How To Remain Positive
In Negative Circumstances

I can't possibly list here all the negative circumstances you may encounter in your life and even less give you a solution for each of them.

However, I can give you a few tips and useful advice on how to remain positive in negative circumstances.

Up and down, down and up

Life is like a wheel. Sometimes we are on the bit of the wheel that is going up, sometimes we're on the one that is going down.

If being on the "going-down" bit of the wheel depresses you, think about this: you really only need to be strong when you're going down, since you know you'll be up again.

It is just a matter of maintaining resilience and being patient. If you can stick through the hard times, you will develop a strong positive attitude.

A view from the future

As you see, nothing lasts forever and at some point the specific negative circumstances that bother you now will disappear. That said, of course then you may experience a different set of negative circumstances.

Imagine it's twenty years from now, and the you of the future is looking at the you of the present. If you could give yourself some advice from the future, what would you tell yourself?

Perhaps that it's for your convenience to stop worrying so much and use your energy to move in the direction you want; perhaps that you are alright, and you have always been, no matter the circumstances.

A few tips

To remain positive in negative circumstances it is useful to remember that:

• Everything passes, everything changes, sometimes when you least expect it. Grieve not, for you know you'll be smiling soon.

• There is a positive side to everything. What is the positive side of your circumstances? What could you learn from them?

• You already have inside you all you need at any moment to move forward. The next best feeling is already within you; you just need to relax and be open (you can also ask that it is shown to you). Love and peace are always inside you.

From personal experience

When I've found myself stuck in negative circumstances and negative thoughts, turning to work on a personal goal has always been of help to me.

It may take a bit of effort to start, but a few minutes working on achieving something I want make me feel better already, as I'm making things happen for me regardless the external circumstances.

Besides, I gain a sense of achievement and satisfaction about creating my own life. I find that this is a useful way to transform negative feelings into something constructive.

Accepting

A calm way to remain positive in negative circumstances is cultivating an attitude of acceptance.

I don't mean stay stuck: by all means go change things if you want to. Acceptance is more like making peace with what is - you may not like what is going on, but it's all right, it just is.

How could you accept what's going on in your life right now?

Acceptance grows slowly as you practice it, and the first steps may seem difficult.

However, the more you can accept all that is rather than judging and resisting it, the more peace you will find in yourself, and the easier it becomes to practice acceptance.

At the same time, when you start accepting what is, you're able to see more clearly what it is that you find difficult to come to terms with, and what you need to do to change your circumstances.

In "Start where you are" Pema Chodron proposes great ways to grow in difficult circumstances. The advantage being that you can start right where you are in life.

A positive affirmation to start accepting all that is is "This is happening and it's Ok". I specially welcome it in times of stress, as it brings calm and the ability to look at the circumstances from a more detached point of view.

Useful stuff

For more ideas on how to remain positive in negative circumstances, check also:

• "Everything I've ever done that worked" by Lesley Garner: a lifelong collection of tips to overcome difficult circumstances to find the way back to ourselves or the way to move forward.

• Positive thinking tips: these five tips can help you to look at things in a different way.

• Positive thinking activities: a list of suggestions and ideas for activities that will bring you to a more positive state.

• Positive thinking books: let one of these books empower you and show you how to feel better.

• Quotes for positive thinking: an entertaining way to get into thinking positively.

• Positive thinking affirmations: find positive affirmations for different areas of life.

• Quantum Mind Power: this program helps you to become more aware of yourself and more able to remain positive in negative circumstances.

Not enough? You can also do a search on this web site to find more tips for a positive attitude.

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