7 Ways To Remove Negativity From Your Life

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Do you feel mentally drained from the people around you or sick and tired of how you feel about yourself and where you are in life?

Negativity can easily sneak up into your life and it can be very mentally draining. 

Often times, we are our own worst enemies because we ourselves invite negativity into our lives when we allow certain bad habits and actions to keep re-occurring.

Whether it’s letting energy vampires suck out the positive energy from you or dealing with your own destructive thoughts, it’s important to become aware of your everyday thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in order to turn your life around for the better.

7 Ways To Remove Negativity From Your Life

In this post, I’ll be breaking down 7 toxic habits and behaviors you may be unintentionally doing.

Once you become aware of what is creating negativity in your life and take the right steps to remove them, you’ll be on your way to a happier and more positive and joyful life.

1. Set healthy boundaries and learn to say no

Do you ever feel compelled to do something you don’t want to do but you give in anyways because someone asked and you just couldn’t say no?

You might feel like you need to help them because it’s your duty and you’re trying to be a good person.

These could be every day scenarios that you face such as…

A family member wants a loan that you know they’ll never pay you back because they’re broke.

A coworker wants you to delegate work to you that you know isn’t part of your job but you just can’t seem to refuse.

Or maybe your friend who is a klutz wants to borrow your favorite pair of shoes when you know they’re a careless person who will most likely ruin them.

Does this sound like you?

Setting healthy boundaries with yourself and following through with them is so important for your own wellbeing.

It’s easy to get lost when you’re trying to be nice and hoping that others will like you more by agreeing to do things that you don’t actually want to do.

This can be really unhealthy and also makes it easier for others to treat you like a doormat.

You might think you’re being a good person by helping someone out but if you’re constantly giving in just to feel like you’re not disappointing someone else or not wanting them to dislike you, you can end up bending your own personal boundaries and lose your sense of control.

If you consider yourself a yes person, learn how to say no in certain situations that you don’t feel comfortable with and that you feel is right for you.

Instead of just blindly saying yes to everything because you feel obligated, find a healthy balance between the two.

2. Stop complaining

No one likes to be around a negative Nancy who doesn’t do anything but complain.

If you find that you have a bad habit of complaining about every little thing in your life, think about the situations you’ve been in where the person you were with was constantly complaining.

Remember how annoying those times were?

When you try to see it from that perspective, you can imagine how others might feel if they’re always feeling that negativity when they’re around you.

Instead of complaining, try to see the other side of the whole story because there is always something to be grateful for.

There are people out there who are in much worse situations than you even if you feel like the whole world is against you at that very moment.

If you are having a really bad day, it’s okay to vent but don’t make it a habit of being a complainer and seeing everything negatively.

If you don’t like something about your life, instead of complaining, make it a habit to start practicing gratitude daily and start doing.

Self-Help Books

I recommend reading self-help and personal growth books to motivate you, bring positivity into your life, increase your feelings of gratitude, and lift your spirits when you’re lost or down.

If you’re looking to get into positive self-help books and you’re not sure where to start, I definitely recommend the following books:

The Happiness Project

Little Book of Mindfulness

Write In A Gratitude Journal

If you want to get into the habit of practicing gratitude and seeing things positively, another great addition to reading self-help books is to write in a gratitude journal on a daily basis.

In my 101 Days Of Gratitude Journal, you’ll get guided journal prompts that will inspire happiness, balance, and joy in your life. As you practice this new habit over the next few months, you will start to cultivate a mindset that will promote more positive thinking.

This journal is a perfect addition to your morning routine to start the day off on a positive note or even to your night routine right before bed to reflect on all of the good things that happened during the day.

3. Stop negative dialogue that you have with yourself

Negative self-dialogue is so common these days.

If you’ve been caught telling yourself that you can’t do something because you don’t have the skills to do it or you hate a certain part of your body, this is negative self-talk.

Can you imagine yourself saying these horrible things to a friend? That would absolutely kill your friendship.

Your body listens to these things that you tell yourself and starts to believe in them.

This is be very damaging to your own self-esteem, self-confidence, and can even ruin your entire day.

Remember to be kind to yourself and remind yourself daily that you are strong, confident, and absolutely enough. You’re imperfectly perfect just the way you are.

