I'm Waving Goodbye to Negativity

Knowing yourself can be tough, but being honest with yourself - really, truly and deeply honest - is a true skill.

Negativity is one of the fundamental ways in which we express basic human emotions, feelings and moods. I'm a huge believer that habits are cultivated and honed: unfortunately, verbal negativity is a habit all too respected and condoned in our society.

So, how do we step away from it? I mean, seriously stamp it out. It creeps into our relationships, our mindsets and ultimately shapes how we live our lives. It's time to bid that hunk of junk farewell and step into the light, feel the breeze on your shoulders and truly experience life.

1. Be aware

I think one of the easiest places to begin is to figure out what sort of situations, people or moods make you sink into the black abyss of negativity. For me it's when I'm tired, hungry, impatient, around the wrong sort of people or feel irritated.

Now you know what's a perfect breeding ground for negativity, it's easier to train yourself to be prepared and to think positively and graciously instead.

Tip: Write it all down. Join the dots on paper, or go for a walk and talk it through out loud. Find your own way of pinpointing problems and that'll aid being productive all the more.

2. Be the change

If you can't remove the catalyst (ie. being around people who are a seriously bad influence) then it's you that needs to change. Simple! In fact sometimes not being able to remove the catalyst is even better as it forces you to take a hard look at who you really are. Beneath all the good lies a nasty monster, we'll never remove it but we can (and will) certainly diminish it's hold on us.

Now, I'm certainly not perfect, heck I'm the poster child for a work in progress. It just feels so freeing and uplifting to consciously take steps in the right direction.

You see the thing is, negativity breeds only more negativity and you're the one in the driver's seat.

Learn what causes you to be negative, and then teach yourself to shut it down. It takes practice but it is so unbelievably worth it to sit, smile and not feel like you're going to combust with anger and frustration as you vehemently recant some negative tale.

Sometimes in life we just can't change the situation we're in. The kid relentlessly sniffling, the horrible customer in work, or the textbook 'I've had one of those days'. Every once and a while we're dealt a crap hand, it's simply about learning how to play our cards.