photo credit: Hiya Patel
Bad days–everyone has them. Some days it can feel impossible to drag oneself out from a negative mind. However, actively working on maintaining a positive mindset can make all the difference in preventing stress and upsetting feelings.
In day-to-day life, it’s easy to slip into a mindset containing negative thoughts of oneself, worries about a situation or the future, etc. With just a few simple tips, people can start to shift toward a more positive mindset.
One of the biggest sources when it comes to stress, and one that makes me especially upset, is negative self-talk. Often, I will pick myself apart so much and start to feel awful about myself. Working on decreasing these negative thoughts about myself have helped with my happiness.
Each day, instead of thinking of all the things I did “wrong”, I try to focus on at least one thing that I was happy with today. Progress in life isn’t always going to happen instantly, but trying to focus on little successes each day can help with being at peace with the current progress.
This is very relevant when it comes to things such as sports or the arts. People often compare themselves to one another, and it can lead to thoughts wondering why they aren’t as good as someone else or why they can’t just be better.
Instead of repeating those thoughts and beating oneself up about it, try replacing those thoughts with how you are unique and what you bring to the table with your sport or art. People aren’t meant to be the same, so constantly comparing can lead one down a negative path.
As someone who does dance, I often find myself getting really in my head and doubting myself. I used to constantly tell myself I was executing skills poorly and that I’m not good enough to be successful in the future. However, I learned that continuing to say awful things about myself in my head puts me in a poor mood and distracts me from working hard and improving. I expect perfection from myself, but realistically that’s just not possible. So, focusing on the good that is happening can help me get out of my head so that I can focus on growing and having fun. Plus, not everyone will be your biggest cheerleader in life, so everyone should be their own personal cheerleader at least.
Negative mindsets can severely disrupt making progress in life. Negative thoughts can completely ruin a person’s mood, which can create a lack of motivation for anything. Remember why you do what you do. It’s hard to have growth with a negative mind, so trying to reduce those thoughts can create improvement in life.
Especially as a senior in high school, it’s not hard to find myself and my peers stressing about the future and worrying about not being successful or achieving the things they wish to achieve. It may seem silly or cliché to say not to stress the little things, but it’s true. People need to take each day one at a time, and what is meant to happen will come.
People need to give themselves a bit more grace in life. Humans are not meant to be perfect creatures. Mistakes are going to happen, and bad feelings may bubble. Be nice to yourself, though, and happiness in life will come.
Negative feelings are feelings; you can’t stop them. But what you do to push through them and keep going is what matters most.
