How to stay positive when things go against you

Natalia Cadavid
Aug 23, 2017 · 4 min read

Staying positive is an important part of our culture nowadays. More and more people are often looking for inspiration and ways to turn their frowns upside down. There is even a branch of psychology dedicated to helping people feel positive emotions. And all of that is great, except for those days when we just don’t understand why things don’t go our way or when we magnify a setback and ruins our day.

After almost two weeks of technical setbacks and feeling quite annoyed, I am sitting and thinking: What should I be learning right now? What is the lesson behind of all of this inconvenience?

I am aware that this is not a big deal at all, but yet I can’t help myself but feeling a bit defeated and tired of things going against me. I had planned to write a beautiful informative text about positive psychology today. It was all going to be about how our thoughts, emotions, and focus affect our lives and reality. But all I can think right now is how can I make this work for me today. What can I do to turn my setbacks into a positive feeling? How can I turn this around to feel encouraged to move forward? Is that even possible to me right now?

A different perspective of a challenge

I am all in for doing something, always. Taking control of the situation and becoming the creator instead of a victim of life. That’s it! Perhaps I need to turn my focus inwards and get away from the outside. I am constantly reading, watching videos, listening to audios, learning something from someone or creating content for other people. So, maybe today I just need this un-required free time to slow down and listen to myself.

Thinking of this situation in a different way is actually making me feel a positive emotion. I am feeling inspired. It is so easy for us to get caught up in the challenges. Usually, when things don’t go our way, we jump into frustration, anger, disappointment, anxiety or stress.

We feel like the world is plotting against us, and we start making excuses for why we shouldn’t go ahead with our projects. Consequently, we become victims of life.

Making conscious choices

Being a victim of life is not just about letting life happen to you while sitting and wishing for something to be different.

It is about taking responsibility for the way that we think and feel about something. Each one of us, have the power to turn negative emotions around. But it takes work. It requires looking at it from a different perspective and choosing which way of viewing it will serve us more.

Our personal world is a reflection of the way we view it.

Staying positive is a conscious choice. We tend to think that the bumps on the road are the hardest part because we need to experience them and feel things that don’t make us feel good. But the truth is that going to a negative place is the easy way to go, the hard work is coming out of it with a positive outlook.

The impact of staying positive

Any negative emotion has the potential to be transformed into a positive emotion.

The human brain is designed to draw more attention to the negative things. A negative signal makes it go on alert and defensive mode. While we still need to feel and recognize the negative emotions, we also need to think of ways to rise and come above them with positive emotions.

Positive emotions open our creativity and make us see more possibilities and solutions to situations. They help us be a better version of ourselves. They have the power to broaden our awareness and mindset momentary, which in time builds our resourcefulness.

We all face challenges, we all experience setbacks and we all see the horrors happening in the world. But we also have the ability to choose whether we are drawn into more fear or anger, or if we turn those moments around into a feeling that makes us feel better.

To change the world, we need to change ourselves first. We can learn to turn our focus on the positive and look for ways to improve and keep growing. Due to the way that we think individually, we create a common consciousness.

Any journey can be difficult, it doesn’t matter how far you are in it. While there are unexpected challenges or situations that take our good energy away, still each one of us has the power to accept the negative things and choose to stay positive. When we constantly bring positive emotions in our life, we learn to enjoy the journey more.

If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got. — Anonymous

It is a learning process for all.

You can start by thinking about a challenging situation from a different perspective that helps you grow and learn something. When we see beyond our eyes, we find answers that make us feel good. Consequently, we get the courage to keep moving toward our goals and be stronger.

Staying positive is more challenging that being negative.

It requires a conscious choice to turn our attention to the good things that happen or can happen to us. We have the choice to stay positive when difficult situations arise and see things from a different point of view. Our reality is a reflection of the way we look at it.

Before you go…

If you enjoyed this post, you will love Cheer & Nourish. Every week, I share posts about taking action, productivity, finding success and being ourselves.

If you want to tie the loose ends of your creative projects:

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Natalia Cadavid

Written by

I am an Ingenious Productivity & Success Coach. I support highly creative people reaching their professional and personal goals.

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