This is Day 12 of the 21-Day Positivity Challenge held in March 2012, where we work on being positive for 21 days. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
21DPC Day 12 Question
Today’s positivity question is:
What Does It Mean To Be a Positive Person?
…and…
How Can You Be More Positive?
Your Task:
- Reflect and answer today’s question(s). Write as few or as many words as needed to fully express yourself.
- Start applying what you wrote on being more positive, starting from today. It could be to smile more, to think about something good out of every encounter (something you’ve already been doing since the start of 21DPC), to give a genuine compliment to everyone you encounter, to give every friend you see a hug, to stop complaining, and more.
- Identify at least one positive thing about your day. It may be something small or something big – as long as you deem it as something positive, it counts. If you have more than 1 thing to share, then by all means, go for it!
Share Your Answers!
After you are done, share your answers in the comments area.
If you’re doing this at the start of the day, you can post your answer for today’s question first, then work on your positivity task throughout the day, then return at the end of the day to share your results for your positivity task and your end-of-day positive reflection.
Check out other participants’ answers. Pick 1-2 participants’ answers and make a meaningful reply to them. Engage in the discussions. This is a group course, so let’s support each other in these 21 days!
(Images: Happy girl in the field, Girl smiling)
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To me, being a positive person means seeing the good in life. In my opinion, nothing is good or bad, everything just IS. All things in life can be considered good or bad depending on your attitude. You can see the opportunity to grow and learn from an apparent disaster, and you can also spoil a great thing by worrying. Positive people follow the former example and see the good in things.
When trying to be more positive, I like to remember to appreciate happy times in the moment (I make a mental note that sort of says ‘this is fantastic’) and when times are hard, I try to think of how I’ll learn from that struggle in the future. Even on really bad days, I try too keep this objective perspective. Most of the time it turns my mood around. Sometimes it doesn’t, but I still have that thought to hold on to. :)
Positive things: Got up early and got everything done, that’s all I have so far :P
What does it mean to be positive person?
To me it means to be the person that I am. To be supportive of anyone who needs support. There is no need to get paid for it. The payment is the satisfaction that I made their day a little better.
I also feel better that I am helping people out. A long time ago when I was depressed, I think maybe helping people out could have helped me get out of the depression a lot faster. I can’t change the past, but at least I have been able to reflect on it. And I know what I need to do for the future.
How can I be more positive?
Do exactly what I have been doing, but not just for people I know. Or when I feel down, try to help someone out. Because maybe what I’m going through at the time, someone else is going through something a lot deeper than I am.
Positive thing for today, I’m back at work still going through emails from last week when I was out of the office. It’s one of those days with a bunch of meeting, with one meeting after another, and I’m not stressed about it at all.
“Nobody is so miserable as he who longs to be somebody and something other than the person he is in body and mind. Let’s not imitate others. Let’s find ourselves and be ourselves.” -Dale Carnegie
When I was depressed, I became horribly selfish. I spoiled one of the closest, more valuable friendships I’ve ever experienced because someone really needed me and I was too self-absorbed to notice. She’s since moved away, and one of my personal ‘tasks’ for this week is to get back in touch with her, to see how she’s doing and to apologise once more for the way I treated her. I think you’re right when you say that helping people out might have helped you recover faster, but it is so, so difficult. Depression is a horrible thing :( I’m really glad that you’re recovered now.
Thank you very much. I’m not 100% recovered, but I’m getting there. Here’s why.
My best friend is the one who helped me realize this positive feeling. She helped me find my inner value system. And it feels great.
I too lost contact with my best friend, but we reconnected, and I appreciate every minute I get to spend time with her on line just talking.
But you know what, I think we both feel this, but yes we both regret losing contact with each other back then. We could have both used each others support a few years back.
But we have both grown stronger than ever. Maybe the only difference I can think of is that we maybe we would have reached our goals a lot sooner. But reflecting on the past, there are reasons why we experience the things we do. Both positive and negative things.
When I wish I can go back in time, it’s usually not to change something for the future. It’s always to do something that I forgot to do. Like to tell my father I appreciate all that he did for our family before he passed away. Maybe for me when I look back at 2006-2007 when I had the depression, my wife and separated, the only change I would have made was saying no to the reconciliation because my values haven’t changed, back then we were just not inline with each other goal/value wise. And now 6 years later my wife and I are back again where our goals/values are not inline with each other. So I don’t regret getting back with her. But who knows where I would be now. Career wise, life wise. It could be worse. I’m happy career wise now. Since it’s my home/family life, I wish it could be better. So if can be better, then I will make it a goal and reach that better life. I haven’t failed on the other things, so I won’t fail at this one. I know it’s not an instant thing, so I will be patient and work at it every day. When I feel I didn’t do enough, I will help someone out. Or the next best thing for me, is to show someone how much they mean to me, and show them my appreciation. Those are the two things that keep me going to fully recover from my depression.
