What’s your stumbling block when it comes to sticking to your goals? Motivation? Time? Cheese? We all have them, and sometimes we don’t even recognise them. Like negative people, sapping our energy, telling us what we should or shouldn’t be doing and filling our heads with doubt and negativity. 

“What’s the point of exercise, it doesn’t work?” “Why diet, it’s boring.” “We all have to die in the end, we may as well enjoy it.” Sound familiar? Draining, isn’t it? But they don’t have to dampen your spirit! 

If you’re fed up with negative people around you (or you’re beginning to realise that there’s a few negative nellies in your midst), here’s our top tips for staying positive.

• Remove them from your life! Quite often easier said than done, but if you can start to whittle down a friendship with someone who’s constantly making you doubt yourself, it’s really worth doing. You can begin by taking longer to reply to messages or call them back. When you do reply, try not to ask questions that will mean they’ll have to reply. Sometimes it’s better to do things gradually, rather than just stop replying altogether. Doing this with a family member or colleague is trickier however…
• Gently tell them how they make you feel. If you can’t avoid someone, then it may be worth having a gentle conversation with them. Start by saying that you’re really committed to your health and fitness goals and say how empowered it makes you feel when you exercise when you really don’t want to, or say no to a second helping. It’s all about being careful with your language. Don’t mention the word negative or link it in any way to them directly. Instead, say that generally, when you hear things that are not positive, it makes you feel sad, upset, demotivated or frustrated. No one can argue with how you feel, so rather than accusing, say that demotivating language makes you feel Emphasise again how positive and empowering it is to reach your goals and you never know, they might feel inspired to do the same!
• Celebrate your successes! Every single time you do something that feels good, be that jogging an extra minute, doing an extra set of squats or discovering a deliciously healthy meal you love, do an actual whoop. Who cares if the neighbours can hear or you’re alone on the street? Positivity is infectious, if someone thinks you’re weird, then tell yourself you’re simply amazing!
• Surround yourself with the people who fill your metaphorical cup. We all know at least one person who fills us to the brim with positivity. Be it their overall sunny demeanour, their encouragement or their ability to just make us feel good. Find your cup filling ray of positive sunshine and spend time with them. Hang out, cook together or exercise together. Do it often and relish every moment. Your positivity will shine and all that unwanted negativity will disappear. And we raise a cup to that!