​​​​How To Think Positively & Stay Positive: 6 Steps

If you already know what positive thinking is and why you want to think positive thoughts, the next step is to learn how to be positive in a way that makes it easy for you to stay positive consistently.

For example, let’s say you want to think the positive thought ‘I have a lot going for me’, and you want to stay positive and continue thinking this, even if the rest of the world is telling you what a failure you are, that you don’t have anything going for you at all, and so on.

In other words, not only do you want to know how to have a more positive attitude, but you also want to know how to stay positive around negative people, and not be easily influenced to think in a negative way.

How do you do this?

Right now, you’re about to learn step by step how to do this, and how to remain positive no matter what the circumstances.

How to think positive thoughts & stay positive: 6 steps

Click on each step to learn more about how to think positive thoughts every day, and how to practice positive thinking in an intelligent, effective manner.


  1. Know what you want to achieve with positive thinking: the more specific you are, the better  

This gives you a sense of purpose, and helps you decide what types of positive thoughts to start thinking.

Remember, positive thinking is a useful tool that helps you improve your life and helps you achieve things you want to achieve faster and easier.

This raises the question: what do you want to achieve with a more positive way of thinking about things?

Answering this question is the first and most important step for learning how to think more positively, since once you know what you want to achieve, the rest of the steps for thinking more positively and staying positive consistently flow naturally from here.

Of course, there is the strong, built-in assumption that if you want to think more positively, you want to achieve a happier, more successful life overall, and that you want to improve your well-being in some way. After all, this is the overall purpose of positive thinking in the first place.

So, for example, maybe you want to think more positively to become a happier person and stay happy consistently. Or, maybe you want to quit smoking faster and easier, or maybe you want to become a more confident public speaker, or maybe you want to get rid of social anxiety.

Bottom line, the more specific you are about what you want to achieve, the better off you are, because this helps you determine which types of positive thoughts to focus on.

  • To understand this better, imagine walking into a massive hardware store that’s filled with aisles and aisles of tools that you can use to improve your home
  • If you want to improve your home, but don’t know how you want to improve your home, you will feel ‘lost’ in the store: you won’t know where to begin, or what tools to get
  • On the other hand, if you know exactly how you want to improve your home (like, you want to build a cabinet), you will enter the store with a purpose and not feel lost: you will search out the tools that help you achieve what you want and get them without any hesitation
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  • It is the same thing with positive thinking: there are tons of positive thoughts that you can use as tools to improve your life, but how do you want to improve your life?
  • If you don’t know what you want to achieve or how you want to improve your life with positive thinking, you’ll feel ‘lost’: you won’t know where to begin, how to get positive thoughts that will benefit you, or how to change your attitude to positive in a meaningful way
  • On the other hand, if you know exactly how you want to improve your life (like, getting rid of any fear of pubic speaking), you will approach positive thinking with a purpose and not feel lost: you’ll identify positive thoughts that help you achieve what you want, and likely start thinking them sooner than later
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  • Remember: thinking more positively can help you achieve anything you want to achieve faster and easier, so positive thinking is useful for more than just happiness and staying upbeat
  • Some examples of what you can achieve: stop smoking faster and easier, get rid of social anxiety, become a more confident public speaker, find it easier to stick to a healthier diet, find it easier to exercise, and so on
  • So just decide what you want to achieve — it can be anything at all — and this will naturally help you start determining what types of positive thoughts are of particular interest to you; this is how to develop positive attitude intelligently and effectively, with a purpose

  1. Identify at least one positive thought that will help you achieve something you want  

This helps you focus on positive thinking that is important, relevant, and useful to you.

For example, if you want to be happier and and stay happy consistently, you can identify the positive thought ‘I have a lot going for me’ as being a thought that will help you achieve this.

But what if you want to overcome a fear of public speaking? What types of positive thoughts (or positive affirmations) do you think would help you achieve that faster and easier?

If you think about it, you’ll likely start identifying thoughts like, ‘I can become a better public speaker’, or ‘I can learn how to become calm and confident speaking in front of others’, and so on.

So, in this scenario, these are the types of positive thoughts you will want to focus on.

Some additonal things to appreciate:

  • By identifying positive thoughts that help you achieve something you want, these thoughts are already important, relevant, and useful to you, and therefore valuable to you
  • By valuing these positive thoughts, you are naturally more motivated and energized to think them, which is how and why you begin thinking these positive thoughts naturally and automatically
  • This natural motivation to think the positive thought is one of the most important keys to staying positive consistently

  1. Know why the positive thought is of great value to you: understand the benefits  

This is how to increase positive thinking motivation, which helps you think positively automatically, without ever having to remind yourself to think the positive thought.