:hug: I think you have a wonderful attitude. I especially identify with what you said about wanting to go back and do things that you forgot to do. One of the main reasons I wanted to get back in touch with my friend (and I put a card in the post to her today) was because then, even if she doesn’t want to be in regular contact again, at least I’ll have said the things I wanted to. It’s so sad how people hardly ever tell people how much they mean to them.
And yes, the past has the power to shape us – no matter what happened in it, it was for a reason and helped form us into the people we are today.
I wish you all the best :)
I’m going to add another Positive thing. So I’ve been catching up on my work. Attending my meetings one after another. (all cut short because either I’m making the decisions or someone else responsible is making the decisions). I’m not overwhelmed with the work today.
Because I was thinking about a quote from a long time ago.
“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” — Bruce Lee
I think being a positive person means taking the time out to enjoy the little things in life. All too often we get caught up in our little bubbles. We live in this technological time square where everyone has not only their given name, but also a screen name. Since we are caught in our bubbles it is very easy to forget that there are actual humans inside. I just feel like we should take more of our lives towards enjoying the time spent with other people. Laugh and find a reason to smile a bit next time you are out in public.
My positive thing for today was sleeping in till noon… well kind of. I actually woke up super early and had trouble falling back to sleep. But once I finally did it was in the bed and very restful. Now to actually start my day!
:)
What does it mean to be a positive person? How can you be more positive?
To me being a positive person means following 3 beliefs:
1. Believing in yourself and your values
2. Believing in others and their values
3. Believing in any event to be an opportunity
So whenever I feel self-doubt, I will remind myself that I am capable, then outline a plan to get to where I want to be. When others express doubt, I will remind them of the same things. When something happens, whether positive or negative, I will see what this event can mean for me, regardless of its positivity/negativity in my life. By having strong principles and standing for them, and no fear of vulnerability for showing that, I can be more positive.
—
A positive note happening today is that I am finally going to attend the Spanish Conversation Meetup I’ve been thinking about for months, but have never gone after one excuse after another. I am reminding myself to stop pushing things off, and let myself see how this event and its outcome can be an opportunity for me, instead of some nebulous specter floating around in my head.
This is exactly how I feel, Irvin. :) Have fun in the Spanish Conversation Meetup. It sounds exciting.
1)read books, release stress, feel good, appreciate and be gratitude.
2)appreciate everything given to me, feel grateful of what I am having now.
positive things:
-overcame bad emotion. though EQ has to be higher!!
-feel grateful of having people who supports me.
-awake from sleepwaking.
-reading useful resources.
If you are not in pain at all, or not ill, cast your mind back to a time when you were and think how lucky you currently are. For example; How great not to have a great big spot on your nose, an annoying mouth ulcer, something in your eye, that horrible feeling after stubbing your toe, not having abroken arm/leg, not having a blister on your foot, that kind of thing, you get the idea. :)
What Does It Mean To Be a Positive Person?
To me, it means to be grateful about our lives. To love, to contribute, to care. To practice unconditional acceptance towards all beings, including oneself. To laugh, and to see humor in everything. To be authentic in every way possible. To be here in the present.
How Can You Be More Positive?
Practice gratitude. Do what we love to do. Live a purposeful life. Be present-minded. Stop judging people and things. Don’t take things too seriously. Be authentic. Decide to be happy and make it the priority.
Identify at least one positive thing about your day.
Somehow, I just feel more energetic and good about myself in today’s cool, windy and rainy weather. :)
What Does It Mean To Be a Positive Person?How Can You Be More Positive?
after taking exam i will be free and more positive :angel: :angel: :angel: :angel:
tomorrow is ma exam plz pray………….
at now m lost :angel: :angel: :angel:
Everything would be alright. You’re good enough. There’s nothing lacking. You can do it. :hug:
In my opinion, being a positive person means to be able to see the good side of all things surrounding you, from people to events, from challenging situations to moments of silence. The ability of recognizing the many blessing with which we are gifted every day represents a sure way to becoming more self aware and happy as opposed to those who only seek the worst in their lives and who linger on those upsetting matters instead of trying to solve them and achieve a higher state of mind.
In order to become more positive I could:
-care less what others think about me (mostly about my physical appearance; I’m slowly moving away from this limiting belief)
-take a deep breath and see the good outcome even in the worst of situations
-help those around me to understand how important it is to be more positive; this way not only will I feel better/more positive but also I would spread the state of wellness around me
-doing good deeds more frequently (I always feel happy and fulfilled when I help someone).
