Taking control of negativity

Many of us have a pessimistic outlook on life and oftentimes we display our pessimism through complaining. We complain about things that we have no control over such as the weather, the amount of work we have or how far in debt we are.  Even if we don’t complain ourselves, nearly all of us have someone in our lives who is full of negativity and can bring us down. There are some simple ways to overcome negativity and complaining, it is after all a habit.

What causes complaining?

Complaining is a habit that is adopted when someone has negative thoughts. In general, they allow their negative thoughts to take over every aspect of their lives and they find something negative to say in almost every situation.  Perhaps you do this yourself, you vent and you blame everyone else for things that are going wrong. In reality, negativity is a result of YOUR negative thoughts and there is no one to blame except yourself.  Stop allowing negative thoughts to run your life and stop the cycle of negativity. 

Here are some ideas on how to do this:

A) Always look for the good – even bad situations can have good outcomes.  Take a look at each situation individually and look for the bright side. While there is no need to turn into a Polly-Anna, there is much good to be found, even in bad situations.

B) Know what you can change – remember that there are some things that no matter what you do, they cannot be changed.  For example, if it’s raining or snowing outside, it’s not going to last forever, and no amount of complaining is going to change the weather! Accept things for what they are and move on.

C) Change what you can – if you are involved in a relationship that is constantly causing you negative thoughts then it’s time to rethink that relationship.  Don’t get into the habit of accepting bad things as a normal course of life. Bad things do happen to good people, but being involved in toxic relationships whether they are personal or business does no good.

D) Take responsibility – remember that if you are plagued with negative thoughts, then you own them. You are the one who is allowing negativity to win! Replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts and soon you may find that your overall outlook is better. This may not be easy at first, but if you keep at it, soon you’ll find that nearly everything will appear better.

Negativity doesn’t do any of us any good. Those who constantly complain about everything will find that they are turning off friends, family members and coworkers. Most of us feel very uncomfortable being around someone who never has anything good to share or to say, and will stay away from them.  If you find that your outlook is negative all the time, chances are that you’ll never find a good thing to say about anything.

None of us can be positive about everything in our lives all of the time. However, when negativity is allowed to take over every aspect of our lives, the outcome can never be good. Positive thoughts help drive positive outcomes while constant negativity almost always opens you up for failure.