The obstacles in your life may not be the hurdles you believe them to be. Your emotions can get locked into a negative spiral, but you can find your way out of the gloom and get back to viewing life positively. Here are five ways to adjust your negative emotions to bring the positives back into your life.

1. Avoid Overgeneralizing

If that voice inside your head is telling you that you always make too many mistakes, or you never know what to say to new people, recognize your negative emotions. Remind yourself not to overgeneralize. There are plenty of times that you did not make any mistakes and you knew exactly how to engage someone you just met.

You need to change the self-talk to something more realistic. Sometimes you make mistakes; sometimes you know what to say. This pragmatic approach will keep you from overgeneralizing and turn your negative emotions positive.

2. Treat Yourself with Compassion

When your inner dialogue takes a negative turn, ask yourself how you would respond to a friend. You would not be as hard on a friend as you are on yourself. Take some time to pamper yourself, try changing your mood with soothing music or essential oils. Be your own best friend. When negative emotions surface, take some time to be kind to yourself.

3. Don’t Jump to Conclusions

Assuming a negative result is not beneficial. Take a step back from your situation. Try to see more than one side of the problem. Identifying both sides of any issue can help you gain a better understanding and lead to positive results.

4. Live in the Present

Reliving past mistakes or worrying about what will happen in the future will fuel your anxiousness. Remind yourself not to dwell on situations that you have no power to change or a future you cannot predict. You can turn your negative emotions to positive when you live in the present.

5. Recognize Negative Thought Patterns

When you catch yourself dwelling in a negative pattern, don’t let your negative thoughts go through your mind unchallenged. Ask yourself for proof. This will allow you to look at the positives. With time you will do this sooner in the process, reducing the pattern of dwelling on the negative emotions.

Negative emotions do not have to rule your life. Learning to use the negativity to find the positive can transform your thought processes. Now you have five tools that you can use to adjust your negative emotions and see the positive.