How to Become Optimistic

So you wish to become optimistic?   It may seem like a daunting process.   Especially if everything thing you see and feel is negative.   I have to remind you it is a process.   It takes time and a bit of grace on your part.   You won’t instantly become the most optimistic person in the room.   That is okay.   Start small and add habits as you go.

Five Habits of an Optimistic Person

A great characteristic to practice to live an easier and more fulfilling life is optimism. It’s about seeing the world from a more positive view no matter what life brings your way, positively or negatively. It’s about seeing the good out of any situation so you can continue to achieve your dreams with more focus, determination, and grit.

Optimism takes work. Those who you view as the most optimistic still have down times or bad times too. They are not superheroes or magical beings. Instead, they practice certain habits that you can easily copy to live a more positive and happy life.

The following are five habits of optimistic people that you can adopt too:

They Always Lead with Positivity and a Smile, and Laugh Often

Even the most toxic person can’t avoid a smile or a laugh when someone else gets started. This is because positive smiles and laughter are contagious – in other words, the more you do it, the more you will receive it from others too. All this makes your daily interactions with others more enjoyable and less difficult.

They Often Express Their Gratitude and Generosity

Taking time to recognize what you have and can give to others is a healthy exercise for maintaining a positive outlook. Only taking the time to focus on what you do have and not what you don’t have allows you to see the world through a better lens and prevents you from dwelling on things out of your control. In other words, the more you focus on what you don’t have, the more bitter you will be.

They Are Mindful, Highly Self-Aware, and Confident

To keep optimism consistent, you need to become more mindful of your actions, lack of action, and the things or people around you. Going with the flow sounds like a nice and relaxing time, but it can lead to a negative spiral when you don’t know why you have negative feelings after a certain situation. This makes it more difficult to stay positive or find the solution to your negativity.

They Find Time to Be Around Loved One and Other Similar People

It’s simple: being around people with similar interests, habits, or life goals keeps you more consistent. Meeting your goals becomes much more likely when you surround yourself with people who share similar interests and attitudes. Those who are highly pessimistic will only drag you down with them as the negativity is too hard to cope with and deal with all the time.

They Forgive Often

Optimism is about honing in on all the good and only taking the time to review the bad to discover how to do better. It’s about enjoying life no matter what challenges, and staying happy while doing so. However, this needs to be paired with reality too. As optimistic as you can be, this doesn’t mean you won’t make mistakes. Not all toxic people are bad. They are just misguided and deserve compassion, understanding, and forgiveness too.

Adopt these five habits if you want to live a more optimistic and successful life. Optimism may come naturally to some, but that doesn’t mean we can’t all do the work to get there too.