Living Positively: Three Ways to Bring Joy Into Your Life

Do you find true happiness elusive? Perhaps you feel confused by the events that surround you. Attempts to find the positive go unfulfilled as you reach out into the darkness to find something to use as an anchor amidst the turmoil.

We all feel this way as we dodge the pelts of negativity being thrown at us by our emotional and physical environments. One of the side effects of our current technological-based world is sensory overload. Peruse any news magazine or website and notice the angle the journalists are using to hood the readers; you will quickly notice that we live in a negative world.

Perhaps the negativity of our environment is the reason for the sudden interest in positive psychology. According to Psychology Today, positive psychology is the study of what makes life worthwhile (2008). Martin Seligman, one of the founders of positive psychology, asserts that this field of study seeks identify and understand the elements that foster thriving individuals, families, and communities (http://psychology.about.com).

The popularity of positive psychology reveals one thing: that we have forgotten how to be happy. In the chaos and madness of the present, we have lost sight of true happiness, and the end result is a quest to find it again so that we can find peace of mind. If you are seeking happiness, the following article will reveal three simple behavior modifications that will help you remain positive in a negative world and bring joy back into your life.

1. Express Gratitude Daily.

Gratitude is more than saying "thank you." Gratitude is actually a way of life. In order to live a life of gratitude, we must train ourselves to be grateful in all circumstances. This may be difficult to do for some of us because life often comes crashing down when we least expect it. It is during these times that we must find at least one thing and express gratitude for it. This exercise will become easier if gratitude is practiced on a daily basis. Expressing gratitude can be as easy as being thankful for a warm sunny day or being thankful that you were able to locate your car keys without tearing the house apart. Eventually, expressing gratitude will become a habit opening the doors to inner happiness and peace.

2. Fill Your Heart With Hope.

Hope is the one thing that we do not want to let slip through our fingers. The loss of hope can lead to a downward spiral that is often difficult to overcome. Therefore, we must remain hopeful through all things. Hope is special because it reminds us that nothing is final. There will be new chances or new opportunities to grow spiritually and emotionally. The old phrase, "hope springs eternal" is a nugget of truth. When we think that all is lost, we see that hope never left our sides. Fill your heart with hope by beginning each day focusing on a positive outcome. If you are stuck in a rut, think about where you really want to be in life, set goals, and make it happen.

3. Open Your Heart to Others

Negativity often causes us to build a protective wall to keep others a bay. When we do this, we are not keeping negativity away. Instead, we are walling negativity in with us thus alienating others and hurting ourselves in the process. If you realize that you are building such a wall, tear it down by opening your heart to others. When we open our hearts to others, we find the joy that comes from forming healthy realtionships. In addition, we often find compassion and a desire to help the less fortunate find peace. To practice opening your heart, try the following visualization:

Sit in simple meditation. Breathe by inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Envision a light radiating from your inner heart and imagine the light illuminating the entire room. Practice this exercise whenever you begin to feel blocked. It takes some imagination, but you will immediately recognize the benefits.

Concluding Thoughts

Life does not have to be negative. We just have to adapt to the challenges that we encounter each hour of our lives. You can live positively in a negative world.