Staying positive can be difficult sometimes, especially when life throws a lot at us. It's easy to get lost in everything going on in our lives and choose to think negatively when we have to tackle conflicts with family, friends, grades, work, money, a significant other, or anything else important in our lives. When we face conflicts in these areas it can make us feel defeated and helpless, and at times hard to see the good. Being a college student and having to work towards all these aspects as well as work on myself, I'll admit at times it can be a lot to handle. This is where the importance of positivity comes in. Having a positive mindset has been crucial to me and my well-being in times of stress, conflict, and doubt throughout my college career. A positive mindset is a step towards overall happiness and satisfaction with yourself and your life. So here's some ways to think more positively and gain a new outlook.

1. When something goes wrong, think how it could have been worse.

Being a young adult and still falling victim to making mistakes, this one is pretty important to me. I've been in a couple situations these past few years where I felt helpless and believed that this was a situation I wouldn't be able to overcome. After reflecting on the things I've gone through, I realize that those situations could have turned out much worse. While things go wrong in life, there is always a way a situation could have been worse due to different circumstances that didn't occur when they could have. So next time something goes wrong and it feels like the end of the world, stop and think how much worse the situation could have been and be thankful it didn't work out that way. Whatever you're going through will get better with time.

2. Let it teach you a lesson, learn from it.

You are allowed to make mistakes, and if you do, odds are the situation you got yourself into can be resolved. Life is all about trial and error. If you don't make mistakes, then how are you supposed to learn from them? Say you have a bad job experience - instead of feeling negatively towards the situation think about what you learned from it. Say you just got out of a bad relationship or a bad friendship - instead of feeling defeated, think about what you learned from those failed relationships for your future ones. Say you get into an argument and don't handle it correctly - let it teach you how to better express yourself in future disagreements. This mindset really works with any situation and I truly believe the occurrences in our lives serve the purpose of making us more mature and aware and act as learning experiences.

3. "If it won't matter in five years, don't spend more than five minutes thinking about it."

This one is huge. Whether it be a fight with your best friend, a bad test grade, or not being able to go to a concert your friends are all going to because you got called into work that night - just think how while it may suck right now, in five years it won't matter. If you're fighting with your best friend don't dwell on the situation because if they're truly your best friend, you'll both get over whatever it is and in five years they'll still be your best friend. If you get a bad test grade, will it really stop you from that career you'll have five years later? Probably not, one bad test isn't going to matter. So all your friends are going to a concert but you can't because you work and you're upset you'll have FOMO? Think about how in five years when you reminisce about the fun times with your friends how that one concert won't matter at all in comparison to the hundreds of nights you spent together. In the moment it's easy to feel upset and have a negative attitude but if you keep this idea in mind it will help.

4. Think about all the things you have to be grateful for.

This one is probably the biggest one for me. Whether you realize it or not you'll always have people in your life who care about you. Whether it be family, friends, or a significant other, there is always someone who cares. Say you get yourself into a situation where you feel helpless and defeated - think of how lucky you are to have the people you do supporting you through it. Say you lose a couple friends throughout the years - instead of feeling negatively towards the situation and feeling alone, take a second to think of every other person in your life who has been there for you and how amazing it is that they've stuck around as long as they have. As many people have, I've lost friends along the way but I look at this in a positive way rather than a negative one; it makes me realize and appreciate the many truly amazing friends I do have in my life as well as my incredible boyfriend and family.

5. Truly believe that everything happens for a reason.

This one essentially ties everything together. I'm not at all embarrassed to say that I wholeheartedly live by this quote. I believe everything we go through has a purpose whether it be to teach us a lesson or make us appreciate what we have. Sometimes things fall apart for better things to fall together. Life is truly unpredictable so why try to solve every single aspect of your life now when you can just believe that everything happens for a reason and trust the process. Having this mindset has helped me keep positive no matter what life threw my way. Nowadays I walk over things I used to trip over; I no longer allow for little things to get to me because there is always a reason behind life's occurrences.

And on that positive note, I'll leave you with one more piece,

"What is coming is better than what is gone."