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Is your glass half-empty or half-full?
By Emily Ratay — Written on Sep 28, 2018
Are you a positive or negative person? Staying positive can feel like a LOT of work, especially if you're not used to putting on a smile and being super energized every single day.
But here's the thing: You don't have to smile all the time or skip through life to be positive. Being positive starts in your mind. Trust me, I understand how hard it is to be positive. Isn't is so much easier to just tell yourself that the worst is going to happen or that you don't see something working out in your favor? Of course, it is!
But that isn't going to make you feel any better about something, is it? Some zodiac signs are born thinking that their glass is half-full, while others are convinced that the glass is half-empty and always will be.
But whether you're always positive or always negative, we all have our bad days. And these bad days are when we need to learn how to be positive the most. To do that, we need to start with our thoughts, which means getting rid of the thoughts that are trying to bring us down.
This takes practice, but it doesn't mean that you have to automatically think positive thoughts for it to count. Part of practice means relearning the process of thinking happy thoughts.
You might start out thinking, "Great, this traffic is going to make me incredibly late for work," but if you teach yourself to think something positive right after that, like, "This traffic sucks, but it'll give me time to go over my talking points for the meeting later!" then you're teaching yourself to see the bright side to a crappy situation, while still acknowledging that you're unhappy.
You don't have to ignore your emotions or cover them up with positive thinking. You can (and should) let yourself feel what you're feeling, as long as you try to turn it into something positive, too. Having an abundance of negative thoughts can lead to a more negative outlook on life.
RELATED: What Makes Each Of The Zodiac Signs Smile
When you let negativity into your life, you're really telling the Universe that you deserve to be miserable. Plus, positive thinking and self-talk can increase your well-being, make it easier for you to handle a stressful situation, and even increase your lifespan (or so they say).
So, even if it's harder for you than it is for others, it can pay to be an optimist! You can embody someone, real or fictional, that inspires you to be more positive (I personally like Chris Traeger from Parks and Rec), or even take notes from the zodiac signs that always seem so positive.
And, of course, practicing on your own is important, too. To get you started, per astrology, here's how to stay positive, based on your horoscope.
ARIES (March 21 - April 19)
Aries, you love a challenge, but more than that, you love to win. When something doesn't go your way – which tends to happen in a world where it can't always be about you – you let yourself stay grumpy. Even when you know your anger is not needed, you let yourself cling to negative emotions.
Next time try only giving your positive moments attention. And, if it helps, turn it into a challenge. Every time something good happens to you, ask yourself what else you can do to ride this high. Challenge yourself to keep that positivity going and push yourself to keep a smile on your face, even when life tries to bring you down.
TAURUS (April 20 - May 20)
Taurus, you are one of those people who can't stand being uncomfortable in life. Whether it's something big, like navigating a tense relationship, or something small, like an irritating tag inside your shirt, you have to do something about it before it drives you crazy. The same can be said for when you're dealing with negative emotions and harsh realities.
Rather than let yourself just get used to negativity, create the perfect, positive environment and live fully in it. Surround yourself with flowers and plants, encouraging people, and little things that make you smile, and don't let yourself leave that happy place ever. And whenever you do experience something negative, go back to your happy place to heal and recharge your batteries.
GEMINI (May 21 - June 20)
Gemini, you are the kind of person who always tries to go through life with a positive outlook on life and a smile on your face. Of course, even happy people like you have to deal with grumpy colleagues at work, sadness and anger, and the occasional bad day. And when these things seem to happen one right after the other, it can be hard to find any kind of positivity in your life.
More than anything else, venting about what's keeping you from staying positive helps you cope with negativity. But you know that not everyone wants to listen to your problems every day. So, rather than keeping your problems to yourself, try including positive affirmations into your daily routine so that you're always starting your day with a positive outlook on life, no matter what.
CANCER (June 21 - July 22)
Cancer, you are one of those friends that knows exactly what it takes to cheer someone up. In fact, making other people smile makes you smile because you feel like you've done something good for someone you care about. That said, when you're having a bad day, it can be easy for you to convince yourself that no one cares as much as you do (even if they actually do).
Putting ourselves down when we're already having a bad day only makes things worse. Don't let one bad day convince you that you don't deserve happiness because it's just not true. Stay positive by doing what you love – bringing positivity to other people's lives. Helping others makes you happy, so do something to put a smile on your BFF's face (and a smile on yours).
LEO (July 23 - August 22)
Leo, you're out here doing the absolute most in life, and everyone admires you for it. As soon as you scratch out a task on your to-do list or reach that goal you've been working on forever, you're onto the next thing. People barely have enough time to congratulate you before you're back on your grind. But are you actually letting yourself enjoy your accomplishments when you do this?
