Often times we find ourselves throwing tantrums and being grumpy because we do not have something that we want, or because someone else has something that we don’t. This is just human nature. We always want more or better thing. However, this can be changed, if only we change how we view things and what to focus on.

1, Keep a gratitude journal.

一，把感激的东西记录在笔记。

Whenever people are nice to us, or when good things happen to us, we tend to oversee it. But when something bad happens, we focus too much on it. This can be changed if you start to adopt the habit of keeping a gratitude journal. Write down good things and things you are grateful for in it. You don’t even need to write it every day, perhaps make it a habit to update your thoughts into the book twice every week. In time you’ll realize how helpful that is to you and your mental health.

2, Focus on what you have than not.

二，专注在你有的东西。

We always want more things than we have because things are just more valuable when we don’t have them. Often times when we got something, their value just tends to reduce by a lot. However, try to look at it this way: focus on the things that you own instead of the things that you want. It does take time to develop this thinking, but over time you’ll realize how powerful this is, and you’ll feel happier as a person as well.

3, Say thank you more often.

三，经常说谢谢。

Being more grateful is not just a matter of acting and thinking, but what you speak matters as well. Make it a habit to say thank you to people who help you in one way or another. Try saying it to the person who held the door for you, to the janitors, to your parents. It might not look like much, but there will be times the people who you thank will reciprocate and give you a nod, smile, or even reply “welcome” and that is the best feeling ever.

4, Don’t compare yourself with others.

四，不要和别人比较。

Comparing yourself to other people is an extremely terrible habit to have, as it can be very detrimental to your mental health. Everyone is different in their own way, in a good way, so stop trying to be better than other people. Be good on your own, and let yourself be known for that. Don’t fret about how rich others is, or how popular they are, or how they have everything you want. Put all the energy onto yourself. Investing on your own instead of dragging people down.

5, Don’t have high expectations.

五，不要有太高的要求。

We often have high expectations, which sometimes are not even realistic, on things and people that we ended up being disappointed. And when this happens, we will feel even more terrible and depressed about our lives. If this is what you often feel like, how about changing how you expect things to turn out to be? Set your standards lower and give everything a reasonable expectation, in fact, one that is very highly achievable. This way you won’t be disappointed, you might even feel more achieved.

6, Use more positive words daily.

六，说多积极的话。

Being more optimistic is completing a matter of what goes through your mind and how you convey your thoughts. Instead of talking about all the bad and negative things that happen in your life, try to look at the good things that happened, and tell it using cheerful and uplifting words. That way not only are you spreading the positivity within yourself, you are also spreading it to others and bringing the joy to them.

7, Reflect on yourself daily.

七，每天反映发生过的东西。

Often times we only think of the bad things that happened in the past because we never take the time to reflect on everything that happened, regardless of good or bad ones. Try to make it a habit to reflect what happened in your day. Say while you’re driving back home, or right before you’re about to sleep, give yourself a moment of silence to think of the things that happened in the day. Appreciate the good times, and learn from the bad ones.

8, Live in the moment.

八，生活得有意义一些。

No matter what situation we’re in, we need to make sure we’re living it to the fullest. You only have one chance to live, and we only have this little amount of time to be alive, so make full use of it and make out all the good things that happen in every moment. If you live every day of your life focusing on all the bad things that happened, you’ll never be able to appreciate and be happy about anything. So change your view on things and live in the moment in every situation.

9, Learn not to complain.

九，学习不要抱怨。

Be honest, we have all complaint about stuff, because we want others to know that we want to vent our sorrows out to people, and we want others to know that we are suffering so that we can get sympathy from others. But this is just a pathetic way to make us the victims so that we do not get blamed for any faults, but what this also does is that we will become more pessimistic. Complaining about everything will not get us very far in life. The next time you complain, stop and think of what you’re doing to yourself. Why not just see what you can do instead of making yourself the vulnerable one.

10, Be inspired to be grateful.

十，有激励地成为更感激。

Our surroundings play a huge role in shaping us, like it or not. For sure we cannot change the people around us, so it might be difficult to rely on the people around us to inspire ourselves to be more grateful in our lives. Sure, there will be a few people who look at the bright side, but they might be people you don’t see every day. Try to find ways that will keep your inspired to be grateful, such as looking at quotes, reading books, watching videos, do things that will keep you in an uplifted mood. 

Being a more grateful person isn’t all that difficult, to be honest. You just need to be determined and consistent in order to make a positive change in your life. Even if your life is currently down in the dumps, you can still make that change in your head to be more positive.

“I found myself again one morning when I opened the window and smelled the fresh daisies growing in my background. I ran outside and danced under the sunshine and nothing had felt that warm in a long time. The rays on my skin and the grass beneath my feet, nothing had been that normal in so long. I found myself in the novels I read and the country music I played while riding shotgun. I found myself while walking along the beach and witnessing the sun setting down. It was beautiful and when the sun rose the next day, I found myself while trying to tie my curtains up. I made myself some hot tea and I thought to myself, “I’m going to be alright.”