Embiggen Your Happiness: 5 Actionable Steps

Simple things you can do right now to live a more positive life

It really does feel like a struggle sometimes, doesn’t it?

Life, I mean.

For years, I felt that struggle daily and it was exhausting.

And you know what else?

It was unnecessary. Totally unnecessary.

Once I figured that out and learned ways to usher more positivity into my life, things turned around. Surprisingly quickly, too.

There is a lot of information and talk in the world about the power of positive thinking. Some of it seems to be based on a kind of magical concept of the universe or wishful thinking. If that’s your bag, then go ahead. Give it a whirl.

For me, I like to keep things more simple.

I simply try to embrace positivity and deflect negativity. It took some time and practice, but not nearly as much as I thought it would. Soon I started to see results and began living a happier life.

Consider these suggestions for embracing your own positivity and making the most of life.

Accentuate the positive

Just like that old Johnny Mercer song says, “You’ve got to accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative.”

Life is a mixed bag of pluses and minuses. Too often, we find ourselves focusing on the negative which then, in turn, seems to attract more negativity. It’s a self-defeating approach to life.

Rather, by perceiving the world in a more positive light than a negative light, you can initiate a feedback loop of positivity that will grow and grow.

Are sad people sad simply because bad things happen in their lives?

Are happy people happy simply because good things happen in their lives?

Or do good things simply happen to happy people?

It’s a question to consider.

I’m not suggesting that tragedies that befall people are their own fault because they were too negative, but a non-stop attitude of negativity doesn’t do very much to get them beyond the bad things.

A greater emphasis on looking for the positive can go a long way in sustaining and lifting us up while diluting and washing away the negative.

Use a positive mindset to your advantage

You control what you choose to dwell on.

Focus on the positive. This could include thinking of good things that have happened recently, or of good things yet to come. Focus on your successes and wins.

We all suffer defeat from time to time, but dwelling on defeat weighs us down. Learn to move on, consider what you’ve learned, and focus on how things will be better in the future. For example…

I’ve been laid off twice.

It was easy — very easy — to feel depressed about being let go and question my self-worth. Instead, I tried to look at it as an opportunity. I was free from a job that didn’t appreciate what I had to offer. I knew there must be a better opportunity out there.

I was good at my job. I had friends and loved ones. I had my health. I had a lot to be thankful for. I kept those positive thoughts at the forefront of my mind and it made all the difference.

Each time I was laid off, I found a new job that not only paid more but I also enjoyed more.

Keeping a positive focus can be powerful support through hard times.

Stop being obsessed with the news

I resisted this for too long a time.

I’ve always considered myself a political news junkie. Maybe I liked being enraged? I don’t know. I told myself I wanted to keep up to date and that I wanted to keep tabs on what those rascals in politics were up to.

But it was killing me. Maybe not literally, but constantly staying on top of the news was taking an emotional toll.

Face it. A lot of news these days is awful. Not because good things don’t happen, but because media operates on the assumption that bad news gets more readers than good news.

Screw that noise.

Once I stopped spending large chunks of time following the news, I started to feel a lot less anxious. My car radio now plays music and podcasts. I’ve stopped constantly scanning the news on my phone.

I’ve cut my news consumption down to about fifteen minutes a day. That’s enough time to get a general idea of what’s happening in the world. If I really need the details — if it’s something that is going to affect me personally — maybe I’ll check it out later.

Maybe not.

I’ve been a lot less stressed since I stopped obsessing about the news. If you’re a self-described news junkie as well, wean yourself off. If something really important is happening, someone will tell you.

You’ll feel a lot better.

Cutting ties with toxic people

We have all known toxic people. Maybe they’re a racist uncle or gossiping church member. Maybe a neighbor who is always blaming other people for their misfortunes. They rarely have a nice word to say about anyone. They are snide and often sarcastic.

They believe that lifting themselves up means dragging others down.

Why do we put up with them?

We’re often told we don’t get to choose our family.

We certainly do. I mean, we can’t choose to not be related to someone, but we can certainly limit how much they are actually in our lives. The same goes for people we’re not related to.

Cutting ties can be difficult. We’ve been encouraged all our lives that we need to get along with others even if we don’t agree with them.

At some point, however, you have to say enough and realize that a toxic person not only affects you negatively but often those around you such as friends or family. You’re doing everyone a favor by cutting ties with a toxic person.

Unfriend that gossipy neighbor on Facebook. Stop inviting Uncle Racist to Thanksgiving. You might get a little blowback, but, in the end, freeing yourself from their negativity will enhance your positivity.

That’s the point, right?

There is something good in everything

We have the ability to find something good in everything if we simply try.

This may seem like a big challenge at times. How does someone with a grave illness or catastrophic debt find the positive?

Take a wild shot and ask the ridiculous-seeming question, “What is good about this?”

Does a grave illness mean having the opportunity to fix a long-time health problem and be the better for it? Could something like a serious illness bring a family closer together?

Could that major debt spur you into the kind of action that leads you to find a better paying job? Could those major debts encourage you to simplify your life and cut out a lot of extraneous burdens you didn’t need to begin with?

It might seem a stretch at first for some situations, but if you can latch on to something positive about a serious challenge, you push back against the darkness and come out stronger for it.

Life is great if you so will it.

Boosting positivity doesn’t have to be an immense undertaking. It can often start with something as simple as a smile.

Hokey-sounding, I know, but it worked for me. It may work for you.

Give it a shot, and expect great days ahead.

Cheers!

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