How to be Positive and Happier Everyday

Before you read: some questions to help you think about the topic and the words you might need.

How important is positive thinking?

Do you know some people who think positively? Negatively?

Maybe you know people who are always saying negative things and complaining. These people make negative energy that destroys your happiness. And it destroys your positive thoughts.

So how can you enjoy life more and experience more happiness? What do positive people do that makes them happy?

1. They create happiness from inside.

Happy people don’t get their happiness from outside stimulations. They know that once the stimulant is gone, their good feeling will stop. Instead, they look for positive energy or feelings from inside themselves – from their thinking and thoughts.

2. They practice positive thinking.

How you think will affect what actions you do. So if you have negative thoughts your future will be negative. Our minds think of excuses for failures, but positive people don’t accept these. Positive people talk positively to themselves and find the good things from any problem.

3. Positive people look for reasons to believe in themselves.

Don’t let negative feelings affect you. You will have many negative thoughts about yourself, but don’t believe these. Most times negative thoughts are only temporary so believe in yourself. You can do it!

 4. Positive people don’t keep negative friends.

If you spend time with positive people, you are more likely to be happy and content. On the other hand, if you are too close to people who tell you the future is bad and complain, you will have a hard time removing the negative thoughts from your life.

What do positive people do?

5. They exercise regularly.

Physical training is associated with releasing endorphins which are responsible for “feeling good.” Being good to your body pays off and the result is less stress and more happiness. On the other hand, if you don’t listen to your body’s needs, it will let you experience the negative results.

6. They spend time in the nature.

Being in the nature clears your mind and relaxes your body. Positive people dedicate a part of their day to get outside and enjoy the nature. Nature gives you more energy.

7. They avoid impulsive spending.

Buying may make you feel better at the moment you buy it. But in the longer time it doesn’t make you happy. Positive people would rather save for experiences to discover the world and make some great memories.

8. They accept failure.

Positive people embrace failure as they understand it’s the only way to learn and grow. Whenever they fail, they work hard to get to their goal and don’t give up. Even though a failure brings negative feelings, they understand these are for a short time only and will go away soon. To make the bad feeling go away sooner they think positive thoughts.

9. They don’t blame others or other things.

If it’s a success or failure, positive people think it is a result of their actions and thoughts. A positive person will never blame outside things. They will look for ways to improve it.

By doing that, they pursue being better and experience a better life. And so they don’t feel that they can’t control life.

10. They learn to control their thoughts.

Our minds can easily lose control by sudden negative thoughts. Positive individuals know if they don’t control their thoughts, they will lose control over their actions and behaviors. Because of this, they practice mind control.

For example they might do meditation.

11. They make some time to relax.

Instead of trying to be perfect, positive people understand that sometimes you need to slow down. You don’t have to be the best all the time. You don’t have to always be busy. By doing this they have energy and won’t feel so tired.

12. They believe there’s always a solution.

Sometimes, life seems too hard. When that happens, you can doubt that you can solve the current problem. But there’s always a way to get past a problem and positive people know that. Even if they reach rock bottom, they believe it happens so they can get to the top. They can become stronger.

13. They know when to say no.

It’s important to be able to say no.

This means positive people don’t feel they have to make everyone happy. You can’t do everything. If it is too much stress then say no. And you will feel more honest with yourself.

14. Don’t worry about what other people think.

If you are always worried about what other people think then you will have a hard time feeling happy. Many people are afraid of not being acceptable to other people. Positive people are opposite to this. Believe in what you do.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=6, B=1, C=8, D=3, E=2, F=7, G=5, H=4

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1. I like to have a coffee in the morning to stimulate me for work.

2. It seemed expensive, on the other hand it was the best quality.

3. Hard work always pays off.

4. My mother was dedicated to getting me into a good school.

5. I regret buying that jacket, it was impulsive because it looked good in the shop.

6. To get a good grade, you need to embrace everything that the teacher tells you.

7. After law school, he will pursue a job in an international law company.

8. After I broke up with my girlfriend I hit rock bottom.

    

    

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1. How much do you agree that outside stimulations can make you happy or not?

2. Give an example when you would use ‘on the other hand’ in a conversation.

3. Describe something you have worked hard at that has really paid off. How much time did you have to dedicate to it?

4. Have you done something impulsive that you thought was a bad idea later?

5. Will you embrace some new thinking from today’s reading? What?

6. What goals are you pursuing in your life these days?

7. Was there a time you felt rock bottom and had to try to think positively to feel better?