It isn’t always easy to be positive and grateful, especially when experiencing loss or feeling worried or depressed.

Just so it’s been said if you’re going through something terrible right now, and you’re in a real dark place, please get the support you need by finding a therapist or a counselor.

But if your life isn’t in crisis mode, there are a few things you can do to free yourself from negativity.

Acknowledge The Situation

Ignoring, avoiding, or distracting yourself from the situation doesn’t make it go away.

It’s necessary to face reality and be aware of what’s happening.

You can’t make something better until you’re clear about what needs to be “fixed.”

Accept Your Feelings

People do many things to manage their feelings, much of which is unhealthy, making things worse.

Accepting and naming your feelings weakens the situation’s power over you, whereas if you resist it, it only gets stronger.

Just because you accept a situation and name the emotions you feel doesn’t mean you agree with it or want it. It simply means that you acknowledge the presence of the negative emotion. That’s all.

Be specific. Ask yourself how you feel. Do you feel angry, frustrated, afraid, disappointed?

Resist the temptation to avoid facing these feelings because you must determine where you are emotionally to free yourself from negativity.

Only when you face your feelings can you identify what’s triggering them – the root source of the emotion.

Think of negative feelings as warning signs – that something needs to change.

Sometimes the answer is obvious. But sometimes, you have to keep digging deeper until you finally uncover the root cause.

For example, you might feel extremely frustrated with your spouse for all those credit card charges. But, by digging deeper, you realize that the real source of your frustration is a misalignment of core values between the two of you.

Once you find the underlying root cause of your negative emotions, you can begin working to improve the situation.

Take Any Necessary Action

Taking action is one of the best ways to free yourself from worry and negative situations; otherwise, you feel helpless and stuck.

Taking action puts you in charge of your emotions.

Taking charge keeps you from becoming an unsuspecting or willing victim.

Taking charge of your feelings and the situation by taking any necessary action makes you feel more optimistic. It changes your whole mindset and puts distance between you and negative feelings.

Even though you might still feel a bit disappointed or frustrated, your emotional environment has shifted and improved.

By taking charge of your feelings and shifting to a more positive mindset, you can focus on the good traits of your spouse – things that you love and appreciate about them. You’re not as upset about the credit card charges and your financial situation, which you will be addressing together in a spirit of mutual love, warmth, and encouragement.

Instead of functioning within a disempowering environment of negativity, you’ve created a productive space outside of all the negativity to work things out in a way that’s more supportive and positive.

Remember: You Decide

Many bad things happen to us in life that we don’t have any control over. But there are also quite a few times when we have more power than we realize.

You get to decide if you’ll give yourself the positive mental space you need to make things better or if you will dwell on doom and gloom.

You get to choose whether or not you will face your reality with hope, optimism, action, and forgiveness for yourself and others.

You can’t change everything or everyone. And you don’t have complete control over everything that happens to you.

But as the old saying goes, you get to decide how you deal with what life throws at you.

Practice self-empowerment to free yourself from negativity.

Acknowledge the reality of your situation. Accept your emotions by naming the feelings. And take any necessary action.

This process weakens the grip of negativity by putting space between you and the “bad” emotion. Remember that negative emotions are warning signs that something needs to change.

A few things that make this process easier are journaling, confiding in a trusted friend, meeting with a therapist or counselor, or prayer and meditation if you’re a person of faith.

Lastly, give yourself the gift of surrounding yourself with cheerful, positive things like enjoying the beauties of nature, spending time helping others through volunteering, and counting your blessings daily.