This week’s positive word

on our A-Z Inspirational Journey …

V is for

VIBRANT

Do you know any vibrant people? I don’t mean people who wear bright colours or who are so eccentric it’s blinding … I mean people who are vibrant from inside out. You feel as if a light shines bright within them. Happy, joyful, blissful people who are jolly, no matter what the circumstances. Maybe you assume they have a wonderful life because they are so happy … because they are so vibrant. Do you find them inspirational and wonderful to be around?

Are you this person? Is your, ‘Glass half full’? Do you, ‘Look at the bright side’? If not, and you would like to be vibrant, or little more joyous, this post is definitely for you.

Do you wonder how people could be so vibrant? Do you know someone who is maybe ‘too vibrant’ – not that I believe there is such a thing, but there maybe someone who really is just too much for you to bear. However, think about this …

Think about the company you keep at the moment … are the people you surround yourself with happy people, or is there always something wrong? Something to whinge about? I don’t mean serious issues … I mean every day whinges that sometimes we can’t do anything about. If we can’t do anything about them, what’s the point in whinging about them? It’s that simple. Sometimes we have to accept things and move on.

Are you one of those people who says things like: ‘What do I have to be happy about?’ ‘Bad things always happen to me.’ ‘Well … that’s just my luck … because I don’t have any!’ Feel familiar? Or sound familiar to someone you know? If this is the case, before you start the exercise below, it would be a good idea to read the following blog posts: Appreciation what you haveEnjoying what you haveGratitude is the best attitude. These are just a few other inspirational blog posts that will show you how to become a more grateful person. This is the start in your lesson to becoming a more vibrant person.

This therapeutic creative writing week’s exercise:

HOW TO BECOME A MORE VIBRANT PERSON EVEN WHEN YOU FEEL GREY

  • Write down how you feel people percieve you now, or how you percieve yourself.
  • How do you feel you could become more vibrant? This isn’t about others, i.e, just because someone doesn’t smile at you or isn’t polite, that says more about them than it does you. So don’t absorb their negative energy by responding negatively, it’s up to you to feel vibrant and not rely on others to make you feel vibrant.
  • Write down some names of people who you think are vibrant, if it’s no-one you actually know (I’m advising you to start looking for some new friends, not get rid of the old ones, but surround yourself with others who are positive. You can join new groups, find a new hobby … do something quickly to surround yourself with more positivity. If you do have a list of names, ask yourself what makes them vibrant? Ask yourself do they have it all? You’ll find that they probably don’t, they’ll have issues, problems and things going on they won’t discuss with anyone, but they’ll put those aside and not let that show. This doesn’t mean bottling it up … but it does mean they CHOOSE to not let this drag them down in front of others.
  1. SMILE TO YOURSELF: Firstly start simply by smiling: when you awake on a morning, the first thing you should do is SMILE. This may be easier said than done if you don’t want to face the world. Put a sign next to your bed that tells you to SMILE! No sarcastic smiles. Give yourself a huge grin. Let your feet touch the ground, feel your body and remember you’re alive. This is a new day, you can do new things. SMILE about this joyous opportunity. New thoughts = New you!
  2. SMILE AT STRANGERS: When you are out and about SMILE! Smile at strangers. You can read here from the Huffington Post how smiling at strangers is good for you.
  3. DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF: Don’t let the little things get you down; road rage, people who push in queues, someone not holding the door for you – none of that stuff matters. It says more about them, than it does you. So if you are faced with a situation that would have you cursing, change those negative words into loving words and send the love to this person. Say aloud, ‘I send you the love,’ and truly mean it. Feel how your anger and irritation diffuses. Relish that feeling.
  4. TAKE TIME TO LISTEN TO OTHERS: Whether it’s a family member, a friend or a colleague. Truly listen to them. However, if they have a problem, don’t dwell with them. Don’t lose sympathy and tell them to ‘buck up’ – show empathy but ask them if they’ve thought of looking at things from another angle, or help them think outside of themselves. Show them a positive route, inspire them and don’t let the negativity eat away at them. Help them find a solution. Be the person who has solutions not problems.
  5. MAKE SMALL TALK WITH PEOPLE YOU COME INTO CONTACT WITH: This could be a shop assistant, a passer-by in the street or someone who looks like the last thing they want to do is talk to you … be the bigger person and make small talk – even if it’s about the weather. Not whining about the weather, if it’s raining, think of this as a good thing, ‘Gosh, it’s nice to have a wet spell, my flowers will be blooming!’ Always have something positive to say. Some people feed off negativity, don’t be one of them. Be the person that makes others feel good.
  6. IT COULD BE HARD WORK BUT KEEP AT IT, IT WILL BE WORTH IT: The Negativity Bias is a well-known theory that says we are more likely to remember bad things happening to us, rather than good. If this is the case, you need to work twice as hard at being positive. That’s okay. Just remember if negative thoughts creep in, you are a vibrant, positive person. Use it as one of your affirmations, so that it becomes second nature and no longer hard work. In fact, you will start to reject negative thoughts.
  7. DON’T GET DRAGGED DOWN: If you are surrounded by an office full of negativity learn to build a wall around you. This doesn’t mean ignoring people and becoming rude as you are now going to become the most vibrant person in the office. If you feel you’ve been dragged into this endless pit of whinging and moaning then devise a positivity plan. If you think your office will be on board you could start a positivity jar: every time someone says something negative they must put £1 into the jar. Spend the money, at the end of the month, on something that will make you all smile, for example, pizza, drinks or a positivity poster). If you feel the people in your office won’t take too kindly to your vibrant plan, then do it alone. Don’t get wrapped up in conversations that criticise others etc. You will soon find yourself heading to a new office with vibrancy. Inspiring, positive, vibrant thoughts always win.
  8. LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE: Once you get into a vibrant and positive mind-set, you will find that you are attracting more vibrant things into your life. So if you see something that oozes vibrancy then ensure it becomes part of your life; this could be a poster (stick it on a wall in your house), it could be person (a friend that makes you feel good) try and spend more time with them. Surrounding yourself with vibrancy will attract more vibrancy into your life. Seek out vibrancy and you will bring more of it to you.
  9. PUT YOURSELF FIRST: This is essential in being happy. Once you are happy, you will naturally become vibrant. Even if you’re not an extroverted person, your vibrancy will shine through. You may think it’s difficult to put yourself first, if you have a family to look after or other external issues taking up your head space, but it’s essential in helping you become the vibrant person you most definitely can be. Do you have goals and dreams you want to achieve? If you have put them away for another day, take them back out of that ‘mind cupboard’ and put a plan in place to help achieve your dreams. Even if it starts with half an hour day, you’ll feel amazing by starting, get yourself into a habit of making it work for you and watch your inner happiness grow.
  10. WEAR YOUR VIBRANCY: I don’t truly believe that you need to wear bright colours to show your vibrancy, however, if that works for you, go for it. You could be wearing all black, but that smile on your face will give you all the colour you need. This article from The Daily Love, gives a great account of why it’s important to wear what you love. Wearing what you love and makes you comfortable will help you along your journey of becoming a vibrant person.

Now, I’m going to speak to you realistically … don’t get me wrong, the above for me is realistic … however, if you’re in a bad place, the above will feel like ‘fluffy bubbly talk’, talk that you may not feel like doing. So there are other healthy alternatives to help get you there …

So there you have it … get out there and attract the vibrancy you deserve.

Credit: Pintrest

Wishing you love, happiness and fulfilment always

Victoria xx

If you’d like help in surrounding yourself with positivity, you can download your very own FREE inspirational guide here.