HOW TO BE A MORE POSITIVE PERSON

I never really set resolutions for 2016 because for me, resolutions are something that you attempt, succeed in or fail (let's be honest, I totally still eat the Indian takeaways and drink the red wine and therefore fail) and then go back to doing the total opposite once January is over.

I never set resolutions because the only thing I really hoped for in 2016 was to be a happy and more positive person. And I felt like this would be something quite easy to achieve as so many wonderful things happened and came my way in 2015. And then December hit, and things started to get a little tricky. (Don't worry, this isn't a pity party for one, it's just giving some context as to why I felt compelled to write this post).

When I say "things got tricky",  what I actually mean is "EVERY GOD DAMN BONE, MUSCLE, LIGAMENT, JOINT, TENDON AND BASICALLY EVERYTHING IN MY BODY HURT AND I WAS CONSTANTLY EXHAUSTED, CONSTANTLY HAD A HEADACHE AND FELT LIKE I'D BEEN RUN OVER BY A BUS" [insert exhausted cry emoji/guilty face for all of the capitals emoji here].

In short - because you know me and this could easily get long and rambly and 20,000 words long - I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia... and as much as this was pretty devastating timing wise as I was so excited and positive for the year ahead, I suddenly had a realisation that this could go either way. I could be down in the dumps and moany as fuck or I could turn this around and really test my "Be positive b*tch" resolution, and that's exactly what I did. And whilst yes, I still can't really vlog because I can't lift my arms up for longer than 5 seconds, and I now have to schedule my days strategically so that I don't collapse on the PR mid lunch meeting (slight exaggeration but not too far off) ... I am positive. I do believe that this will get better. I do believe that I can still achieve everything that I hoped for this year. And I still believe that 2016 will be frickin bloody great for all of us [insert non-existent Oprah Winfrey emoji here].

So I decided to put together my top tips for being a more positive person to help anybody else in a similar situation stay positive, and to be honest, to help myself too...

Positivity is a choice 

I'd heard this quote thrown around quite a few times before and as much as I wanted to believe it and told myself that I did, I don't think I truly felt it deep down. (Can we just take a moment to appreciate that I'm practically Gandhi right now?) But it's true, no I promise you... it really is, positivity is a choice. Don't get me wrong, sometimes when you're having a really bad day and everything is going wrong, I'm not telling you to go and hug a tree and feel like you're having the best day of your life. But looking for the positives in every situation (no matter how small they may be) and focusing on those will really help your mindset.

Surround yourself with positive people

Like positivity is a choice, choosing who you surround yourself with is too. Now this is a tricky one because I'm not saying ditch everyone that's ever said anything slightly wrong, we'd all be left with no friends - unless you're friends with Harvey Spector/Ryan Gosling etc. who of course can do absolutely no wrong ;) - but I think everybody has experienced that one really negative person that only brings misery and negativity to their lives and you know what, life is far too short to surround yourself with people that bring you down. I am so lucky to have so many people I would call friends, but I have a very small group of best friends and those are the ones that can always make me laugh, give me great advice, be caring and generally just help me to be a more positive and happy person. Those are the people that when you find them, you need to keep them close.

Share positivity with others

This one is really important for me. Like when I mentioned those negative people in your lives, well... you kinda need to make sure you are not that negative person in someone elses life. In fact, do the total opposite; spread positivity, compliment someone, let people know you care. It isn't about a materialistic item or some grand gesture, but over Christmas I sent the lovely Sam a little Christmas card and one of my favourite Neom products because she is the biggest babe and has always been so supportive of me and my little blog, and I remember her commenting that she'd love to try Neom one day. My good friend Lauren also recently moved and as I couldn't make her sleepover that we'd planned, I thought it'd be nice to send her a little moving home hamper. Both of the girls were so grateful and just seeing that it had made them happy, made me just beyond happy!

Smile

Simple, costs you nothing and takes absolutely no effort, but when you're feeling a little down, just smiling to yourself immediately lifts your mood. I also love this tip because doing this in public definitely makes you feel like a bit of tit - Oh hey random girl smiling away to herself on the train - which in turn, makes you laugh even more, subsequently feeling more happy and positive. Everyone's a winner :)

The little things

Most importantly, I think that by actively trying to do lots of things to "make" you this positive person and getting overwhelmed in the process, it really is the small steps that make the biggest difference. Try one of these things a day, or over a certain period of time before moving onto the next. A happy person is a positive person and there are so many little things you can do that'll make you instantly feel that little bit happier, and here are some of my favourites.

Watch your favourite movie (Err, hello Harry Potter 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,7 part 2).
Watch your favourite series, preferably a whole series in one day (Suits, Scandal, Homeland & Luther FTW!)

Go for a coffee with your friends or family and catch up on life.

Exercise. Or extra fries... whatever makes you happy (Fries for me please!)
Listen to your favourite song (Anything Take That because I'm endlessly cool. LOL)
A lovely long hot bath, preferably with all the Lush products.
Have a cuppa... i.e happiness in a mug!
Make a plan. Take time out to note down all of the things you want to achieve and how you can go about achieving them. This always makes me so happy and positive for the future.
Finally, write a blog post, I immediately feel 10 X more positive just for writing this :)

So, that's the end of my tips to be a more positive person/"Hey, if I fail at blogging full time I could totally be a life coach, right?' kinda post. These types of posts come quite rarely on my blog, but I'm definitely thinking of making them more frequent as I find just writing the tips myself so therapeutic. I really hope it helped you or you found it enjoyable to read, please do let me know your tips for being a more positive person. I love to hear your thoughts :)

As always, thanks so much for reading.

xx

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