, “Pom-Pom” Pearl has become a local celebrity. It’s her positive outlook and attitude that have made such a huge impact. When someone asks her how she is doing, she always replies that “She’s fantastic.”
According to a Pennsylvania news source, Penn Live, “Pom-Pom,” Pearl makes each customer feel welcome. When someone approaches the counter to place an order, she waves a pompom like a cheerleader welcoming them. Each person also gets her peppy shout that says, “Welcome to Arby’s!”
People love her so much they come to this restaurant to see her. If she’s off, the manager gets bombarded with inquiries about her whereabouts. Most people her age would be content to stay home, relax, and garden a bit. Not Pearl! She wants to make a difference and spread positivity.
Eight Easy Ways to Purge Negativity From Your Life Once and for All
How can you change the world around you? You can start by brightening the corner where you are. Here are a few ways to purge negativity and adopt a positive mindset.
1. Take Time for Stillness Each Day
You start each morning with a bang. You shoot out of bed, run to the bathroom to take care of your daily grooming, and rush out the door. Everything about life has become so rushed.
If you don’t take time to enjoy the stillness occasionally, you get overwhelmed by the cares of life. Sometimes, you need to sit in silence and enjoy the peace and quiet. It doesn’t happen often, so learn to relish these moments.
2. Practice Gratitude to Purge Negativity
One of the most practical and effective ways to improve positivity is to practice gratitude. It’s interesting to realize that gratitude cannot co-exist with stress.
Each day, strive to have three things that you’re thankful for in your life. When you are content with what the Universe has blessed you with, you’ll be entrusted with more.
3. Restrict Your Media Intake
Social media and technology have become a significant part of your life. However, it would help if you put restrictions in place for your sanity. For instance, don’t watch the news before you go to bed.
While most people like to catch the late night news, it can make you more prone to nightmares and unpleasant dreams. Plus, when you don’t get enough sleep, it’s hard to be happy and chipper the next day. Social media is another thing you need to limit.
You can scroll videos on social media and two hours later wonder where the time went. Fake news sells, according to NBC News. They recently did a poll to determine how quickly the truth spreads instead of fabricated content.
Shockingly, it took the truth six times longer to reach the masses, whereas the lies spread like wildfire. People hide behind the computer screen, and they create content that draws others. So, before you feel down on yourself based on social media, you might want to examine the content you believe.
Do you know what’s better than living behind a phone or computer screen? You’ll find more fulfillment when you adopt a pet, volunteer in your community, and do something to help someone in need.
4. Give The Positive Precedence, Not the Negative
Everyone has negativity in their life, but it’s what you choose to focus on that counts. For instance, it may be raining buckets outside with thunder and lightning; however, you don’t have to focus on the storms around you. Rather, concentrate on the fact you’ve been blessed with a warm, dry home where you don’t feel the effects of the rain.
Some people don’t have a place to lay their head in comfort, and some folks call a tent or cardboard box home. Focus on the here and now and what’s going on in your world. Stop being overcome by the big picture and set your mind toward positive things.
5. Stay Grounded as You Act to Purge Negativity
Staying grounded is really about discipline. How can you be positive for others if you don’t practice self-love? If you want things in your life to be positive, then you must be optimistic.
It’s a simple concept that makes sense. There are people in your life that are tried and true to you; spend your time with them. Your happiness is your job, and no one else can do it for you. So, focus your time and efforts on being happy, joyous, and delightful.
6. Change Your Speech, Using More Positive Language
Using rational self-talk is the key to staying upbeat. Everyone engages in self-talk, and it’s what you say out loud and inside your mind that counts. Think of it this way; you’re the most important person that you talk to each day!
If you speak to yourself critically and negatively, then you will lose your motivation and be unproductive. However, if you communicate with confidence and determination, then you will be productive. How you speak to yourself will ultimately affect your behavior and get rid of negative thinking.
7. Choose A Simple Life
Many people exhaust their minds and bodies because they try to “Keep up with the Jones family.” Have you seen the tiny house movement? People are giving up lavish homes for tiny portable dwellings with under 600 square feet of living space.
While it may seem impossible to live in such a small dwelling, many say the tradeoff is worth it. They don’t have to work as much, their carbon footprint is drastically lowered, and their life is just more simplified. Going small isn’t for everyone, but you can use some of these tips and tricks to help you simplify.
What are you doing in your life that is unnecessary? Are you a slave for a home or car that won’t matter when you’re gone? Material possessions matter extraordinarily little, but the time you spend with your friends and family will create memories that are here long after you’re gone.
8. Develop a Code of Conduct for Your Life
What is a code of conduct? These are the morals and foundations you’re building on, and you often see these rules or guidelines listed in a business. This code defines you, and it’s a “Bible” for you to live by.
In a business, they develop a code of conduct to help their employees. Here’s a familiar example. Walmart customers can only make returns without a receipt three times in 90 days. If a consumer tries to do it more than the allotted amount, their return will be denied.
This code of conduct helps this establishment to keep prices low. People often go to other stores and get products to return them for credit at this big chain store. The constant theft and fraud in the returns section are astronomical, so this code of conduct gives employees a guide.
What rules can you set for your life to enhance it? When do you say enough is enough, and how do you purge negativity using your code for a living? Create healthy guidelines for you to live within, and it will change your mindset.
Final Thoughts on Ways to Purge Negativity
If you want to purge negativity from your life, you need to eliminate the toxic people who rent space inside your mind. You need to raise the rent and kick them out! All the people and things that put pessimism into you can have a dramatic impact.
Still, circumstances can also be blamed for negativity, so you must be careful what you ingest each day. The whole world around you can be falling apart, but if you develop the right mindset, the sun can be shining in your neck of the woods. Shine on!