If you’re like me, you can sometimes get stuck in a “negativity rut.” Your thoughts travel to the worst situation almost immediately, your anger is quick to rise to the surface, your outlook on life’s day-to-day activities is at best apathetic, the smallest problems seem larger than life.
Well, it doesn’t have to be this way—there’s a better way to live this life. You CAN break that cycle and walk through the valley to the other side. It will take some practice to break the negativity habit. It will take some concentrated effort and re-training of the brain, but you can do it.
Let’s chip away at those negative habits with seven basic tips, shall we?
Oftentimes you don’t even realize you are living with a fixed mindset - it’s how you’ve always reacted; it’s how you’ve always viewed XYZ. When this negative, fixed mindset clouds your view, you are unable to discover the opportunities and blessings that life sends your way. The key to this first task is awareness. You won’t be able to move forward in your efforts of achieving a more positive YOU without first identifying what needs to go.
Stop and think about how you respond to difficult situations, circumstances you don’t particularly enjoy. Grab a journal or notebook, and write them down as they happen throughout the day.
Perhaps your children make a mess in the bathroom or leave crumbs all over the table. Write down how that makes you feel. Perhaps you walk past a mirror and see your midsection drooping over your pants button. Perhaps a coworker gets the promotion you’ve been gunning for.
What thoughts cross your mind? Write them down in your notebook.
Keep this with you and jot down your thoughts and reactions as you go about your day. Before bed, review them. Notice any patterns?
Now that you’ve taken inventory of how you generally react or respond to life’s annoyances, let’s talk about how you can reverse that way of thinking. Get out your notebook or journal. Pick out a few phrases you caught yourself muttering. Write those down on a new page, but leave room for a re-work.
Perhaps you heard yourself say, “There’s no way this will work.” Now take a moment to think about how you can turn this into a positive statement. How about this? “I love a good challenge; I am going to approach this from a different angle.” See the shift?
Let’s try another. Maybe you often mention to yourself as you walk past the mirror, “I will never lose this weight. Who would love this?” Yikes - what a punch to your inner self! How can you stop this negative talk in its tracks? Try → “I can make small changes that will lead to healthy results. I am beautiful no matter the size of my pants.”
Your turn! This exercise will challenge you to have a new perspective. Attack those negative thoughts and take them captive. Release them only when they’ve submitted to positivity.
We have SO many things to be thankful for, but we often overlook them or take them for granted. That soft bed you sleep in - blessing. Those clothes you wear every day - blessing. That car you drive - blessing. That paycheck you receive - blessing. That air you’re breathing in - blessing. See how the simple things in life, the ones we often consider as just “part of life”... we can count them all as blessings!
Starting the day off with a heart full of gratitude can really make an enormous impact on your attitude as you move throughout the day. According to a study done by The University of California and Washington University, expressing gratitude increases joy, which is a distinct positive emotion. Joy, in turn, increases gratitude. What a great cycle to be stuck in!
You can also set your intentions for the day by repeating affirmations aloud. Start telling yourself the story you want to be a part of. Use positive language; speak truth over yourself. Try these …
- I will have a great day!
- I can choose my attitude.
- I am confident in my abilities.
- I choose patience and peace.
Take a moment to jot down some things you are grateful for AND some positive affirmations you would like to recite in the mornings. If you feel comfortable doing so, reply back and share what you came up with.
Fragrances can have quite a powerful impact on your emotional state. As soon as you take a whiff, the airborne odor molecules travel up the nose to your olfactory receptors, which then relay messages to other parts of the brain. Your sense of smell is the only one of the five senses that is directly linked to the limbic lobe of the brain, the emotional control center.Did you know? Sesquiterpenes can increase blood oxygen levels in the brain. Guess where those are found? You guessed it - essential oils.
The stimulation of both aroma and oxygenation seems to affect the amygdala (part of the brain that plays a major role in emotional processing). This stimulation - accompanied by mental focus and intent - actually facilitates the release of stored emotional blocks. How cool is that?!
So grab those oils and inhale or diffuse them! Some of my favs are Valor, Frankincense, Orange, Bergamot, Stress Away, Envision, and Release. Find what works for you and use them consistently!
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Take a few moments to reflect on the things you surround yourself with - your friends, family, coworkers, music, tv, social media, podcasts, books, etc. Are they positive?
Do you remember that old saying, “Garbage in, garbage out”? Same is true today. If you are surrounding yourself with negative influences, your inner thoughts and attitude will most certainly be negative.
Sift out the bad and start focusing on what positive influences you can begin implementing. If it’s a toxic relationship, take the steps required to set proper boundaries. If it’s something toxic on social media or perhaps gloomy, depressing music… change that! Remove it. Delete it. Do what it takes to set yourself up for success in this area.
