You’ve felt it. You’re in a group of people, and somebody walks in with a black cloud hanging over their head. Their energy repels you, and you may find your own mood affected by it. So how can you NOT be one of those people? We all have bad days, but with a few simple tricks, you can avoid letting that black cloud grow and hover over you.
1. Do not dwell on the negatives. Stuff happens. It’s how you respond that matters. If you choose to be victimized by what happens, your negative energy will gain momentum. Instead:
- Stop thinking about it if there’s nothing you can do to improve it (if a thought comes up about that situation, do not allow it to continue – force yourself to think about something else).
- Do not talk about it anymore than you absolutely have to. Don’t give it energy!
- Find the blessings and lessons in the situation. This may take some time, but if you stay busy looking for them, you won’t dwell on how something negatively impacted you.
2. Do not speak of your problems, diseases, illnesses or worries. The more energy you give what is wrong, the more it persists. Yes, we all need to vent once in a while but if you vent, or even when you’re just thinking about what’s wrong, here are some rules:
- Don’t think or say: “I’m so sick, I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck! I don’t know how I’m going to get through the week!” Do think or say: “I caught some bug but I’m taking good care of myself and I’m feeling better every day!”
- Don’t think or say: “This job is terrible! My boss is a jerk and nobody appreciates me!” Do think or say: “I’m looking for a better job and meantime I’m trying to learn as much as I can so I benefit. In fact, my boss is the perfect example of how not to treat employees!”
3. Love and accept yourself. As you are. NOW. It’s easy to beat yourself up about what’s wrong, but how much energy do you give to your positive qualities? Do that more. For every negative comment you make about yourself, give yourself FIVE compliments.
4. Let go of the past. You can’t undo anything. It’s done. Forgive others, forgive yourself… learn from your mistakes, learn from others’ mistakes, remember that NO unkind or thoughtless action ever comes from love but from a place of deep inner pain (you can be compassionate to that pain without condoning the acting out of the pain) and release the energetic burden you carry: grudges, resentments, pain, hurt, disappointments, sadness, anger, guilt… let it all go.
5. Don’t give away your power or your happiness. Remember that when you criticize, judge or blame others, you are choosing to focus on what they’re doing wrong or what’s wrong with them – and you give these people the power to control your mood and state of mind. Ask yourself why somebody’s behavior irritates you so much that you allow yourself to get upset about it. Why let others’ behavior affect your mood? Why give them the power to control your happiness? Instead of criticizing, judging or blaming, find something you can compliment them on.
6. Do not say yes when you mean no. Honor your needs, priorities, time and energy! You’ll resent it. Save your precious time and energy for things that are meaningful to you, or in instances where others ask you to do something, make sure that it brings you satisfaction and joy. Otherwise, politely decline.
7. Laugh! Smile! Surround yourself with upbeat people who make you laugh.
8. Be grateful. Appreciate the many blessings, but also appreciate the struggles and frustrations. How have you become enriched because of them?
9. Don’t worry. Use your imagination to visualize what can go right, instead of what can go wrong. Train yourself to visualize the best-case scenario. Be solution-oriented, not problem-oriented. Think only about the ideal situation, not the current problematic situation.
10. Run it off. Exercise physically removes you from your problems, and it also removes you mentally. If you’re worried about something, you need to give your brain a chance to process things. Exercise will flood your system with feel-good endorphins, release stress and in the middle of a long bike ride, walk or swim… or in the middle of the climbing wall, you may suddenly have an epiphany. Or, at least for a while, you will be fully present and not worried about the future.
11. Be present. Speaking of being present, be interested in what you’re doing, no matter how “boring” or “mundane” it may be – quotes intended, because any activity can be made as interesting as you are willing to make it. This will keep you in the moment and will keep your mind off your troubles and worries.
You have the power to control your mood. Use these positive-energy-boosting exercises every single day. Before long, you will be the high-vibrating ray of sunshine that brightens everyone’s mood! We all have the ability to look to our mind for ways to not only dissolve that sadness, but to cultivate such a positive state of mind that we won’t fall easily back into melancholia.
There are many ways in which we can cultivate positive energy five ways to transform your mindset from darkness into light, sadness into happiness. May they also help lift up your soul.
1) Appreciation
When you appreciate someone, you’re tuned into their positive qualities and express your empathy and gratitude for them. It’s a simple way to refresh yourself and establish heartfelt connections with ourselves and others.
With so much beauty all around us, it is easy to show our appreciation to others, and nature, on a daily basis. Try appreciating the simple things you might take for granted, for example, a deep relaxing breath of crisp outdoor air or the pleasurable radiant warmth of the sun at noon. Or the thing we should be the most grateful for (but the one we often forget) – that we’re alive and so fortunate to experience each and every day.
As you do this, try to focus completely on the good this experience offers you and acknowledge that you – and only you have created it – no matter how it came to you. Regardless of your condition or circumstances, there will always be something that you can find to appreciate.
2) Forgiveness
Forgiveness is the moment-to-moment experience of peace and understanding that occurs when the suffering of someone who feels injured has their suffering reduced as they transform the grievance that initiated that suffering. By embracing the feeling of forgiveness as something that can help us, we accept it as an aspect of acceptance, love, peace, and truth instead of experiencing hatred, negativity, and falsehood – all of which are faces of resentment. By being forgiving, we acknowledge that people make mistakes and release the emotional burden that holding a grudge has on us.
3) Selflessness
When we are selfless, we shift our focus onto the needs of others, rather than keeping it on ourselves. It’s the practice of being unselfish and minimizing the gratification of the ego’s wants and desires.
In order to make the life-redefining shift from selfishness to selflessness, go and focus on the well-being of others. This can be done in countless ways. You can clean up your life and surrender a fully healed body, heart, mind and soul to others when entering a relationship.
You can also be ready to share any amount of time needed by others whenever they need it (don’t allow yourself to be used, however). Be happy with your life and with whatever you are offered by others. Whenever you are sure to give your very best, you are receiving exactly what ever you need for your greatest possible benefit.
4) Wonder
Experiences of wonder can lead us to a sense of transcendence and realization of higher states of consciousness. From a mystical perspective, it relates to affirmation, as wonder openings reveal the infinite and the source of all that is, which operates as gateways to uniting experiences.
Buddhism muses that distinctions limited to relative or empirical reality are just an illusion; resulting in the continuation of anguish, pain and frustration because we become alienated from experiencing reality through the eyes of a child where everything was wondrous. In short, wonder leads us tasting a unified and infinite existence that enriches our life experience.
5) Nostalgia
Nostalgia is a yearning for a return to some past period or seemingly irrecoverable condition that’s seen in a positive light.
Studies have found that people who have a heightened level of nostalgia have higher self-esteem and are less prone to depression. Thinking of good memories for just 15 or 20 minutes a day can make you more cheerful than you were the week before, and happier than if you think of your current life. Nostalgia is a very potent mood booster, so if you seem to be in a bit of a funk, think about good memories of times past and you will experience higher self-esteem and feel more positive about friendships and close relationships.
These are just some of my top ways to boost your positive energy – may they help lift up your soul. Please share what yours are below.
Credits:LoveorAbove.com, FinerMinds.com
