How to Get Rid of Negativity This Year
Embracing positivity is a great way to move forward each day with impactful, meaningful intent. This is easier said than done. Negativity can be possessive. It can seep in at any moment, filling us with questions and doubts, usually about things that are beyond our control. We are naturally wired to take in negativity much easier than positivity.
Negativity can come from our minds, the people around us, and even our environment. Making changes can feel frightening, but sometimes change is the only way to truly get rid of the negativity in our lives. Get rid of negativity in the new year once and for all.
Preventing Negative Thoughts
You can only control so much about the world around you. What you can control is how much you let negative thoughts impact your life and take over your thoughts. Most of our negative thoughts are either about the past or the future. We may feel guilty, upset, or sorry about something that happened in the past, or we could be fearful about something in our future. These negative thoughts can impact your ability to focus on the here and now.
Your pattern of thinking is a habit. Like any habit, such as biting your nails, it can be broken in time through awareness and commitment. If you’ve been looking at things negatively, if you are used to thinking the worst, you will continue that pattern until you break the habit. It may not be easy, and you may have setbacks, but you can break the pattern of negativity.
Replace Your Negative Thoughts with Something Positive
When you find yourself letting negative thoughts in, replace those thoughts. You can do so with a simple phrase such as, “I will not dwell on this” or “I will not give these thoughts space.” You can also replace your thoughts with a go-to song. Your mind won’t be able to focus on both. You can also choose to focus on a specific happy memory that brings you happiness. Stopping the negative thoughts in their tracks is a great way to keep your focus positive.
How to Get Rid of Negative People
Removing negativity from your life can start with your mindset, but it also involves the relationships you have with others. We naturally become like those we surround ourselves with, for good or bad. It can be a challenge to try and embrace a positive outlook if those around us don’t support that behavior.
When you actively choose to leave negativity behind, your existing relationships will either embrace the change or become resistant to it. This can be natural as everyone handles change differently. One friend may love that you’re trying to be positive, while another may feel they are losing the reason for your friendship. Change is scary, but to leave negativity behind, you may have to leave negative relationships behind as well.
There are different signs of negative energy in a person. One sign is that the person complains and dumps their problems on others but does nothing to change their situation. A negative person is often unsupportive and may have a hard time showing any positivity towards your changes. This person could make you feel bad about yourself. Negative energy often reveals itself in the person’s embrace of drama or gossip that brings others down. If you have someone like this in your life, you may have to make important decisions concerning your relationship.
Tell Them the Truth
Not all negative people realize how negative they are. They may not realize that their words and behaviors are harmful to others. If it is a relationship you hope to maintain, having a true heart-to-heart could benefit the relationship. If you worry about their reaction becoming volatile, you can meet in a public location that is comfortable for both of you. You can express the changes in life you are making and how you feel your relationship with them is changing. It won’t be easy, but you may be able to help them realize their negative habits. You can’t make the changes for them, but you can open a door to possibilities.
Block Negative People on Social Media
Social media is a great way to connect with friends and family both near and far. It can also be a source of negativity. What you see on your newsfeed can impact you and keep you from truly leaving negativity behind. If a certain friend or family member is a source of negativity, you can unfollow or even block them. It is important to remember that you don’t need to cater to someone else’s negativity. When trying to move forward with positivity, big changes sometimes need to be made. Social media negativity can come from a wide range of sources, even outside of your friends and family.
Remove Them from Your Life
You don’t need to allow negativity in your life through the people you surround yourself with. This includes friends and family. You can’t stop anyone else from being negative, but you can stop allowing it in your own life. This is a difficult decision, and it won’t be easy, but you have to put yourself first. If someone is subtracting more than adding to your life, you don’t need to keep them in it.
Dealing with a Negative Environment
Our environment can greatly impact our ability to remove negativity from our lives. Negative energy lingers, and it can impact your emotions, especially at home. Symptoms of negative energy at home include feeling that you can’t relax, you feel unproductive or unmotivated, you may feel anxious or overwhelmed, and you may even have trouble sleeping. It can feel overwhelming to try and pinpoint what is creating these emotions, but it can be helpful to break your home into different spaces.