Today I tried a guided meditation video I’ve found on YouTube (here’s the link if you’re interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW4nyzXPDbE . The concepts of “god” and “divinity” are used with a rather universal meaning in the video so that it doesn’t conflict with any system of spiritual beliefs you may have :) ). As I listened, I really felt happy and grateful, realizing that each day is a gift. The world around us is so rich from various points of view, we are all parts of the same universe and therefore we should strive to live in peace and harmony. I’m glad to be alive. :)
Being a positive person as for me is to make the shift to occur…a shift from expecting more from the outside to expecting more from within…
Being a positive person means to not crumble when these expectations don’t flower…for every bud has its season….
Being a positive person is to let them throw stones on you as you go on to convert these stones to milestones…
Being a positive person is to spread the positivity from within to the outside…
Being a positive person is to always remember that a coin always has its two sides, if one is bad, then the other one is definitely good
Being a positive person is to not think that failure is defeat…but its just another way of not getting there and is a chance to let others know on what not to do so that the same mistake isn’t repeated…
Being a positive person is to emulate the ant…seek to climb the wall, even after a 100 slip-ups…
Being a positive person is to remember that no matter whatever happens, no matter what they say, no matter how bad you fall…the sun’s going to go up tomorrow…life is going to give you yet another chance to try tomorrow….
Being a positive person is remembering to :) :D :dance:
MY POSITIVE FOR TODAY
I’ve decided that I’m never going to settle for anything less I could be….
:heart:
:heart:
What does it mean to be a positive person?
It means being optimistic, positive, and loving. Treating others with kindness and respect regardless of who they are.
How can we be more positive?
Simple, focus on what we have. Focus on the positive people and things in our lives. It’s when we focus on what we lack that we begin to feel less positive….
I have everything and everyone I need in my life right now to be happy and successful for the rest of my life! :heart:
What is means to be a positive person? Well… A positive, upbeat person that is happy most of the time. Even when their not on the inside they fake it…. so that no one else knows. ;-) Doesn’t have much negative to say about others no matter how they are mistreated. Always looks for the positive and good things of every situation. Grateful for what they have.
I remember about 12 years ago, a friend of mine said that she wished she was more like me…. i said ‘why’. she said, ‘you never say anything negative about anyone’. Even when others around you do, you just don’t say anything. You don’t get involved in the negativity of others. I had not really thought anything of it, until she said that. I can honestly say that I’ve fallen away from that ‘self’ a little over the years. In working with several ppl that are out for themselves and try to make themselves look good at my expense…. I tend to say or think negative thoughts. It is quite hard since I work in a different environment than I did back then….
I need to try to do better and bite my tongue more instead of voicing my opinions of others.
Positive thought for the day: I have a short week. Going to enjoy an extended weekend with my ‘honey’ for our 1 year wedding anniversary…. ;-)
:D Congratulations on your anniversary, and I hope you have a lovely celebratory weekend!
Being a positive person means allowing yourself to accept that you’re good enough right now, exactly as you are.
Being a positive person means loving your life right now, exactly as it is.
Being a positive person means that at each encounter with yourself/others you behave as if you/others are the most ideal version of themselves.
I can be more positive by practising living by those tenets. I think it’s all summed up by the word ‘friendliness’ – striving to be friendly towards myself and others. As simple and as difficult as that.
One positive thing today – have just returned home from a zumba class – such good fun and brilliant music too.
A positive person is one who sees both the positive and negative in life, but focuses on the positive part, addressing the negative part only long enough to make corrective action and then forgetting about it.
Some ways to be more positive include:
1. Read motivational material, reflect on the lessons, record top lessons in a notebook, and review notes weekly. Consciously apply the techniques until they become habbits.
2. Reflect on self behavior to constantly improve. Commit to constant improvement.
3. In a negative situation, ask yourself “What’s good about this?” to bring out the positive side.
4. Remain calm and composed. A calm demeanor goes hand in hand with a positive outlook. It’s hard for a calm person to be negative, and it’s hard for an anxiety-ridden person to be positive.
5. Refuse to respond to negative feedback, to avoid adding fuel to that fire. (selectively applied, of course.) [Example: I visited my mother yesterday. In 3 hours she made over 300 negative remarks. I didn’t respond to a single one of them. By ignoring them, the remarks died a quiet death, and didn’t escalate.]
6. When the “river of thoughts” that runs through your mind delivers a negative thought to your mind, mentally throw it back in the river (like throwing back a fish). Mentally picture hitting a “delete” button to rid the thought. Then replace it with a positive thought from the river of life.
A good thing about today: Although I have pain from a reoccuring condition, I am able to manage it today with calm thoughts and a certain knowledge that it will eventually go away.
Hi Susan ! :)
I think that if someone is making 300 negative remarks in 3 hours and even if you are not responding to any of those remarks. It doesn’t mean that it’s not going to affect you because our sub conscious mind takes it as it is whether you want it or not. That’s how sub-conscious works.
So, no offense, but I think you either need to change the topic (like divert the conversation from people to objects or ask her about some recipes etc.) If it’s not your close one then you should leave immediately.