Already, you know that if a positive thought helps you achieve something you want, it is beneficial.

But you can dig deeper into the benefits of the positive thought, and it helps you to do so.

After all, the more benefits that you see in the positive thought, the easier it is for you to think the positive thought and to stay positive consistently, no matter what the circumstances.

This is because the more value you see in the thought, the more your mind is energized and motivated to think the positive thought automatically, without you ‘telling’ it to think the positive thought.

For example, instead of having to remind yourself ‘I have a lot going for me’, you simply naturally think this thought, without having to write it down, tape it to a mirror so you don’t forget it, and so on.

In other words, this is how to think positively all the time without even being consciously aware of it.

  • With this example, if you want to be happier, you can appreciate that the positive thought ‘I have a lot going for me’ can help you achieve greater happiness and stay happy consistently
  • After all, you naturally feel better just thinking this type of a positive thought
  • Already, you know that this thought is beneficial, since it helps you achieve something you want; but what about digging deeper into the benefits of this positive thought, so that it’s easier for you to think this positive thought automatically and consistently?
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  • For example, you can see how you have greater confidence in yourself, your abilities, and what you’re capable of achieving, when you think ‘I have a lot going for me’
  • This greater self confidence translates into a sense of higher self esteem, which is another wonderful benefit of this thought
  • The lesson: the more you see and recognize these types of additional benefits, and recognize the tremendous value of the positive thought, the easier it is for you to think the positive thought automatically on a regular basis, and remain positive no matter what

  1. Know why the positive thought is valid or true and completely acceptable to you: find another positive thought if it isn’t  

This understanding makes it easy for your mind to accept and think the positive thought rather than reject it, so it is important for actually thinking more positively.

It is important to consider positive thoughts and determine whether they are true or valid.

Here’s why: once your mind sees that a positive thought is true or valid, your mind naturally is receptive to the positive thought, so it’s easy to accept it and start thinking positively.

Even better, the more your mind understands why a positive thought is clearly true or valid, the more your mind thinks positively on a deeper level, with complete confidence and no doubts.

So reasoning and using your intellect are your friends: this is how to rewire your brain to think positively on a very deep level, so that it’s easy for you to stay positive, no matter what the circumstances.

  • To understand how important it is to identify positive thoughts that are valid or true and acceptable to you, consider the positive thought ‘I have a lot going for me’
  • This is a wonderful positive thought that can benefit you in a lot of ways, provided you accept the positive thought as valid or true
  • If you don’t accept this positive thought as valid or true, however, you will not think this positive thought, so it will be of no use to you
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  • If you examine a positive thought, and you decide that it’s not valid or true and acceptable to you, that’s ok; just move on to a different positive thought that you can accept as valid or true
  • For example, if you don’t currently accept the positive thought ‘I have a lot going for me’ as valid or true, you can still identify other positive thoughts that will help you achieve greater happiness; thoughts like ‘I can improve my situation’ or ‘I can always improve my thinking’ and so on
  • The overall lesson is this: consider any positive thought honestly, and see if you can accept it as valid or true; if so, great, if not, no big deal; just move on to a different positive thought that can accept as valid or true

  1. Know without a doubt why it’s ok, great, and makes sense in every way to think the positive thought, even if others don’t support, accept, or approve of you thinking it  

This creates complete confidence in the positive thought, so this is how to maintain a positive mental attitude, even if others want you to think negatively, instead.

Back to an earlier question: how can you stay positive, and continue thinking a positive thought like ‘I have a lot going for me’, even when surrounded by negative people telling you how worthless you are, or what a loser or failure you are, and so on?

A common negative assumption is that it’s hard to be positive when surrounded by negativity.

But it’s simple and easy to stay positive, even in this situation, provided you have followed the steps above.

After all, following the steps in order creates very strong confidence in the positive thought, which means you are not easily persuaded or influenced to think negatively, instead.