Relaxation Spaces
You should be able to truly relax in your home. If there are certain spaces in your home that you gravitate towards, ask yourself why. You can also analyze why you may avoid other spaces. When it comes to your relaxation spaces, it helps to consider your spaces.
What do you see? If there is a lot of clutter or mess, you’ll likely start to feel anxious about needing to clean and tidy up. This keeps you from actually relaxing. You may also want to consider the colors in your space. Bold colors can be distracting, while mute tones can be more naturally relaxing.
What do you hear? The clicking of a clock or the hum of electronics can be distracting. Noises can interrupt our ability to relax and focus within.
What do you smell? What we smell can impact our ability to get comfortable. Light incense or a candle to fill your space with smells you enjoy.
What are you touching? Texture plays a large role in our ability to get comfortable. If your couch is too hard to get comfortable, add pillows and blankets to ensure you can be comfortable. When it’s time to go to bed at night, your sheets should be cool and comfortable, not scratchy.
Activity Spaces
In spaces such as an at-home office, the kitchen, or bathroom, you want to again apply your senses. Are there elements that are distracting, such as clutter, mess, or disorganization? Are there really strong smells that are overwhelming and distracting?
Keeping your spaces clean and tidy can help remove negativity from your space. If small changes don’t seem to help, you could consider a full restructuring of your space. Move things around and experiment with the change in energy as you recreate your space.
Walk Away from Toxic Coworkers
You rarely have control over who you work with, but you can control how you interact with them. If you have a co-worker who likes to gossip, bad-mouth, or participate in other forms of negativity, you can choose to remain neutral and uninvolved. In most cases, they will get the hint that you aren’t interested in those interactions and will leave you out of it. You don’t have to stay in situations that make you uncomfortable. Don’t be afraid to walk away. You don’t have to explain yourself if you don’t want to.
Leave the Stress Behind
If you encounter negativity and stress in the workplace, actively tell yourself to leave it behind. When you leave the building, redirect your thoughts to what is positive. It could be the good things that happened at work or the good things you have to look forward to. It is okay to vent about work to a trusted friend, but if it becomes the center of conversation, you’ll want to consider how much it is affecting your ability to be positive. If you can change departments or jobs, you may benefit greatly from leaving that negativity behind completely.6
Moving Forward with Positivity
Leaving negativity behind isn’t easy. It surrounds us constantly through those we interact with, what we see on TV or social media, and the environments we put ourselves in. Knowing how to spot it is the first big step. Knowing how to remove it from your life is the most important step. Sticking to your goals and desires can help keep you on the path of positivity. Turning to outside resources can also help.
The NamaSLAY Crew is committed to embracing the power of positivity in all aspects of life. If you want to discover new ways to improve your health and wellness, then join “da crew.”
Sources
- Vaish, A., Grossmann, T., & Woodward, A. (2008). Not all emotions are created equal: the negativity bias in social-emotional development. Psychological bulletin, 134(3), 383–403. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.3.383
- Beaty, R. E., Seli, P., & Schacter, D. L. (2019). Thinking about the past and future in daily life: an experience sampling study of individual differences in mental time travel. Psychological research, 83(4), 805–816. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-018-1075-7
- Hill, J. O., Wyatt, H. R., & Peters, J. C. (2013). The Importance of Energy Balance. European endocrinology, 9(2), 111–115. https://doi.org/10.17925/EE.2013.09.02.111
- Karim, F., Oyewande, A. A., Abdalla, L. F., Chaudhry Ehsanullah, R., & Khan, S. (2020). Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic Review. Cureus, 12(6), e8627. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.8627
- Anjum, A., Ming, X., Siddiqi, A. F., & Rasool, S. F. (2018). An Empirical Study Analyzing Job Productivity in Toxic Workplace Environments. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(5), 1035. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15051035
- Anjum, A., Ming, X., Siddiqi, A. F., & Rasool, S. F. (2018). An Empirical Study Analyzing Job Productivity in Toxic Workplace Environments. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(5), 1035. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15051035
