Have you ever wondered how you could be a more positive person? How you could be happier? How you could control your emotions better? How you could control your negative thoughts before you start overthinking things? Here are 11 ways to help with those problems:

1. Vent to someone.

If you’re trying to have a better mindset, just clear it out. Saying it out loud is just clearing it out of your head. There was a quote I found once but I can't remember who said it but to summarize: every time you take a shower, imagine those bad thoughts, feelings and emotions coming off of you.

2. Utilize books, quotes, and people.

Know some good stories or inspiration if you can’t get out of your mindset. Instead of listening to the radio while driving, find a podcast to listen to. In my room, I have motivational quotes everywhere! So when I wake up and I get ready to start my day, I'm reminded to be happy. All of this makes me feel so much more motivated to think positively.

3. Figure out when you start to slip, and then fight it.

Notice your own behavior and what triggers you when something happens, fight it. You know yourself better than anyone else does. You know what makes you tick so you can try to prevent something bad from happening.

4. Change up your routine.

I think it’s easy when you’re doing the same routine for so long, it’s easy to think the same thoughts over and over again. The more things you change around you like in your environment, you’ll always have that inspiration around you.

5. Find 10 things that you're grateful for.

Every time you go to bed, think of the things that you feel grateful for. A lot of the times when I’m feeling super anxious or I feel like everything is happening at once, it can be a little difficult for me to fall asleep because there will be these negative pessimistic thoughts rolling through my mind; like “I have so much to do tomorrow. I’m not going to be able to get it all done. Tomorrow is going to be a crappy day.” If you go to sleep with these thoughts, you’ll wake up with these thoughts.

6. Use affirmations.

I used to think these were corny, but they actually work. If I feel like everything is going to go wrong, or I don’t want to do something I’ll stop myself in my tracks and say out loud, “I’m going to have the most productive day in the world" or "I'm going to do this, this and this today."

7. Meditate.

I think this is self-explanatory but meditating every day will make such a difference on your peace of mind. It’s giving yourself that time to collect your thoughts, have a moment to breathe and try to find the positive.

8. Have a backup plan.

Do something that puts you in a good mood, like listening to music. Be the person that talks yourself out of a negative mindset before it gets too bad to deal with.

9. Be patient with yourself.

This is something that I struggle with because I guess I’m a little bit more impatient than I like to admit and once I decide something I put a lot of pressure on myself to be 100% perfect at it right away. When I’m trying my hardest to be a more positive person and I catch myself in a negative mindset, I tend to kind of beat myself down for it which only creates more negativity. Work on the way you think, the thought process and mindfulness in order to become a more positive person.

10. Make positivity a habit.

There is a difference between trying and deciding. When you decide, you are making the full decision to go out at full force versus trying where you’re kind of going at it and expecting a chance where it might not work out. Trying is something that you do until it becomes too hard or too uncomfortable and then you give up.

11. Think BIG.

I remind myself to think of the bigger picture and it always pulls me out of those negative mindsets. Take in every single detail of your life right now, at this second, because if we let ourselves constantly be blinded by negativity- then we tend to miss it all. You will not find one person on this earth that doesn’t deal with a problem. Everyone is dealing with something, so make the best out of today.