How To Be A Positive Person

I used to be a really negative person ruled by my own fears and insecurities. Some of it had to do with my Asian upbringing, you were taught to work hard through fear of failing i.e. if I don't study hard I'm going to fail this test and will never get a good job. 

I did get those good grades but I was extremely stressed and had no life. Ten years later I can look back through retrospective eyes and see what things have made me into a more positive and balanced person.

1. Surround yourself with positive people

Get a support network of people who you trust and respect. Sometimes you just need a bit of encouragement to push you in the right direction. Listen to only constructive feedback, of course there will be be people out there who will say negative and possibly hurtful things to you. Try to avoid these people or stick to neutral subjects so you don't get your feelings hurt.

2. Be confident

Be assured in the set of skills that you have and know that you can adapt and develop as a person. There is no such thing as failure, just growth. If you don't know how to do something, learn it. I was worried that my first market stall wouldn't be a success but at the end of the day I can feel proud that I had actually gone out there at done it. Don't worry so much about what other people think and just focus on your own goals.

3. Be balanced

I found I'm most at ease when I've got a good balance between my physical, emotional, work and creative needs. I work during the day, create at night, fit in the occasional run and see my friends on the weekend. But sometimes I just need some time to completely veg out and its easy to get stressed and feel like I'm doing 'nothing'. Everyone deserves some down time.

4. Be present

When I was younger I lived with a lot of regret. I'd worry about what things I could have said to people and if that offended them. This is a negative spiral that will get you no where. There's also no point going into the many tangents of the future and dreaming up scenarios that will never happen either. Just be an organised person in the present and trust that most things work out ok. 

5. Dream Big

Don't be trapped by the smallness of normal life. I wanted to get out and see the world and experience things that I can't in Sydney suburbia. So we've saved up for year and we're selling all our stuff and leaving next year. It's as simple as that. You only have this one life, so why waste on it the mundane?