5 Simple Steps to Becoming an Optimist

Optimists stride through life with a light step, a smile on their face, and an open heart. They quickly forget the bad and look to the future with hope. As you might have guessed, optimism is not a traditional trait of the Russian mentality, where people do not smile without a good reason and spend most of their time in painful reflection. It’s time to put an end to this harmful stereotype, as being optimistic does not mean being shallow. The mental health and nerves of those who embrace positive thinking are significantly better than those of others. Perhaps it’s time to develop optimistic traits and enjoy life?

1. Ignore the Circumstances

The world around us is very colorful, and circumstances are constantly changing. Unpleasant situations, bad luck, or a streak of misfortune are inevitable—sooner or later, the mosaic of the universe will align in a way that brings negative circumstances. Pessimists immediately start complaining that everything is against them and that there is no justice. They focus on the negative and make it even darker, so it may seem to some that the whole world is against them. Relax. There is no world conspiracy against you, and any bad streak has a tendency to end, especially if you accelerate the process.

If circumstances are not in your favor, analyze whether you can influence them. If you can, great, take action! Soon, the series of failures will retreat under your onslaught. If you can’t, then there’s no need to worry about it. It happened simply because it happened. Wait it out, and the troubles will pass on their own.

2. Watch Your Facial Expressions

Americans have a good saying: “Fake it till you make it.” In some cases, this rough technique really works. For example, with a smile and posture. If you smile, keep your back straight, and make open gestures with your hands (do not clasp them together, do not fuss with your sleeves or purse clasp), then the mirror neurons in your brain start to work. They slightly replace cause and effect, so the more you imitate a good and positive mood physically, the more your brain adjusts to this image and gets into the role.

At first, you will have to walk around with an imperfect smile, but nothing comes easy. But after a week or two of reminding yourself, you will notice that the smile becomes more sincere and now warms not only the hearts of those around you but also your own. Just rehearse your gestures and smile in front of the mirror so as not to get into trouble like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in “Terminator 2.” The smile can be light and barely noticeable, but it should not resemble a predatory grin or grimace.

3. Try Affirmations

Many modern women are prejudiced against affirmation techniques, considering them empty talk from second-rate American pop-psychology books. Well, if you approach them half-heartedly, they will indeed be useless and will cause nothing but ridicule at best. If you work harder, affirmations can set you on a positive path.

Remember that an affirmation is a positive statement that should direct the flow of our thoughts in a positive direction and help us change our lives in the right direction. For example, “I will get the job of my dreams!” is a rough but valid affirmation.

Our subconscious cannot be fooled, so the more complex our personality, the more “targeted” and deep the affirmations should be. It is not enough to repeat a hundred times that you are the most charming and attractive. You need to prove to yourself that this is true.

So, for a successful affirmation technique, you need to do the following. Write positive statements about your personal life, work, home, and free time that would motivate you to make positive and optimistic changes. Let them be very brief. Then, describe them in detail: for example, why exactly you deserve your dream job, how much you have worked to achieve it, what skills and character traits you have for it, how you will behave in the workplace, and how you will achieve good results. In other words, convince yourself that the affirmation can work. And only then repeat the initial simple phrase, recalling all the arguments to yourself. The more often you repeat, the better. As soon as you feel that your mood is worsening, cheer yourself up!

4. Take a Good Example

There are several sources for a good positive example in life. The first is real communication. Find optimists among your acquaintances who are easy to communicate with and get to know them better. Watch how they behave in various situations and take note of all the techniques of easy positive behavior.

The second source is literature. Find famous characters with a light character that you admire. Read their biographies or life stories to get inspired.

Finally, the third source is culture. Along with deep and complex things, be sure to include a good dose of positivity. Watch comedies and stand-up performances, musicals, and funny, kind TV series. Mix light music with heavy music and read not only Dostoyevsky and Kafka.

5. Keep an Emotion Journal

Start writing down all the strong emotions you experience during the day. Divide a notebook page in half—on one half, write negative emotions, and on the other, positive ones. Along with the emotion, write down the reason it arose and all your thoughts at that moment and later.

In the case of negative emotions, such a diary will help you vent and let off steam, so real irritation and accumulation of negativity will not appear. And all the good things you can experience again and again by rereading good memories. Your goal is to make sure that there are as few negative emotions as possible in the diary and as many positive ones as possible. Good luck!

For further reading, you might want to check out this article on how to understand if there is too much chaos in your life and how to deal with it.