Recently I stumbled upon Donald Latumahina’s excellent Life Optimizer blog, and this article in particular grabbed my attention:

15 Tips to Stay Positive in Negative Situations

Though it’s not easy, it’s important to stay positive in negative situations. Latumahina recommends 15 positive things you can do so you don’t succomb to the negative that may be going on around you. Here are the first 5 of his tips:

1. Never respond when you are not calm. If you are not sure that you are calm, don’t respond. Take time to calm yourself down first.
2. Take a deep breath as a first step to calm yourself down.
3. Speak in gentle tone to reduce the tension of the situation.
4. Realize that you can find opportunities in negative situations. Albert Einstein said: “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.”
5. Look at the content of what people say to you for something positive that you can act upon to improve yourself. Don’t just reject the whole messages.

To read the entire list of 15 tips, click here

While you’re there, have a good look around. There are loads of list type articles with good, usable advice. Here are three more titles I think you’ll also like:

• 37 Lessons to Help You Live a Life that Matters
• 33 Tips to Become a Well Liked Person
• 106 Tips to Become a Master Connector

All of Latumahina’s articles are filled with practical, solid things you can do right now to make your life better. Go, read and enjoy.

Cheers from sunny Japan,
Charles