Foster the positive relationships you DO have. Play upbeat, uplifting tunes—sing and dance it OUT! Read books and listen to podcasts that inspire you, not give you nightmares. Watch comedy shows and LAUGH! It’s good for the soul, friend. Bring in so much positivity that there’s NO ROOM for negativity.
One of my fave quotes to live by:
I don’t sing because I’m happy … I’m happy because I sing.
Becoming a more “positive you” requires a change of the mind AND the body; your daily habits need to shift. Consider implementing exercise as a way to bring more positivity into your life. Why?
When you exercise, your body releases endorphins. These chemicals help suppress the hormones that cause stress and anxiety. They trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine, but without the dangerous possibility of overdosing or becoming addicted.
While you’re at it, start spreading positivity by doing something good for others and the environment. Start recycling. Collect trash along roadsides. Volunteer at a shelter. Find ways to give back and you’ll be surprised at how uplifting it can be in return.
As you may have guessed, these tips are not all-inclusive. There are MANY ways you can become a more “positive you,” but perhaps one of the most important things you take away from my message is this: turn failures into lessons.You are not always going to get this “positivity thing” right. You will have “off” days, moments where you lose your cool, situations that put you in a funk. Don’t let them derail you.
Take what happened and LEARN from it. Figure out how to avoid those situations or how to handle them more effectively the next time you encounter them. Break the cycle. Stay the course. Become the change you want to see.
I hope these tips will challenge your mindset and help you take those negative thoughts captive. If you like what you’ve read, feel free to share it with your friends and family.
Be well,
Nicole
If you’d like to get more wellness tips, join my Facebook group How to Be a Modern Hippie here.
Life is tough, and budgeting can be even harder! Especially when we know how important organic food, products without synthetics, and holistic methods of self care are!But what if we don't have to give up those values? What if we can use clean products ANd be thrifty at the same time? The fact that Young Living offers me this PLUS a huge convenience in shipping directly to me as often as I like allows me to not only save money but time too. And to me, time is also money!
I want to make sure you know all about the YL Wellness Box, loyalty points, and Free Gifts with Purchases. These customer features have saved me thousands, plus shopping this way keeps me from roaming the aisles of my fave local store grabbing home, beauty, and wellness items on impulse that I don’t even really need or want. I can't be the only one that happens to, right?
And frankly, by selecting what I want to order for my home and wellness needs in advance in an intentional way, it helps me to stay true and committed to myself, which has become really important to me in life. I’m worth planning for, prioritizing, and budgeting for—especially when I’m being savvy!
Here’s what I do to save a ton of money on home, beauty, and wellness products for my entire household.
I mostly buy consumable essentials from YL—things like home and body products that I would otherwise be purchasing from a big box store, who doesn’t give me huge points and perks back.
Points = freeeeeee product. Free as in free, plain and simple.
Points accumulate FAST through Young Living. Most big box places give 1-5 percent back in points. Young Living first gives 24 percent off on qualifying orders, then an additional 10-25 percent back through Subscribe to Save orders.
To get mega points back, I build my box on mostly household staples (again, this isn’t spending extra money, it’s just shopping at YL instead of other places). I first add in wellness products, then beauty and nutrition needs next, and essential oils are added in if/when needed.
Two Pro Tips I live by:
→ Staying committed to my healthy lifestyle through quality products + being in my YL community helps keep me healthy and out of the doctor‘s office! I’ll save the co-pay, thank you very much!
→ I really try to use what I buy and buy what I use. Again, this helps keep me healthy, but it also helps me to not overspend or impulse buy and to just be resourceful.
Shopping at places with point systems is the best, especially when you get to pick your own full-size freebies. I hate it when a place gives me a dime-sized sample as a “gift.” LOL Remember, when it comes to YL, the freebies you get to purchase with points are the specific things you already wanted, so this can help your budget out tons. I have friends who’ve saved up their points over a few months and then splurged on an entire KidScents collection or on a complete skin care + makeup collection for themselves.
So "splurge" on that face cream or get an extra couple bottles of NingXia! You've earned it with your points . . . literally!
This is just an example of an easy guide to your wellness box (Subscribe to Save). Think of these packages as simple swaps that you'll definitely need, to match any budget. If the example is too pricey for your taste/needs, just reduce. The numbers aren't exact, but they will get you to each monthly Free Gift with Purchase level (and a little over what you need)!
It's actually really simple to get products added to your Subscribe to Save monthly orders and make changes.
Are you ready to customize an order for yourself? I’m happy to help!
Happy shopping!
Be well,
Nicole
