My Three Effective Ways to Be More Positive in 2019

This is the first month of 2019 when many people are still making plans for self improvement for the next twelve months.

Nobody can be strong and healthy all the time

However, not everyone is strong, healthy and living a life with few worries.

Having worked with closed friends and loved ones and accompanied them to a number of counselling sessions, I have learned and tried a few effective strategies along the way.

We all feel gloomy and depressed sometime in our lives

For those who may feel depressed from time to time, and would like to become more positive and less unhappy in their lives,  the following simple exercises may help them to become more positive:

Grateful & sunny thoughts are important to improve our mood

a. The Gratitude Exercise
 
Each day find 3 to 5 things for which you can be grateful.

I usually do it in the morning before I even roll out of bed. I thank God for being healthy, for my children, for another day, for living in a decent home and for living in a peaceful country like Canada.

In the evening after I climb into bed, I thank God for a nice warm bed, for my husband sleeping beside me and for a great day!







b. The Visualization Exercise
 
Take a few minutes each day, close your eyes and visualize yourself in a nice environment or your favorite place doing something you love. Try this exercise two to three times a day. It would help to improve your mood.

Visualize yourself in a happy place as often as possible daily can help one to become more positive

My favourite place is on a beach, under an umbrella and listening to the waves of the ocean. I am either dancing or doing something fun with my loved ones and best friends

c. Focus on what you have and want out of life, not what you don't' have.
 
Instead of wishing for what you don't have and feeling down, ask yourself what you really want  out of life and start doing something to achieve it.

One of the important goals in my professional life was to become a leader in education. I knew that I would need excellent public speaking skills.

Therefore, I joined a Toastmasters Club, learned and practiced my skills at the weekly meetings for three years. I have become a confident speaker and can speak in front of hundreds of professional colleagues with little difficulty. I did achieve my professional goal as a school administrator.

 







There are many other ways to help people to become more positive. The above three ways are something I have done and still doing to help myself and loved ones to stay positive, achieve our goals and enjoy our lives!

R.T.
Toronto