Are you born positive & optimistic?

Okay, so do you think that you can learn to be positive OR do you think that it is a personality trait that is determined at birth or by your parents or by the way you were raised? I think that all of those thoughts and assumptions are very common. Many people would agree that that is how they see being positive. I believe that I was born positive.

My paternal grandpa we called Papa. He was a breath of fresh air. He always thought that he had the world by the tail and yet he never had much money. He always brought the joy. It is because of him that I believe I'm genetically optimistic. I have noticed research articles that have confirmed that genes do have some say in our outlook on life. So, I am so thankful that when the genetic dice were rolled, I was lucky enough to be born optimistic.

How to be positive when things are falling apart

Now, our personality traits are tested when we face challenges and being diagnosed with a chronic illness at the age of 29 was the ultimate test of optimism. While I didn't click my heels when I came out of the doctor's office with my bad news and I did go into a period of mourning for a couple months, I have to say that signing up for my first triathlon was proof that my optimistic gene was pulling through. When you are not a runner, biker, or swimmer and you sign up for a triathlon, you can either be called crazy or extremely optimistic. I am going with the latter of the two. I am so thankful for the gift of being positive. 

Improvement is possible – practice, practice, practice

Positive Thinking Techniques

When someone is a talented musician, part of that is just in who they are. They were born that way. Due to being gifted, they often enjoy music more than the rest of us and because they enjoy it, they practice and because they practice, they get better. So even though they are gifted, it does not mean that they don't work at their skill and improve it and push themselves to be even better.

Do I think that being positive is a gift because it's not super hard for me to be positive. I enjoy it and because I enjoy it, I use it and because I use it, I keep getting better. So, I just want you to look at being positive as a skill. If we can improve and get better at something, it's a skill. We can improve and get better at being positive. I love this because it gives so much hope to those that don't feel naturally positive. 

I do take music lessons and I was not born a gifted musician, but I take lessons from someone that is. And I enjoy the lessons and I enjoy learning, but the real progress is made when I'm willing to practice. Now when I go to the lesson, I learn quite a bit in 30 minutes but my teacher doesn't play the instrument for me and he doesn't come to my home and check in to make sure that I'm practicing every day. That is all up to me. So, because I don't take as much time to practice as I should, I am not really improving very much. That is not my teacher’s fault. He is a skilled musician and a good teacher but I'm not a great music student. The same applies to being positive.

How to be positive and happy

If you want to get better, you will have to go home and practice. It's not just about learning, it's about doing. I think that there is so much hope in knowing that we can improve our outlook and how we deal with problems. You can become positive, you can become an optimist and because I'm optimistic, I 100% believe in you. 

If I haven’t convinced you to lean into learning this skill. Let this inspire you.

Here are some health benefits of positive thinking

• Increased life span.

• Lower rates of depression.

• Lower levels of distress.

• Greater resistance to the common cold.

• Better psychological and physical well-being.

• Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

I love this truth!

Interestingly, being positive or negative requires the same amount of energy, but with two different outcomes that impact your mental health. Why not give it a try? When we are busy being positive, we can actually forget about staying negative. Could we actually save energy because we keep moving forward when we aren't stuck in a negative place?

Why is positivity the key to success?

Positive mindset helps you to seek happiness, health and a happy ending regardless of the situation. Lots of successful people have recognized the positivity as the key to success. Power of positivity may change your personal and professional life. Thus, in the tough situations, people ask you to think positive. The road to success is paved with tough situations so we have lots of opportunities to flex our positive muscle. It's it exciting to think about where it will take us?

Do you struggle with this? Start practicing today. Follow me on Instagram for lots of tips, tricks & reminders to keeping working on the positive project. I am cheering for you - big time! Share your thoughts below - I love to chat about this topic