Don't let yourself think that life is only worth living when you have a full plate. The more you pile on yourself, the more stress you're dealing with. Staying positive means taking it slow. There's no need to rush through things when being deliberate means less mistakes and more happiness. Let yourself enjoy your wins, and you'll handle stress and negativity a lot better.
VIRGO (August 23 - September 22)
Virgo, you're very critical of yourself. So much so that you would much rather not do anything at all if you can't do it perfectly than run the risk of messing up even a little bit. You are so afraid of negativity and failing that when it inevitably happens, you beat yourself up over it. You might not realize it, but you're actually living with more negativity than positivity right now.
Let's get one thing straight: being critical isn't a bad thing. But you need to trust that criticism can be helpful, instead of only being a bad thing. Stay positive by learning to embrace criticism – good and bad. Don't let yourself get caught up in someone else's opinion of you, but learn to take their suggestions in stride. You never know, you might find some nuggets of truth in their words.
LIBRA (September 23 - October 22)
Libra, you are very in tuned to your body and mind. You know when you're on top of your game and when you're feeling off. But even when you know you've had more than a few bad days in a row, it's not always easy to just take a time out and try to get your positivity back. I get it; when your life gets way too busy, it can be impossible to put your life on pause for even a minute.
But don't let yourself succumb to negativity just because you're busy. Now is more important than ever to invest in some self-care and put yourself first for a change. If you want to stay positive, you need to care for yourself. Even a basic morning routine of exercise, meditation, or a good breakfast can make all the difference for the rest of your day.
SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21)
Scorpio, you know that not every situation deserves a reaction, but you can sometimes take this a little too far. So far in fact that you don't give any situation a reaction, choosing instead to bottle it all up and try to ignore how you really feel inside. Yeah, you know what this does? This makes it impossible to feel any positivity because all you can think about is what's making you mad.
Staying positive means taking the good with the bad. Yes, you need to let yourself feel negative emotions fully – cry, get angry, tell someone off if you have to – before letting it all go. Once you react to something, let it go forever. It's done! There is no need for you to keep thinking about it. Once you clear your conscious of the bad, you can enjoy the good completely.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 21)
Sagittarius, you're the kind of person who always tries to be happy. But isn't it so much easier to tell others to look on the bright side instead of actually doing the same yourself? Whenever someone else is feeling grumpy, you're able to tell them that it's not that deep and to cheer up. But when they try to tell you to do the same, you get defensive and angry.
Look, you can't always help that you don't practice what you preach, but shouldn't you at least try? Staying positive means choosing to see the good in every situation – even the bad ones. Even if you have to tell yourself, "Hey, look on the bright side," even when things feel like they're crumbling around you, at least you're making the effort, which makes all the difference.
CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19)
Capricorn, everything is a big deal to you. You don't spend any time on something that you wouldn't be proud to brag about once you reach the finish line. Whether your goals are big or small, you are very deliberate and intense about succeeding. This is all well and good, but you do realize that not everything needs your level of intensity, don't you?
You sometimes get so caught up in achieving the next goal that you rush through the journey or have a meltdown when things don't go your way. Life is unpredictable, so why not just try to enjoy as much of it as you can? Don't make mountains out of molehills, and you'll find that life is a lot more positive when you just let things happen (they're gonna happen anyway, after all).
AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18)
Aquarius, you're not one to put a lot of emotion into the things you do because you feel like things go a lot better when you handle them with your brain, not your heart. Of course, that also means you tend to run on autopilot often and excuse negativity as "the way things are."
Whether you know what you're doing or not, letting negativity into your life so easily – just by saying, "Eh, it was bound to happen" – is you deliberately making yourself unhappy. Stay positive by being more mindful and intentional with your time so that you can purposefully attract positivity and happiness. Hey, it works!
PISCES (February 19 - March 20)
Pisces, it's easy for you to get overwhelmed when you're not totally sure what you want out of life. You have so many dreams and ideas of what would make you happy, but you don't always know where to start. And when there are too many ways for things to pan out, it can be easy for you to just say, "Forget it!" and never try because you don't have a plan.
Combat your fear of never being happy by making a plan. Even the smallest step helps, so never underestimate the little things you can do to find that happiness. Stay motivated by cultivating a positive environment for yourself. People and situations influence you more than you think, so surround yourself with things and individuals that make you happy and positivity will come.
Emily Ratay is a full-time writer living in Pittsburgh. She's passionate about the environment and feminism, and knows that anything is possible in the right pair of shoes. She plans on writing a non-fiction book in the future.