Five Quotes for a Positive Outlook

This week in Advice for LIVing, I discuss famous quotes that might help you enter the week in a better mindset.

Welcome back to Advice for LIVing, and happy Monday!

Mondays are quite possibly the hardest day of the week. 

After a weekend off of school or work, getting back into the swing of things can be a daunting task. 

It’s easy to enter the week feeling down or dreading the challenges that lie ahead. 

So, to help you enter the week with a happier outlook, and hopefully a better mindset,  here are 5 positivity quotes that help remind me it’s all going to be alright.

Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.

— Willie Nelson

Negative thoughts happen. As human beings, thinking negatively is undeniable and sometimes, it can get the best of us. Thinking about all the what-ifs and the things that could go wrong can put you in a bad mindset. 

By doing your best to think positively, your mindset will begin to change. Stop stressing about the what-ifs and stop thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Start enjoying and living your life with little worry. You might just start to notice that your days go better and things work out better for you. 

Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.

— Williams James

It’s easy to be a pessimist. Having a pessimistic outlook is much easier than being optimistic. It takes a special person to see the bright and good side of things. But, with being a pessimist, you are bringing yourself and others down. Whether you realize it or not, living your life as a pessimist isn’t a healthy thing either. 

According to a study published by BMC Public Health, having a pessimistic attitude can lead to series health consequences, such as the increased risk of death from heart disease. There has been evidence found that links mental health and personality traits to coronary heart disease. 

So, although it might feel like a difficult task, try to look on the bright side and think optimistically today — you might just see a positive result and feel more in control of yourself. 

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.

— Helen Keller

Throughout life, it is an easy thing to look back on your past. It is easy to let past events resonate so deeply that it affects your day-to-day life. I’m not going to lie to you and say that past events haven’t impacted my life. That’s human nature, and letting emotions and anxiety take over isn’t hard to let happen. 

What is hard, is looking forward and not look back. Keeping your face toward your bright future (the sun) and not looking back into your past (the shadow). 

So, keep your face toward the sun, and step into the week with a fresh outlook and happier perspective. 

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.

— Winston Churchill

Absolutely! This is such a true statement. Attitude can change everything! As a high school student, it is easy to let our attitude get the best of us. With hormones raging and stress levels high, the way we express ourselves to others can be a bit aggressive or come off as not-so-nice. 

Although it doesn’t seem like a big step, the attitude that you project to others can make a big difference. So keep that attitude in check, and you never know how you might make someone’s day…or have a better day yourself. 

Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.

— Mother Teresa

It’s easy to let life get ahead of us. Life moves at a fast pace, passing in the blink of an eye. In high school, there are due dates after due dates, and college looms around the corner. Trying to prepare yourself for the future can be scary and overwhelming. You can get lost in the hassle of it all, losing sight of the now.

You only get one life, and living in the moment — enjoying each thing as it happens, is so important. Things happen once in a lifetime, and you will never get a single moment back. Go to homecoming, go spend time with friends, go to a football game, because you live once. Take the time to enjoy each moment and worry about things down the road later.

Take it one day at a time because eventually, we’ll be wishing we could go back to a time when life was simple and easy, and all we had to worry about were due dates and if we wanted to go to homecoming.