  • Think about it: if you’ve followed the above steps, then you’re clear that you want to be happier and stay happy consistently, and you know that the positive thought ‘I have a lot going for me’ helps you achieve that.
  • Furthermore, you understand why this thought is very valuable and beneficial, and why it’s a completely valid and acceptable way of thinking about things.
  • So, if other people are trying to get you to think negatively, instead of positively, it’s not an issue for you, since the steps above let you know, without any doubt at all, that it’s ok, great, and makes sense in every way for you to think ‘I have a lot going for me’, even if others disagree with this thought.
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  • This is how to stay positive in a negative world. Simply put, you don’t need anyone else’s support, acceptance, or approval of your positive way of thinking in order to think it, so it’s easy for you to dismiss any negative alternative thoughts as useless.
  • Indeed, you’re naturally at peace with others thinking differently than you, since you simply don’t need other people in order to think positively.
  • This is fantastic, because not only does it mean that it’s easier for you to stay positive, even when surrounded by negativity, but it also means that negative thinking from others isn’t a threat or a concern to you in the slightest.
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  • An important thing to remember: following these steps in order is how to build positive attitude with a strong degree of confidence in positive thinking. So, as you learn how to think positive, always follow these steps in order.
  • Also, you can appreciate that becoming more confident in a positive thought, naturally makes you a more confident person overall, which is also fantastic; so this is how to be positive and confident in one fell swoop.
  • If you’re interested in how to be more optimistic and positive in all situations, you can learn more about how to be confident in anything no matter what; notice that the steps for becoming more confident mirror the steps of how to create greater confidence in a positive thought.

  1. Choose to think the positive thought after achieving this understanding and developing confidence in the positive thought  

This simple decision instructs your mind how to think and is how you start thinking the positive thought moving forward.

You have the power to choose to think positively and to stay positive. The catch is that this choice is only effective once you have confidence in the value and sensibility of the thought, and you understand why it’s in your own best interest to think the positive thought.

This is because your brain will continue thinking in other ways that it values and that makes sense to it, until you teach it – via this type of understanding – why this positive thought is much more valuable and sensible and therefore an upgrade worth doing.

The lesson: first complete the preceding steps to create confidence in a positive thought. Then decide to think positively. This gets your brain’s cooperation and helps you stay positive easily.

  • Keep in mind that it is important for you to consciously and deliberately choose to start thinking a positive thought, if you do, indeed want to think it
  • For example, even if you’re completely confident in the value and sensibility of the positive thought ‘I have a lot of things going for me’, you won’t actually start thinking thinking this way until you consciously choose to start thinking this way
  • To understand this, think about how you can be completely confident in the value and sensibility of using a hammer to drive a nail into a piece of wood
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  • This confidence in the hammer is great, but until you choose to pick up the hammer and actually do something with it, you’re not actually using the hammer
  • It is the same way with positive thinking; you can be completely confident in the value and sensibility of a positive thought, but until you choose to start thinking it, you’re not actually doing anything with it (you’re not actually thinking positively)
  • The lesson: determine the value of a positive thought, create confidence in it, and then be sure to consciously and deliberately start thinking the positive thought for your own good
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  • Another analogy: learning about a positive thought that can improve your life is like learning about a door in your house that can let in sunlight, warmth, and all sorts of other amazing things, if you only open it; the knowledge alerts you to the opportunity, but you won’t enjoy any of the benefits, until you actually do something to receive them.
  • Making conscious choices to start thinking positively is the equivalent of taking action to open that door. It’s a simple, easy, effective thing to do that immediately improves your life, so be sure you do it!
  • Appreciating this is how to stay positive in hard times, and how to think positive when you are depressed. The insight is that positive thinking makes hard situations easier, and it helps lift and eliminate depression, so you are deliberately choosing to think positively for your own good.


Again, click on each step to learn more about how to stay positive everyday.

Take action to think more positively & stay positive

Assuming you already know what positive thinking is and why you want to think positive thoughts, then you already have everything it takes to think more positively and stay positive consistently:

  • Knowledge of what to achieve
  • A desire to achieve it
  • A functioning mind that can be improved to achieve it
  • And, now, step by step knowledge of how to be more positive, and how to stay positive no matter what the situation or circumstances are

The next step, for you, is to actually take action to become a more positive thinker and be able to remain positive no matter what.

Get started doing this right now by making improvements in your thinking that will naturally help you become and stay positive on a regular basis.


Next: How To Rewire Your Brain To Think Positive →


You are here:

Section 2 Lessons:

  1. How to think positively & stay positive: 6 steps
  2. How to rewire your brain to think positive
  3. How to stop being negative: 6 steps

Next Section In The Positive Thinking Course:

Section 3


About the author

Hi, I'm Dave Fonvielle, the founder of Always Greater. On this website I teach you step by step how to be happier and more successful achieving your goals, whether it's completing a small personal to do task, like doing the dishes, or a large business goal, like launching a new product. Get my free 3 Tiny Habits for Being Happier & More Successful training for all of this right here.