I agree with Dilip. Perhaps, in between her negative remarks, surprise her with a compliment! Try to find something nice to say about her, her hair, her cooking, about the house, etc. I’m sure there is something nice and beautiful about her! Look for it. Open your heart and you will find it.
A positive person finds the good and bright side of any given situation or encounter. As a human being, no doubt sometimes, we do have some negative feelings about somebody, a situation or even about ourselves. When that feeling comes, just check yourself, why are you feeling that way. Analyze it and turn it around to see what are the possibilities of things being right, that there is something good and beautiful in that particular encounter, in that person, in yourself. If you look for the good, you will find it and vice versa.
Our positive energy will attract more positivity in our life.
Identify at least one positive thing about your day
* I received the Star Newbie Award in The Haiku Challenge 2012. I didn’t expect to receive anything. I just wanted to learn and be inspired. :cool:
* Peaceful and quiet at work today as it’s the school holidays. :mrgreen:
* Peaceful evening for reading. :mrgreen:
Congrats on the award! (: Doing what we love often reward us!
And I totally agree with you on what a positive person it. C=
Thanks, Irvin! :mrgreen:
What does it mean to be a positive person?
In my opinion, it is being able to overcome any hurdle in life with a smile of your face and be able to look on the brighter side of things.being able to help other people even when you don’t feel like it or even when you have bigger problems.. that creates more positivity in life…
Being true to yourself without comparing yourself with others also attributes to positivity because you see things as YOU and you don’t corrupt your mind with what other people are doing . thinking that can affect your outlook of life..
“Being true to yourself without comparing yourself with others also attributes to positivity because you see things as YOU and you don’t corrupt your mind with what other people are doing. ”
:clap:
Absolutely true! I actually missed this point. :shy:
BTW you forgot to mention one positive thing of your day. :mrgreen:
Oh yeah :) one positive thing about my day today is the realisation that God is answering my prayers in his time and in a better way than i imagined.. that by itself gives me hope and makes me look at life positively, that instead of just a good way of things turning out.. they are turning out for the better…
A positive person sees the challenge in every problem. She knows that the persons around are her mirrors. And she knows that complaining ans seeing the guilt only in others leads to unhappiness. She knows that one she can make herself happy. She does things she like most – well at least most of the time. Ans she finds happiness in the small thigs others take for granted.
I am a much more positive person right now compared with me three years ago. I now try to smile more, to live in the present, to et a better posture, to stop complaining after 1 minute of (like we say in germany) “being on top of a palm tree” and to look grateful on the passing days. Beside this, I stand up for the things I really want to enjoy, e.g. doing this holiday in iceland 1 week ago although my boyfriend doens´t want to come with me.
I already do! I matriculate today for light psychology studies and I am very proud of this (although my boyfriend and my family say that I am already overqualified and it is too expensive). Beside this I use http://www.mindbloom.com to track if I smile, if I am grateful, if I meditate, if I say I love you and many more thigs. It helpes me a lot!
Identify at least one positive thing about your day.
I got things done! health insurance, matriculation, email responses, paying bills. Wonderful feeling :)
A possitive person is someone who loves him/her self, knows what he/she doesnt want and is open minded. Does always turn any situation in to something possitive and benefits from bad experiace. By being possitive and open minded. This person brings out the good in others and does not judge others.
I think it´s always possible to be more possitive :-) and I want try to practice that.
Possitive today, Im looking forward to my spinning class this evening :-) It feels so good to be tired after a good workout !
A positive person is one who looks at life and sees good things in it and concentrates on them. He does not let bad things bring him and when they do, he does not stay down. He always finds the best out of everything and loves who they are and loves they life inlcuding all the imperfections. He does not worship perfection, because the it doesn’t exist n e search for it only brings frustration. A positive person brings out the good in others because they are content with who they are. A +ve person is a happy person. Hw cn I b more positive, I suppose I cn learn hw to b tht person I’ve described by smiling more n stopping tht search for perfection n being content with myself. Also I cud look up n c e sun today instead of clouds. A +ve thng abt mi day is wearing this purple striped top I’m wearing. Its comfortable. :D
For me, right now being positive means actively remembering and celebrating the inner light/glow within myself, as well as the ones in the loved ones. I’m starting off small, because that’s just where ibam right now, but it’s something!
Positive: I’m looking forward to some more lovely weather, and hope to meditate in a park today.
A positive person does not let the weather dictate their move, they find the good in everything, they can take the bad as a learning experience, they focus on what is going right instead of complaining about all the wrong, they give everyone a chance.
I can complain less and talk about people less. I used to be really good at this – but then it crept back up on me. I really really do not like spending a conversation talking about people – it makes me feel dirty. So I want to get out of that habit and just focus on the good that is going on in my life and NOT feel guilty about it. It seems more acceptable to complain than it does to be happy, sometimes.
