Published In

Mindfulness
Swarnakshi Sharma February 6th, 2023 · 7min read

Try These 10 Simple Ways to Become More Optimistic TODAY!

You’ve got to be more optimistic!” “Life will be sunshine and rainbows if you’re just more optimistic”.

We are not unfamiliar with these kinds of responses, are we? While these responses might seem a bit generic, there have been studies that show that optimism can have many health benefits including better performance, better emotional health, and reduced levels of stress.

I guess that’s why optimists tend to be always positive and cheerful even during tough times. But what exactly is optimism?

Optimism means having a positive attitude and mindset toward everything you encounter in life. This optimistic mindset can help you increase your wellness, lower stress levels, and even improve your sleep. Now, the question remains; How to be more optimistic when life is always stressful?

Here’s what I do; Whenever I’m in a tough spot, I think from the glass-half-full perspective.

Optimism means adapting our behaviors and attitudes while challenging the stress in our lives. In this blog, I’ve listed 10 simple ways to be more optimistic so that you can become an optimist TODAY! Let’s take a look.

How to be More Optimistic? 10 Ways to Follow

Here are 10 ways to be more optimistic;

1. Change Your Inner Mantra

The first way to be more optimistic is to change your inner mantra. Your inner self-talk reflects on your actions and thinking, so if you want to change your mindset, the first thing you need to work on is your inner mantra. If you’re constantly thinking, “I am not enough” “I can’t do this” or “I am not good enough”, then you won’t move forward in life.

Try to change your inner self-talk and change these viewpoints to something more positive such as, “I am capable enough to achieve this” “I can do this” or “I am good enough”.

2. Focus on Success

Next, you need to work on changing your habits and start focusing on your successes, instead of your failures. Keep in mind that without failures, there isn’t success, but you need to be ready for failures and keep working on your goals until you finally succeed.

While you’re working on your goals, forget everything but your progress. Follow your progress and goals until you achieve them all. Focusing on success is one of the most important yet easiest ways to become optimistic.

3. Start With Small Steps

From the moment you wake up, focus on one or two things around you. Start small and this means taking in the fresh and crisp air of the morning, the fresh cup of coffee, or even your bed. You need to practice being grateful for all these little things if you want to be optimistic.

These small steps will eventually help you become more optimistic toward other things in life. All you need to do is start with small things and gradually make your way to the other big things in life such as your goals and dreams.

4. Look For The Silver Lining

In every tough situation, there’s a silver lining. Similarly, there’s always a positive thought in every negative situation. All you need to do is look for it. To truly become optimistic, you need to learn to understand that negativity isn’t the only thing in a stressful situation.

Looking at the bright side of things will become easy when you know what to look for and how to look for it. Practice this exercise in your day-to-day situations until you figure it out!

5. Don’t Let go of Your Self-Confidence

Never underestimate yourself! Self-confidence is something of an important quality to have when you want to be more optimistic in daily life. It’s also a trait that is not gifted but comes with a lot of time, effort, and patience.

You need to keep a tight hold on your self-confidence and believe that you’re capable of doing anything. You should be thinking like an optimist, after all. Make “I can do this!” your daily mantra.

6. Be Mindful of Your Media Consumption

While social media can be a great tool to connect with people far and wide, it can also be a space where constant comparisons are made. Whether we do so intentionally or unintentionally, comparisons are usually made regardless. Spending too much time on social media, especially mindlessly, can be doom-scrolling and can negatively impact your thought process.

Before you end up doing that and make yourself stuck in a negative space, check your media consumption. Keep up to date with the current events but if you find yourself doom-scrolling or getting caught in the comparison cycle, put a time limit to protect your mindset.

7. Don’t Leave Behind Gratitude

Whenever something negative happens in our lives, the first thought that comes to mind is nothing good. This could hinder your progress to become more optimistic. So, to change this, you need to practice gratitude and reflect on things that you wouldn’t normally do as you go.

Rewire your mind and habits to become happy about the little things and if you need additional help, you can always work with a gratitude journal. This is, so far, my favorite way to be more optimistic in life.

8. Go Easy on Yourself

Now, you need to understand that failures happen, but that does not mean that you get to put unwanted pressure on yourself. Things happen for a reason and pushing yourself beyond your limits will not help you any, instead, learn to go easy on yourself.

Don’t rush to find your big life lesson when you’re distressed. Learn to forgive yourself and take time to just reflect on yourself. Becoming optimistic is about taking small steps now so that they can point to a better tomorrow.

9. Minimize The Negative

When something negative happens, think about the things that could have contributed to this event. For example, if you failed an exam, then think about what you were doing the week before the exam. Were you busy with other commitments? Or were you sleep-deprived when you went for the test?

You need to look at the full picture and give yourself some leeway. You can also look at these events as a lesson to change your behavior in the future to prevent the same mistakes.

10. Keep Working on Optimism

Becoming optimistic does not happen overnight. You need to keep up with your exercises and activities to change your mindset. Here’s a trick I’ve learned; Fake it till you make it work! Keep faking optimism until you gradually develop a positive mindset, for real. Yes, it’s tricking your brain but, believe me, it works.

Another thing to become an optimist, you need to stop dwelling on your past mistakes and look toward a brighter future. Whatever happened, acknowledge it, but keep yourself as much as you can in your present.

Final Words… From an Optimistic to Another

Each sunrise brings a horde of opportunities, so look at another day as another opportunity to become more optimistic. It will take time to be more optimistic, but practice makes perfect, right? Keep working on changing your mindset with the above ways and see yourself turning into an optimist in no time!

I hope the blog will help you motivate yourself to be more optimistic. You can share your thoughts with us in the comments below or DM us on social media. You can also let us know what you think by writing to us at info@calmsage.com.

Be Positive and Stay Motivated!

Leave a comment