Once you get into the habit of uplifting self-dialogue, you’ll find that you’re a much more happy and positive person. 

4. Don’t compare your life with others

One thing we do as humans is compare. It’s natural, I know.

Someone might seem to have the perfect life, the perfect marriage, or have something you want but you can’t afford.

If you wish you were that person or have jealous thoughts, you’re only looking at things on the surface.

You don’t know the past hardships that they might have endured, or the issues that they’re currently facing because people like to hide their pain and insecurities.

Comparing yourself to another person is so unhealthy and is just a never-ending cycle of misery that you don’t want to get sucked into.

No one is perfect and we all have things that aren’t so great about ourselves and others things that are totally awesome. 

Don’t forget that you’re also on a totally different path with different end goals, so there’s no need to be jealous or sad.

Instead of comparing to other people, look within and only compete with yourself.

5. Stop thinking that social media is reality

In this day and age, social media has taken over our world.

In fact, you probably can’t go through an entire day without being on your phone and scrolling through your social media feeds.

Social media is only a curated version of someone’s life and is just a highlight reel.

If you see someone’s feed and it looks like their life is totally perfect and they’ve got it together, remember that it probably isn’t true.

Just like you, they have flaws, experience down moments, and maybe are even battling something invisible inside that they aren’t sharing with the world.

If you’re constantly feeling dragged down by what you see or you feel depressed all of the time, it might be time to unfollow people who don’t lift you up.

Whatever your schedule is, don’t be afraid to do a social media detox once in a while for however long you need it for, whether it’s just for a day or even a week. This is a great way to reset and do a mental cleanse.

6. Let go of toxic people

Being around toxic people is bad for your mental health and if you’re able to choose not to associate with them, it’s best to avoid them.

Toxic people can be people who you hold near and dear such as close friends or family members.

It can even be your partner who you’re in a romantic relationship with.

If you feel like you’re constantly being taken advantage of, dragged down by their negativity, guilt tripped, abused, manipulated, and treated horribly, you should re-evaluate whether they’re the right fit for you.

Learn to say no and set up healthy boundaries so you can clearly show them which behaviors you allow and don’t allow.

If they still don’t treat you right, it’s best to distance yourself and let these people go even if you still love them very much.

To read more on how to deal with toxic people, go to my post on how to let go of toxic relationships for a happier life.

7. Stop depending on others or things to keep you happy

If you’re not happy with your life, you may find that you have a crutch (or two) that helps you to cope.

Depending on your situation, these might be things such as impulse spending, alcohol, smoking, drugs, gambling, an addiction to video games, receiving constant validation from your significant other, and more.

Whatever your crutch is, it’s not healthy to depend on an external thing to help fill any sort of void in your life.

Instead, find ways to boost your own mood and keep yourself happy that will bring out your inner joy and peace and skyrocket your self-esteem and confidence.

Some positive things you can do is to immerse yourself in new hobbies you’ve always wanted to try, start a side hustle, learn new skills, self-care activities that center you, and volunteering to help those who are less fortunate.

Journal To A Happier & Healthier Life In 30 Days

Need more guidance on how to work through and let go of mental blocks that are keeping you stuck in a negative space with toxic thoughts, habits, people, and behaviors?

Start feeling more positivity and happiness with the 30-Day Self-Care Habits Journal And Workbook.

Conclusion

If it feels like you’re stuck in this never ending cycle of unhappiness, you can always do something about it by cutting out the toxic thoughts, habits, people, and behaviors that aren’t serving you.

If you’re looking for more tips on how to create a positive life without the negativity, I recommend that you check out my post on 15 self-care habits you can do everyday to inspire joy and happiness.

More Wellness Tips

• 15 Ways To Easily Boost Your Mood Right Now
• 6 Ways To Start The Week Off Right Every Sunday
• How To Stay Healthy And Sane When You Work At A Desk Job
• How To Relax After Work When You Have A Stressful Day
• How To Let Go Of A Toxic Relationship For A Happier Life
• How To Create A Calm And Relaxing Space At Home

Do you deal with a lot of negativity in your life? How do you overcome it? Let me know in the comments!