Both positivity and negativity tend to be contagious; which means that surrounding ourselves with negative people will tend to worsen our mood and outlook. But even more worrisome, the negativity we pick up from others can also shorten our lifespan and affect our health in many ways.
On the other hand, if our close circle consists of people who exude positivity, we are more likely to experience a boost in both our physical and mental health. Research suggests that the benefits associated with positivity include: increased longevity and happiness, protection against chronic stress, greater meaning in life, and greater connection with others.
What is positivity?
Positivity is defined as the practice or tendency to have a positive or optimistic attitude. Positive people are said to accept the world as it is. They look for the silver lining when something unfortunate happens and spread messages of hope to others.
6 benefits of positivity and positive thinking
Increases happiness
Emerging research suggests that people who practice positivity and gratitude together experience multiple benefits, including feeling relatively happier, more energetic and more hopeful and experiencing positive emotions more often.
Positivity seems to help us recognize hidden opportunities for pleasant states such as relaxation, joy and connection. As described in a recent Psychology Today article, “People who are satisfied with life eventually have even more reason to be satisfied, because happiness leads to desirable outcomes in school and work, fulfilling social relationships, and even good health and a long life.”
Decreases the negative effects of stress and anxiety
Positivity seems to protect against negative health outcomes because it reduces the effects that chronic stress has on your body. Several studies have found that having strong social relationships, especially with positive people, protects against the harmful effects of disappointments and setbacks.
Reduces the risk of anxiety disorders
Studies have found that depressed and anxious people have a decreased ability to identify positive emotional content in their context. These deficiencies contribute to the “ineffective emotional regulation” that is the hallmark of these disorders. People with these disorders generate negative thoughts so automatically that they do not realize it is happening and that their thoughts may be ignored or altered.
A 2016 study published in Behavioral Research and Study found that positive thinking can help decrease pathological worry. As well as the risk of mental health conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
Contributes to greater meaning in life
A 2010 study published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry found that people with high levels of positive thinking report feeling that their lives have more meaning after stressful events. Research has found that those who practice positive cognitions associated stress with greater meaning in life. While those with low levels of positive thinking associated stressful events with less meaning in life.
Increases your connection with others
Practicing positive thinking helps us maintain mental clarity, perspective and a bird’s eye view of the circumstances in our lives. Allowing our vision to expand, helping us form more accurate connections. Some researchers refer to this as “the magnified effect” of positivity. Positive emotions have also been shown to increase our sense of oneness with others and the world around us.
Positivity can help us when it comes to connecting with people in our community and at work. This is important because studies have found that our connections with other people generate meaning and purpose. And, they are a major factor in what makes life seem “worth living.”
Reinforce healthy habits
Positivity tends to build on itself, which means that when we experience more positive emotions, it’s easier to develop health-promoting habits that contribute to our ongoing happiness.
Exercises to develop positivity
So, there are ways to focus on the positive and take attention away from the negative. Positivity exercises can help inject a more positive attitude into our lives, as well as the lives of those around us:
Identify negative internal dialogue.
Start paying attention to the ways in which you engage in negative internal dialogue. Such as: magnifying the negative aspects of a situation and filtering out all the positive ones, automatically blaming yourself, always anticipating the worst, and seeing things as only good or bad with no middle ground. Identify areas of your life that you normally think negatively about and then focus on one area at a time to address them in a more positive way.
Repeat positive affirmations
Find positive words or positive quotes that you can repeat to yourself daily or put somewhere you can see frequently, such as your computer or refrigerator.
Keep a gratitude journal
The practice of gratitude involves a focus on the present moment, on appreciating your life as it is today. Try keeping a journal in which you can write briefly each morning or evening. There you will write down the things that made you feel happy and grateful. This will help you learn to think in terms of abundance and savor pleasurable experiences. It also serves as an antidote to negative emotions, including jealousy, envy, regret, hostility, worry and irritation.
Incorporate body positivity practices
Instead of always focusing on your weight or the things you want to change about it, look for things your body already does perfectly well. Like allowing it to exercise, go about its day, work and interact with others. Focus on your behaviors rather than the outcome.
Avoid social comparison
Instead of focusing on what other people have and you don’t, think about the things you are grateful for in your own life. Find things about yourself that make you unique and valuable, and consider writing about your own strengths in your journal. Treat yourself as a friend by practicing self-compassion. Don’t tell yourself something you wouldn’t tell anyone else.
Set aside time for fun and relaxation
Take time for calming and stress-relieving activities. Do those things that make you smile or laugh. Look for humor in everyday life and allow yourself to take breaks.
It is also advisable to practice mindfulness or meditation, which will teach you to focus on the “here and now” rather than the past or future. This is helpful to think of emotions and thoughts as temporary and less overwhelming, as everything is always evolving and changing.
See also Mindfulness tricks to reduce anxiety
Help others and volunteer
This is one way to spread positivity. By focusing on benefiting the lives of others, we generate a benefit to ourselves, improving our mood. Helping others gets us “out of our own head” and can make us feel connected, grateful and proud.
ALFA