My positive thing was to reach out and call a friend when I was feeling sad. It’s hard for me to do but was worth it.
I agree with you, talking about others is not nice. I also want to stop that totally ! So that is my plan as well,,,,It can be hard when others are doing it and want you to particapate. But there must be away to stay nutral.
Good luck&
Have nice day !
What Does It Mean To Be a Positive Person?
I think that being a positive person means:
1. To have the ability to say that “Yes I can achieve success”.
2. To be always inspired and has goals, hope and purpose in life.
3. To Be certain of one’s ability to find or create solutions.
4. To have the tenacity to pull through any challenge. A willing heart and joyful spirit no matter what the situation is.
And,
5. To wake up in the morning and saying “Good morning Lord” instead of “Good Lord it’s morning”.
Also, I know it’s not asked but I want to say it anyway that, being a positive person doesn’t mean that one must go on pretending that everything is great all the time, or walking around trying to make everyone laugh or smile.
One must not be oblivious of personal matters that need to be tended to, and be delusively happy. No, it’s not being positive. It’s foolishness. Positive thinking involves being cautiously optimistic and positively realistic in the face of adversity.
How Can You Be More Positive?
One doesn’t become positive overnight.
1. It must be practiced daily in your thoughts and in your actions.
2. Read inspiring books/articles.
3. Spend more time with the people who have goals in their life and who inspires you.
4. Practice self-hypnosis and give your-self positive affirmations.(I am trying to do this now-a–days)
And at last but not the least:
5. Looking for one positive thing about the day definitely helps a lot. It’s helping me and for this many many thanx to celes!!
One positive thing about the day :) :)
Today I was pondering about ‘what is love’, ‘why I want to be loved’ and bla bla bla … (I do that a lot…;) I love to churn on various topics :D) and then in these train of thoughts, it struck to me that: “If I am empty from inside, No girl can fill that emptiness. I first need to learn how to love myself” and with this thought I felt like a big burden is lifted off my chest. I realized my mistake and the reason why I feel sad and am depressed sometimes.
Now I am definitely going to work on myself. I have once again started doing Vipassana. My passion to do something for the world… to do something about the suffering of others .. to help others… is back.
I have once again found my purpose of my life and now I am going to stick with it. :)
Oh god, I totally get the love yourself part…
That’s a big insight I had the other day. I do have a boyfriend who loves me to bits, but the fact is, that for a long time now I have been living with a sense of resentment towards myself.
The things I say to myself in my head are things that would probably make any true friend punch me in the face and I’d completely deserve it.
I have abused myself mentally and physically through bizarre eating habits, I talk myself down day by day, consider myself unworthy of love and belonging and am constantly my biggest critic. I have demolished my self-confidence through spending 2 1/2 years in a damaging relationship and LYING to myself that I was actually happy, which of course completely messed up my gut feeling.
I’m constantly working myself back up now, I have a fantastic new relationship and am working towards my goals in life, and trying to practice self-kindness. Yesterday I felt I saw myself for the first time in ages, actually SAW myself truly, what I am at the core, a being that is perfect because of its imperfection, because imperfection is the nature of life itself… and actually feeling love for that being.
We have to love ourselves or we will never be happy, no matter what circumstances we create in our life. We have to love ourselves first so we can love our lives and be happy, and to make us lovable to other people.
*applause* Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.
Whenever my boyfriend and I have disagreements, or I snap at him, or feel upset, it’s normally because I feel bad in myself. To take a really silly example (actually, they’re ALL silly examples), I left a teacup in his room one evening, but had taken a load of other stuff I’d left in there back to my room (we share a house with a couple of other people, so we still have our own rooms). When I got home the next day, he asked me, jokingly, why I’d left a single teacup in his room while I’d gone to the trouble to take everything else out. He wasn’t at all angry that I’d left it there – I mean, he wouldn’t have been angry if I’d left everything else there. He just found it funny that I’d left that single little thing. Well, I interpreted that as ‘why did you leave a teacup in my room? How dare you leave a teacup in my room! God! You’re so MESSY and SLOBBY and LAZY and you’re RUINING EVERYTHING and ARGH!’ And I reacted accordingly – really defensively. The poor guy was utterly shocked (and who can blame him?!) The reason I was so defensive is because I really hate mess and do my best to tidy up after myself, so even something so inocuous as asking such a simple question led me to feel slighted. I was beating myself up for being ‘messy’ and taking it out on him, when a) I wasn’t being messy, b) he wasn’t criticising me at all and c) even if a) and b) had been true, it was no excuse for how I reacted. Not loving yourself can be the biggest problem in relationships. In other situations it can lead to emotional co-dependency, neediness and a whole load of other toxic stuff. So I think you’re really hit the nail on the head with this one.
