7 Habits of Positive People That You Can Implement Starting Today ...

Most all positive people out there will tell you that one of the hardest and most important habits of positive people is all about accepting adversity. No, life is not perfect and guess what? It never will be! When hardships find their way into your lives, put on your boxing gloves, get in the ring and accept that you’re going to have to fight. You’re stronger than you know, and braver than you believe!

Part of accepting adversity is about embracing the challenges associated with them. Challenges will always come your way, like it or not. When you embrace them, and look to grow from them, you’ll not only learn so many things about yourself, but become more positive in the meantime. You can be a Negative Nancy all day long, but it won’t take away your struggles. When you learn to find the happiness even in the midst of challenges, you learn just how easy it really is. You also learn to appreciate things that truly matter in the meantime.

You can’t be positive without a healthy mind. Take care of your mind with brain foods that actually promote a positive outlook in the body. The effect food has on your hormones is one that is highly underrated. Toxic food creates a toxic brain and body. Vibrant, alive and “happy” foods, which are as close to nature as possible, promote a vibrant, alive and “happy” mind. Feed your brain when you eat, not just your stomach. Eat real food for the most positive mind you can even imagine!

Positive people don’t get that way by being lazy. In fact, being lazy and not exercising can make you one of the most miserable people on the planet. Exercising is what saved me from depression 10 years ago, and what I still credit to this day as my pivotal turning point to becoming a fit, healthy and positive person. Moving your body creates a cascade of hormones that spark endorphins and neurotransmitters in the brain that create a positive mood. As a bonus, you’ll have a great body as a result, which will make you even happier, of course! Just 30 minutes a day is all you need to get the mood boosting benefits. Start with a simple walk or two a day. Fall is the perfect time to get out and move in this glorious state of nature we have amongst our feet!

During the worst of my own depression, I regularly let myself sleep half the day away. I had no idea I was missing out on one of the easiest ways to become happier. Did you know that seeing the sunrise each day, and even being out in it exercising is one of the best things you can do to create a positive outlook? It all has to do with the hormone melatonin, which sends your body to sleep at night, and helps it rise naturally in the morning. When you don’t rise with the sun, and neglect to go to sleep at a decent hour, melatonin levels can become off balance. Sleeping until noon will really send this hormone off balance and out of whack. When your melatonin isn’t functioning efficiently, it affects the brain’s serotonin levels that promote a positive outlook. To keep your sleep schedule healthy, get up around 7 a.m. or even 6 a.m. if you can, and go to bed by 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. for best results.

Just like you need to rise at a decent hour, you also don’t need to stay up all night working or pulling all-nighters to study with friends or party. This might be fine once in a blue moon, but if you make it a regular thing, your mood will suffer. Fatigue, listlessness and insomnia are all problems associated with this habit, along with a more negative outlook when things get tough.

Last but not least is that positive people embrace life. They don’t wait for things to be perfect to find the good in a situation, nor do they expect everything to be puppy dogs and rainbows all the time. They go chase life for all it is worth, and have fun in the meantime, even when things get hard.

I’m sure at some point, you’ve had to deal with struggles that made you feel less than positive. If so, I’d love to hear about them! Also feel free to check out some of my favorite sources for positive thinking below. What have you learned about being positive?

Sources: kriscarr.com, happiness-project.com, mindbodygreen.com, oprah.com, ellentv.com