"The only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude. The choice is always yours." - Dennis Brown

Before I give you tips, let's talk about the proven benefits of thinking more positively: It improves your quality of life; It increases your energy level; Improves psychological and physical health; Can help speed up recovery from energy or illness; Results in fewer colds; Lowers the rate of depression; Helps with stress management and coping skills; And can overall lengthen lifespan. Although positive thinking will not magically make all of your problems disappear, it does help make problems more manageable and approachable. Now, let's get into tips to improve your mindset:

1. Read (Daily) Quotes: I think that reading quotes are such an important way to start the day. It prepares you for the tough day ahead. It gets your mind already off to a positive start. I follow Instagram Accounts including the Power of Positivity and BrainyQuotes, so that they show up in my feed every day. I also love to go on Tumblr (I sort of call them Tumblr sprees). The only reason I use Tumblr is for quotes. 

2. Focus on the Good Things (Even small ones!): It can be difficult to focus on the positive, but if you don't, you will drown yourself in the negative. For example, if you get one bad grade, you should not beat yourself up over it. Instead, you should redirect your thoughts and say "At least I am passing the class" or "I still have the grade that I wanted, this is just a minor setback." Every victory is something. You did better than you would have done if you sat around and did nothing, so celebrate!

3. Practice Gratitude & Thankfulness: There are so many times we take our lives for granted. We are more fortunate than those living on the streets or people in third-world countries, so acknowledge your blessings. Think of people, moments, things, or even pets that bring you some kind of joy, and try to be grateful at least once each day.

4. Keep a Journal: It is sometimes more powerful to write down your thoughts and feelings. Expressing your frustrations, anger, etc., then highlighting the good can help you learn that although bad things happen, there will always be some good.

5. Laugh More: Some people do not like to laugh because they find it childish or pointless. However, a good laugh is guaranteed to brighten spirits.

6. Surround yourself with positive people: Everyone has heard this at least once in your life: distant yourself from negative people and surround yourself with positive people. It is so true. You want people who are going to build you up, not tear you down. 

7. Practice Positive Self Talk: A lot of creating a more positive mindset is by changing the way we talk to ourselves. I have a book that I am currently reading by Aston Sanderson called "Self Talk: How to Train Your Brain to Turn Negative Thinking into Positive Thinking & Practice Self Love". I know it is a long title, but it is so good. Here is an Amazon link to the book, if you want to check it out: https://www.amazon.com/Self-Talk-Negative-Thinking-Positive/dp/1545022704/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=. What I love about this book is that it touches on the different ways we talk negatively to ourselves and gives advice on how to change our outlook. One of my favorite things he talks about is "filtering" because it happens so often. People will usually remember the bad things that happened to them more than the good things. 

8. Identify your weak areas: Look at the areas in your life where you are most negative on yourself. Once you identify these areas start to slowly change your thoughts. The mind is such a powerful tool.

9. Wake up every day on a positive note: Start your day on the right side of the bed. Tell yourself positive affirmations, read quotes, listen to positive music, set goals, create a routine, or whatever your heart desires as long as it is positive. You could even set a goal to be nice to someone or give a compliment. 

10. Turn failures in lessons:  “When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it, and don’t repeat it.” - Paul Bear Bryant. Learning from you mistakes and failures is good a good thing. Don't dwell on them, turn them into something positive. 

11. Focus on the present instead of dwelling on the past or looking at the future: There are so many people who are not happy in the present, so they dwell in the past (remembering the good) or look to the future (hoping for better). The other day on one of my many Tumblr sprees I saw a quote by Bil Keane, it said, "Yesterday's the past, tomorrows the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present."

12. Don't always put the blame solely on you: Not every situation is your fault, sometimes things we bound to go wrong. When that happens remind yourself and focus on what went right that day.

13. Breathe: When you feel yourself starting to get into a negative mindset take a deep breath and reflect. You cannot always control the situation, so breathe.

14. Make someone else smile: Being more positive can be also spreading joy and happiness. Try to make others smile. You don't want them to walk into the room unhappy and take it out on you, so spread cheer!

The change will not happen overnight, but if you implement these tips, then you should start to become aware of your negative tendencies and be able to change your mindset.