“Yesterday I felt I saw myself for the first time in ages, actually SAW myself truly, what I am at the core, a being that is perfect because of its imperfection, because imperfection is the nature of life itself… and actually feeling love for that being.”
I am really happy for you :D *dance*
One quote I wanted to share: http://www.marcandangel.com/images/thoughtquestions/20.jpg
Have a great week Ffion :)
Wow, thank you for your great comment :D
Yeah, when we have a twisted self-image and lack self-love we can really interpret other people’s reactions totally wrong, it’s so weird. If we love ourselves it’s so much easier to react kindly to other people…
I admire my boyfriend very much, who, if in doubt about whether someone meant what they said personally always choses to interpret it positively :)
Thanks for the quote, it is very true :) It’s amazing how badly some of use abuse ourselves emotionally, any parent would go to prison for it… I’m now trying to become a better friend to myself :)
My boyfriend always says “If everyone in the world took care of themself, everyone would be taken care of”. And though that may sound a little “selfish”, my boyfriend is possibly the most unselfish person I know. But he doesn’t let anything or anyone ruin his happiness and is thus much better able to act with kindness and compassion towards other people. I think it’s amazing. I admire him deeply.
:) yay for inspirational boyfriends! Mine’s the same – if he’s in any doubt as to hwo to take a comment, he’ll either ask for clarification, or just take it positively. He has a pretty demanding job that really shows him the nastier stuff in human nature, and he just doesn’t let it get to him. He takes responsibility for his own happiness, he cultivates it in himself instead of relying on others to provide it for him – and he’s just so loving and compassionate towards others because of it. I’ve got quite a way to go, I think… :shy:
Phewwww !! and here I was thinking that I had shared something v personal but I guess, sometimes it’s okay to let others know what you are thinking … sometimes it’s okay to let someone peek into your lives. Maybe you can prevent others to do the same mistake.
and you know what Fifon! from your experience I have started to think that “It’s hundred times better to be single than being with a wrong person”. Ryt?
It is something very personal :) But I always find that more people go through similar troubles as ourselves than we think. It’s just very few care to share.
It’s totally better to be single than with the wrong person. And when you find someone really special it was worth the wait :)
And anyway, I don’t get what’s wrong with being single anyway. I had my first boyfriend when I was 19 and before that I was happy as could be. It was in my relationship my happiness took a downhill turn…
I blame the media and society for making us think there’s something “wrong” with not having a boy/girlfriend past a certain age. You can be a perfectly happy, healthy, wonderdul person even if you’re single…
This is quite a tricky question, because I don’t think being positive just means that you’re happy all the time. I think it’s more to do with pursuing happiness, working for it and allowing it to enter your life. As Roses said above, having your own dream, working to fulfill it. Focussing on the good things in your situation, yourself and others and cultivating good. Not assuming the worst, but at the same time being sensible enough to look after yourself and not trust everyone. Not allowing the sadness in the world to make you jaded and cynical, but instead working to achieve happiness in your own corner of the world. Not being self-centred; being able to see things in perspective and not allowing your own problems to cloud your relationships with others, but at the same time attending to the issues in your own life that are causing unhappiness. Loving yourself, but striving to improve yourself. Loving others just the way they are, and NOT striving to improve them ;) but being on hand to support if they ask for it. Developing strategies to cope with worries and stress, because they will always be present.
Oh, I could go on for ages with this ;) Definitions should really be concise, right? >.<
How to be more positive? I think the biggest thing I need to work on is not assuming the worst. I can get so defensive when I think people are being critical, when half the time they're not, and even when they are, there's no reason to react that way. It stems in part from my own perfectionism and the fact that I see criticism as an indicator of a failing on my part… and that really frustrates me. I should learn to be more compassionate with myself, accept that I'm not perfect and never will be, work on my flaws, and accept what people are saying at face value before jumping to conclusions and assuming that it's a personal attack.
I was having a wonderful conversation with a friend of mine yesterday. Last year we both went through bad breakups, and even though in both cases we were the people ending the relationships, it affected us. In my case I became depressed for many months. It was a really hard time. But yesterday, we were both talking about our experiences and how, now, we can see the positives in the situations (one of them being that had neither break-up happened, we wouldn't have become such good friends!) Also, I've learned so much about myself, what I want from life, and how I react to things, and now I'm working on the shortcomings that it revealed. Also, if I hadn't been so depressed, I don't think I would have had a reason to completely change my life around this year with the exercise and meditation. So that was a really positive thing to come out of yesterday.
Today, I've just received some feedback on some work. It's good :D
To see the ordinary in the extraordinary. To create happiness from within rather than constantly seeking it without in other people or in things. To focus on the good things in life, not denying that there are also bad things, but not letting negativity become the focus of our life.
