Your best ways to positivity "trick yourself"?

[JayzusB.Christ]

(Another one, courtesy of Paul McKenna, is to remember you ate one of the richest people who ever lived.  That's not even a lie.)

I also try to trick myself into thinking I'm Lemmy sometimes!

Oops!

I spent ages googling that, trying to work out what you were on about! 

Not sure if that was for me or Cosh, but if it was me, I should probably explain myself - fecking autocorrect. You ARE one of the richest people who ever lived.

[shaolin_monkey]

I find doing something nice for someone else takes me out of my own mindset for a bit. You know, making a colleague a cuppa, buying flowers for the missus, a nice present for someone, helping a mate with a random task, or even just being really considerate when out and about - holding doors open for folk in shops, giving up a bus seat for someone - whatever.

It works. It doesn’t matter if your help or consideration is even noticed or appreciated - it just keeps anxiety, bad temper, and melancholy at bay.

Just my experience anyway.

[Apestrife]

Reasons, reasons = Day didn't start out the way I'd prefer, and things kept going in that direction... --So I took a walk. I walked till I wasn't irritated any longer, and then I mused because I felt a little irritated that I wasn't irritated any longer 

I find doing something nice for someone else takes me out of my own mindset for a bit. You know, making a colleague a cuppa, buying flowers for the missus, a nice present for someone, helping a mate with a random task, or even just being really considerate when out and about - holding doors open for folk in shops, giving up a bus seat for someone - whatever.

It works. It doesn’t matter if your help or consideration is even noticed or appreciated - it just keeps anxiety, bad temper, and melancholy at bay.

Just my experience anyway.

I second that. Alot of things takes basically nothing. With some luck someone also starts holding up doors and so on.

[Tjm86]

I wonder at times if I'm just being stupid when I give way to someone whilst driving that really seems to need it.  Does that small act of consideration, letting someone out when there is a long string of traffic for instance, actually make a difference?  I just feel at times like a little bit of give might actually make someone's day a little better and that will knock on down the line.  Kind of like the 'butterfly effect' of road etiquette.

[pauljholden]

I don't know if I'm alone in thinking this, but sometimes I have to "trick myself" a little in order to get a bit of positivity.

For example, when my grandfather takes a walk through a forest which now has a highway close to it, with lots of cars hissing by, he likes to think it's the sound of a nearby creek where water is flowing. Instead of getting annoyed over the fact that he's listening to a bunch of cars.

As for myself my most used "trick" recently has been telling myself "He/she/they won." when I see something online which annoys me. For example when I see someone on twitter who is very wrong. Then I tell myself "This person won." and doing that I don't get angry one bit any longer. Essentially " winning nothing", since I'm not even bothered by what probably is the deed of some attention seeker.

How about you? Any tricks?

If I see anything remotely click baity "You won't believe what 15 people are saying about this thing" I just go "nope". I'm still suckered into them every so often "OMG What do the actors from my favourite show look like now???" is one that nearly always gets me.

I also wave away anyone who comes over to sign me up to something as fast as I can - "no time, no thanks, signed up already" etc.
(Not exactly what you're asking for, but close)

And finally, I'll set a pomodoro timer and start drawing to the 25 minute timer even if the drawing isn't going the way I want. After 25 minutes, or a second one it usually rights itself.

[The Legendary Shark]

Not really a trick, but when I feel myself getting upset, angry, depressed or whatever, I take a moment to look at my emotions and decide to not let them rule me. They're like dogs and I find I can train them, as it were, to do as they're told. It works for me about 80% of the time and, for the remaining 20%, the impact is much reduced.