Positivity January

During January this year, we have been discussing positivity and the many elements of it! I thought it would be a great resource to have a blog post that includes all the tips and tricks from the month. Although this may belong, it will have a lot of information and a combined lot of information around positivity. I will also do a video with some each topic tips and tricks, so keep an eye out for that on my Instagram and Tik Tok (links on the home page and about me page)

Kindness and Positivity

Firstly we have positivity and sharing kindness. This was a discussion around how you saw your glass? Half-empty or half-full. And your answer to this question reflected on your outlook of life, attitude towards yourself, and if you are optimistic or pessimistic. As we discussed I am optimistic and there were some that had both half-full and half-empty cups, but this didn't impact the way that they see themselves in terms of being optimistic or pessimistic. This leads to the next topic of positive mindsets.

Positive Mindset

A positive mindset is the next topic, having a positive mindset can be a benefit to many. As we discussed I don't exactly have the best positive mindset when it comes to things, I occasionally will let the negative creep in and take over my mind and I end up in a spin of things. We discussed some tips and tricks for ways to talk yourself out of a negative mindset and into a positive mindset.

Such as

Focusing on the positives of a situation
Practicing self-positive talk
Going for a walk in nature, around the block, or exercising
Focusing on the good, no matter how small, and celebrating them
Remembering what we have been blessed with over what we don't have
Practicing self-care
Voicing that your feelings are valid but not dwelling on them
Acceptance of the negative thought and not engaging with it
Positive words
A 6-minute diary or journaling
Create goals and breaking them into steps
Focusing on what you can control
Listening to music
Organizing yourself and focusing on daily tasks

And these combined with some that might work for you may help change that negative mindset.

Self-care

The next topic is actually one of the above tips, self-care!

So again I am terrible at self-care, I will avoid it like the plague until I am stressed, over-worked and on the brink of a meltdown or mental breakdown. Now, this is not a good thing and I am always trying to find new ways to improve this for myself, without impacting the person that I am in a negative way.

Doing some of my favorite tasks such as reading, watching movies or tv shows spending time outside or at the beach, or even just going out for coffee and a mooch at the mall to relieve some of that stress and get away from whatever is causing me that stress.

Some more tips other than those above are

A task that you enjoy - book, movie, TV show, playing games
Spending time outside in nature or at the beach, or in an environment away from the stressor
Daily affirmations and gratitudes
Excercise - yoga, meditation, walks
Eating good and healthy food
Spending time on your own - take yourself on an afternoon date
Traveling
Spending time with your favorite people - family, friends, partners
Scheduling my time, doing facial, pamper sessions
Taking time away from social media

These and more are some self-care tips, to begin with, you are the master of you and what will work for you may not work for others so having and trying a wide range of self-care tips may help you find the thing that works best for you.

Facing challenges with a positive impact

Now, this is an interesting topic that I find difficult as our immediate instinct is to curl up and hide away from challenges that are hard or feel impossible to face. However, some challenges once faced actually become an easier task to face when it reappears later down the track. One thing that I try to do is to take it one step at a time, whatever the challenge might be. Being able to break it down into steps makes it appear less scary and reduces the power that it has over you.

For example, let's say that the challenge is joining a gym

Firstly I would start with a walk with a friend or partner or someone that you feel comfortable with. Doing that for a wee while would then allow you to get confident in going for a walk say around the block
Then next doing some at-home workouts or joining a group gym with friends, having someone there that can support you and make you feel less alone.
Then in this example, joining a gym and going say during off-peak hours 2-3 times a week and slowly building that up and then even going during peak hours.

By breaking down these steps, you are allowing for the anxiety or stressors related to this to disperses and you are able to face each section of the challenge head-on instead of trying to face the whole challenge at once. Although breaking down the steps may not work for all. I've added some extra tips below!

Creating a positive mindset before facing the challenge
Taking each thing that comes your way day by day
Finding the positives in the challenge coming to you/challenges you have faced
Focus on what you gain out of facing the challenge rather than what you lost
Making a plan and breaking down the steps
Asking for help (where possible) and being able to utilize that support
Utilize a positive mindset

Although as I have said previously, these tips may not work for all, I hope at least one of these tips will help in one way or another.

Positive boundaries

For the final topic, let's cover positive boundaries or healthy boundaries. Being able to set boundaries is an important part and crucial in the aspects of mental health and well-being. They can be either physical, emotional, or mental.

Positive boundaries are a point in which you are mentally and emotionally comfortable without any outside influence and feel secure within that boundary. They are a crucial part of self-care (remember that?). And when there isn't a positive boundary within a workplace, social setting, etc, it can lead to burnout, anger, and resentment. Positive boundaries also come into relationships where the difference could be between having a happy relationship to that of a toxic one.

Tips to consider when creating a positive boundary

Determining your core values
Identifying that we are only responsible for ourselves and not others
Meaning what you say
Treating others how you wish to be treated
Identifying toxic relationships or boundaries and making a conscious effort to change them
Making it known what you are comfortable with and what you aren't
Being able to say no to things you don't want to do/unable to do
Being able to keep this boundary that works for you

So that's a wrap on Positivity Jan, a month of positivity that I had never planned on but it has worked out for so many! February is a busy month, we have Valentine's day posts (keep an eye out for those and the blog posts) and then we are covering self-love and the tips and tricks I have learned for that! I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have and feel that you are able to reach out to these tips at any time or even me via email or message me on insta.

Thanks for reading, Mere

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