Be authentic, that your thoughts, words and actions are in harmony and true to your own being. Live with the purpose of being happy. Creating happiness and beauty within creates happiness and beauty without.
Learn to accept that life and I myself are imperfect constructs, and that that is precisely the thing that ultimately makes us perfect. We are perfect and lovable because we are imperfect. Not despite it.
Fall in love with life. I want to love life the way I love my boyfriend, wholeheartedly and unconditionally, embrace what it is completely, with all its up and downs and any flaws there might be, reserve judgement, forgive quickly, see past anything negative that may be to the essence, to the beauty at the core, to let my love flow openly and unconditionally, to him, to my life and to myself.
To be kind, loving and respectful to myself, to be my own best friend. To grow “organically” through self nurturance, not through self-hatred, punishment and a sense of “not being good enough”, but through love, through embracing what I am fully and without judgement, to grow only through that love and kindness, never by “pulling the grass to make it grow faster”.
Celebrate the miracles of the ordinary everyday, to make the ordinary extraordinary by learning to actually see it and embracing it fully.
Living with my eyes and heart wide open.
Happiness is a way of travelling. An attitude. A state of mind. Not a place to arrive at. Happiness is in the simple things.
Living with my eyes and heart wide open
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Glad you like it <3
I just realised I should have added mind as well… :)
Being a positive person to me embodies so much. Being friendly towards others, not complaining about silly things, making other people feel good when they’re down, not being offended by negative comments people make about me, accepting constructive criticism without getting defensive, smiling at people, being generous when possible, doing what needs to be done without hesitating, and so much more. I could easily list so many other examples here, but this should be enough to provide a general idea of what I’m talking about :)
How can I be a more positive person? Do more of the above for the most part. Maybe challenge myself to be more positive in difficult situations, or around people who are far more negative than positive? Be more accepting. One thing I always do is remain positive in situations that could easily become confrontational. For example if I visit a restaurant or cafe and they give me the wrong meal. I see a lot of people react really rudely in such situations. As if the restaurant or cafe are specifically trying to humiliate them. For me, if they give me the wrong meal, I’ll let them know in the most friendly and polite way, and decide immediately if that meal will be as enjoyable as what I did order. In most cases it would be. There’s no need to make a fuss. Mistakes do happen. Who’s to know why the chef may not be thinking clearly? Or the waiter or waitress even. Their dog may have died that day, who knows? If they truly are incompetent, better to just let them know in the nicest possible way.
Positive thing that happened today. I had a delicious banana, mango and mint smoothie for breakfast :) I also discovered that an online order I placed just this morning had already been shipped within the hour. Even though I paid via a bank transfer that normally takes a couple of days to clear. I just left a message with my order stating that if it could be delivered by the weekend, I would very much appreciate it.
I think what you said about being able to accept constructive criticism, and not being offended by negative comments, is really important. I know that so often, if someone says something that could be taken as negative, I will take it that way and get offended – most of the time they really didn’t mean to offend, and it’s actually really insulting towards them for me to react that way, as if I’m adamant about taking everything they say in the worst possible light and not giving them the benefit of the doubt. It’s definitely something I need to work on. Thank you for reminding me :)
Hi Squiggle, yes, this definitely helps a lot! Reacting in a non-positive way can only only make things worse, and could even lead to an argument. If we know for sure we’ve done nothing wrong, it’s better just to assume the other person is having a bad day, rather than react to what they have said.
What Does It Mean To Be a Positive Person?
A positive person always think positively on anything happen to him / her, has less or zero complaints. He or she takes all the failures as experience, and always spread the happy atmosphere to everyone around him / her to be happy.
How Can You Be More Positive?
For me, I would try to think the other side of the negative incident and take it positively. Do my best not to complain, and I appreciate what I have currently. Be sure to make everyone around me to be happy. If the people around me are happy, I will feel happy too.
Start applying what you wrote on being more positive.
I chat with my parents everyday, be sure that they are happy everyday (in fact, they are happy most of the time). I chat with my students and understand their problems, listen to them. I might not be able to help out in their problems, but I can be a listener to let them release their tension. I will do my best not to complain.
Identify at least one positive thing about your day.
I just sent an message to a contest participant in my club, who joined the contest but didn’t get the prize last night. I sent a message to console her, and hope that she is not disappointed with the contest result. Deep in my heart, I knew that she had done her best, and she did improve a lot as compared to the last contest two weeks ago. She replied me that she is fine, and I hope that she is really feeling fine for that. :)
Today, after the class, I went for a lunch with the students. They are very noisy, but it was fun to be with them, chat with them, listen to all sorts of their stories from their lives and studies. As compared to last semester, their attitudes really changed to be better a lot. They started to care about their studies, be serious in their studies and do the practicals by themselves, or discuss with their friends. This is what I feel happy for. ^^
Positive person is a happy person.
