Anxiety and stress are complex emotions. They’re forged over years of life events and teachings, and once you have them, they affect the way you think, the way you act, and the way you see the world. Persistent anxiety is the type of condition that can not only change the course of your life, but also condition you to experience more negative emotions and events in the future. Those that decide to find relief form their anxiety are committing to something that is sure to change their quality of life. But all of those emotions and experiences also create an issue that stands in the way of recovery: negativity. It becomes far too easy in life to expect the worst and assume the least. Negativity is, in many ways, at the heart of anxiety – the idea that the world is a stressful place, and one that is hard to overcome. What you need is a positive attitude!
Creating a Sense of Positivity
If you want to truly recover from anxiety, you need to learn how to embrace positivity. This is easier said than done, of course. Cynicism is easier to confirm than positivity because cynicism begets negativity in others, but positivity doesn’t always beget positivity in cynics. So while you’re trying to be positive, you’re more likely to find your negative feelings confirmed in the process, and your ability to turn positive will suffer.
So it’s important to find ways to become positive that aren’t just “trying to be more positive.” You need a method of becoming positive that has a more real effect, and one that you can do for a long period of time without life events forcing you back to negativity.
Fake It To Make It
The best way to do that is to, in a way, harness your own cynicism and negativity and use it to your advantage in a way that will improve your positivity. With that in mind, one of the best ways to become a more positive person is to spend all day every day pretending to be a positive person.
Fake it like you’ve never faked it before. Be an actor in a play. It’ll be disingenuous, and in many ways that’s how you’re using the cynicism you’ve developed – you’re going to feel like you’re making fun of positive people, because most of what you’re doing will be completely unnatural.
Why is This Effective?
Faking it has a strange effect on the way you think. When you act in a way that goes against your nature for a long enough period of time, your mind starts to question the way you think. It gets stressed, wondering why you’re acting so different than you feel. Rather than cause you to act differently, it adapts so that it feels less stress. Eventually you start to feel more positive, even if you don’t understand why.
During that time you’ll also start to learn what it’s like to act like a positive person. It won’t feel as unnatural, and you can continue to utilize that positivity in a way that helps you see things from a happier way.
The Steps to Be More Confident
Faking positivity isn’t the only way to become a more positive person. Exercise helps, as does surrounding yourself with positive people. General anxiety treatment strategies will help you become a bit naturally more positive. There are many things that you can do to increase your positivity.
But faking a positive attitude is one of the most effective first steps, and once you can increase your positivity, your ability to overcome your anxiety will be much improved.
You are so stupid. Faking it til you make it has adverse consequences, including the ability to believe your own lies.