Unfortunately, negativity is one of those things in life that we just can’t seem to avoid. Negativity is fed through your parents, your peers, your waitstaff, almost everyone, and most of the time, negativity is fed through yourself. Sometimes, you spew negativity without even realizing it – I am guilty of this myself. If you find yourself constantly saying or thinking something negative, here are a few tips and tricks to put yourself in a positive headspace.

1. Breathe

Yes, I know this sounds cliche, but breathing is one of the easiest methods of curing negativity. When you relax and focus on your breathing, it helps you organize the negativity in your mind and diminish it.

2. Listen to music

Again, this probably sounds super cliché, but it really works. Go to your room and just jam out to your favorite tunes. I know my frown turns upside down when I’m sitting in a beanbag chair and rocking out to some good ol’ Billy Joel (Hey! That rhymed!)

3. Write out the negativity

Writing is a powerful coping mechanism for all sorts of distress. You can do something as simple as writing down your negative thoughts, crumpling up the paper and throwing it into the trash. This gets the negativity out of your system and out of your life. You also can write a list of things that you are grateful for.

4. Go hang out with your buds

Friends are an easy way to lose that negativity. Friends are supposed to make you relaxed and happy – if your's don’t, maybe you should try to find some new friends.

5. Do not be close-minded

If someone notices you down in the dumps and tries to help and talk you out of your bad mood, do not be close-minded. Don’t be that person who shuts down any of your friend’s ideas or coping methods without even thinking about it. Being "that guy" definitely doesn’t help you be more positive, and it usually irritates your friend trying to help.

6. Recognize that you’re being negative

This is one of the hardest methods of pulling yourself out of a bad mood, but having an awareness of your negativity can help a lot. When you know that you’re being mean or negative, it is almost like holding a mirror up to yourself and realizing how horrible you’re being. When you can consciously understand the way you’re acting, you can typically pull yourself together pretty fast.

7. Read

Reading is a great way to distract your mind, whether it’s just inspirational quotes on the internet, a book or even some other awesome Odyssey articles. Reading can take you to another world, so why not escape the negative reality for a bit?

Negativity is very aggravating and stressful. Using these tips and tricks should relieve some of that anxiety from negativity. Negativity is a bully, don’t let it control you