Say hello to someone who smile to you or smile back.
If someone on the road, horn at you, let it go. That person might be in a hurry for something urgent, instead of getting upset at that person…
Think of it, that car is speeding, let it get a speeding fine..
Read some motivational stuff/ books to keep positive and motivated in life..
My friends and I went out, had few drinks, sat down relaxed and chatted for a long time…
Feel so good to spend time with them and we can spend hours together and enjoy each other’s company. So thankful to have them in my life.
i have had incidents lately where strangers have smiles and greeting me … it makes me feel happy and the energy it gives me makes me smile and greet someone too …
What does it mean to be positive person?
For me the positive person is the one who has the following charateristics :
A personfully loaded with energy, active, happy and smiling always!!! :), looking even the worst scenario in a positive way, making others happy with thier positivity aspects, not complaining about others, learning positive aspects even during tough times, accepting the people as what they are.
How can i be more positive?
By not complaining, learning positive aspects even in hard times,by being active and filled with love and energy always !!! :) and by accepting the people as what they are.
I am in the process of learning the triat of ‘Not complaning aspect’. I hope i will get along with this one soon and become even more a positive person…:)
Positive for the day:
I got up early and did my yoga practise for the day and planning to go for cycling in the evening too :)
I agree that loaded with energy, active, happy and always smiling are very positive attributes, and always used to think of positive people as such.
However, the most positive person I know is my boyfriend, and he’s a much more laid back kind of person, he moves slowly, doesn’t get mad quickly and radiates calm and comfort more than energy and activity. He does do Judo though, in which he can be pretty energetic :)
I love how positivity can have many faces.
Just to finish off yesterday: I met up with some friends and our children in the park. I was positive by smiling and giving everyone a big positive greeting. I focused on the good things. It went well although I could have been more positive by sharing the good things in my life. When some people ask me about work I just say ‘Yeah, it’s busy’ and don’t like to elaborate. That’s because I’m not that happy in my work, but there are good things, for example I get to work from home once a week, so I could share those things.
The most positive thing about my day yesterday was meeting up with my friends. It was really nice to see everyone, the sun was shining and our kids were playing in the park. :)
Today: To be a positive person means to have a vision for your life and to work towards it. If your life does not reflect that vision, or working towards it, you change. But in the meantime you focus on the good things you have and are working towards. You smile a lot and do not live in fear, you focus on love. You are happy when things go well, both for yourself and others. When life is tough you are compassionate towards others and yourself but you remember the good things that are left and always think of new perspectives that will help you be more positive.
Today I am going to smile more, think of something good in every encounter and when I want to complain or be negative I am going to be positive instead. I am going to share the good things in my life instead of saying ‘yeah same old’. I am also going to take some time out to work on my vision and goals.
Will let you know how it goes! Hopefully this comment will show up!
It sounds like loads of people have had lovely weather recently :) We were outside enjoying it yesterday too.
I love your definition of what it means to be a positive person. Thank you!
You’re welcome Squiggle, yes it was lovely yesterday in London, felt like summer!
I’m happy you love my definition of a positive person too. :)
:) I’m in Birmingham, so it makes sense that we both had lovely weather. My parents who live in Kent were lucky with it too.
Today’s not so nice here :( Oh well.
Ha ha, typical Brits talking about the weather! :)
I thought exactly the same thing ;)
Wow I had a great day yesterday and day 13 has come at a great time for me! A friend came round and I was very positive and happy. Also, at my son’s parents’ evening I felt under attack and defensive but managed to turn the situation around and view it in a positive light. Also, I got on very well with my son’s father. So the positivity steps worked. :)
The most positive thing about my day was that I took criticism in a positive way, a big deal for me! Weird but good feeling!
To me be a positive person means that you see a gift in every situation you face in life. It does not mean that you are smiling and happy all the time but your attitude always leads you to see the good things even in bad situations. It helps you to move on with faith and hope that everything will be fine and with the conviction that you have learned and grown from those experiences.
Personally I like smile and in general have good attitude, but I think I need to be more positive when facing hard situations or things that bother me or when I strongly disagree with someone, it is a challenge to look at the positive things, out of sudden I become negative. I need to be more aware when those situations happen in my life and keep calm and positive; trying to see where is the gift, what I need to learn from it. Also I can be more positive avoiding fears, sometimes my mind gets messy thinking bad things that “could happen” and then I feel negative. I have to stop that and be more present.
I am definitely trying to apply those ideas. Something that I feel has helped me is to write everyday 5 gratitude statements every morning, I feel more positive and energized.
A good thing about today: I went to the park with my hubby and had a great afternoon playing Frisbee and enjoying the lovely weather we had.
being gratitude build up consistency in positivity, that what i have learnt over time.. no matter how hard things are sometimes the positivity helps to hope for the best.. and you spread positivity unknowingly
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