How to Take Control of Your Life and Beat Negativity

So much in life is out of our control. It’s important that we take control when we can to maximize positive energy in our lives. When we do, it becomes easier to beat negativity and develop a more positive mindset. 

How To Take Control and Beat Negativity

One way to do this is to consider who we spend the most time with. Doing a clear-eyed evaluation of our relationships can help us make better decisions about who we let into our lives. And making a conscious effort to invest time in the relationships that do us the most good is one way we can take control.

Identifying Negative People in Your Life

We all have some people in our lives who tend to view the glass as half empty.  They are pessimistic about their own lives and may also tend to throw cold water on our aspirations, ideas, and dreams. These are also probably the folks who discourage us from new adventures, taking risks, or “going with our gut”.

At times, the most negative people in our lives may actually seem to resent positive things that happen to us.

Are there people like this in your life? They may ignore you when things go well; or worse, demonstrate passive aggressive behaviors that undermine our own confidence and happiness, if we let them. 

Negativity May Be Unconscious

Folks who are this negative may not even realize what they are doing. In fact, they probably don’t. Their actions are not necessarily conscious.  Like everyone, their thoughts drive their actions. The way they react to others who they view as more fortunate has become a habit.  In short, many of these people appear to have almost forgotten how to be happy.

If we have people like this in our lives for a long time, it’s possible we’ve adopted some of their perspectives about life. 

And maybe even about ourselves – including feeling as though we are more likely to fail than succeed. Sometimes, after engaging with these people we may even feel unworthy of being happy, fortunate, or loved.

This is wrong. 

We are all worthy of love, happiness, success, fulfillment; and it’s entirely up to us to protect ourselves from this influence, and to beat negativity.

How To Take Control and Beat Negativity

Here are 4 suggestions to try:

Let’s pay attention to our moods and energy level over the next few days and weeks. When we’re feeling particularly low, let’s ask ourselves – was I with someone recently that may have influenced my mind-set? Was there a specific interaction that brought me down?

Similarly, when we’re feeling energized, confident, and optimistic, reflect on what has happened recently that may have reinforced our positive thinking. Who buoyed us up? Was there someone who made us laugh out loud? When did we feel special, unstoppable, inspiring, and valued?

As we identify negative and positive “influencers” in our lives, let’s also take action to tip the scale towards positivity. 

It’s not always possible to control who we spend time with, but there are situations where we can. We’re not always inclined to do what’s best for us, so this might take some effort.  When we’re about to reach out to a co-worker, family member, or friend – let’s first ask ourselves: how does this person make me feel? Is he/she someone I should seek out more often – or avoid at all costs?

If this is a negative person in my life, do I need this interaction? Could someone else help me with what I need? Let’s minimize interactions with people who are not good for us.

Even better, let’s replace those interactions with encounters with people who make us smile, support us, nurture us, or love us unconditionally.

Let’s find more reasons to spend time with those people and let’s give them our undivided attention, friendship and kindness.  After all, we’re awesome.  We deserve more of them, and they deserve more of us!

What Happens When Beat Negativity May Not All Be Positive

Negative folks in our lives may not be happy as we start to establish boundaries – but that is SO okay. We need to take care of ourselves, because we are all so much more than enough!

What strategies will you use to take control and move your life in a positive direction? Who will you seek out first? 

Thank you as always for reading.

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