Every year since 2003, people celebrate National Positivity Day or Positive Thinking Day on September 13. It’s a day to ignore our fears and worries (even if it’s just for a day!) and focus solely on the good in our lives, spread happiness, and be kind to ourselves and others.
If it’s your first time learning about Positive Thinking Day or you need more ways to celebrate the annual tradition, I’ve got a few ideas that can boost your positivity.
And if you practice these ideas daily or as often as possible (instead of once a year), you’ll become a more optimistic, resilient, and happy person.
5 Ideas for Celebrating Positive Thinking Day
1. Start the Day With Gratitude
What better way to kick off the Positive Thinking Day celebration than to count your blessings? Starting the day this way prepares your mind to look for more things to be grateful for throughout the day.
Often, we take the blessings in our lives for granted. We focus too much on our daily grind that we become blind to the good things happening in our lives.
When you wake up on this year’s National Positivity Day, take the time to list what you are grateful for. You can do this while still in bed or after a few morning routines. The important thing is to get the activity done very early in the day before worrisome thoughts get in the way.
I recommend placing your gratitude journal next to your bed the night before. This way, you can reach for it once you are up and write down as many things as you are thankful for.
Don’t have a gratitude journal? No worries.
Pick a copy of the TPC Positivity journal here, and fill it with all the big and small things that make your heart smile.
Here are some ideas of things to be grateful for:
- A good night’s sleep
- Your health
- Your family
- Your friends (especially the good ones)
- A roof over your head (whether or not it’s a beautiful house)
- Your education
- Your job (even if you’d prefer something better)
- Clean water
- Healthy food
- Modern healthcare
- Technology
- Transportation
- The weather
2. Affirm, Affirm, Affirm!
Once you finish counting your blessings, follow it up with positive affirmations.
In case you’re new to affirmations, positive affirmations are statements you say to yourself (in your head or out loud) to positively influence your outlook and attitude on specific areas of your life.
I know I said you could repeat affirmations in your head, but saying them out loud can create a powerful effect as you get to hear the words in your own voice.
Here’s something else I suggest:
Stand in front of a mirror, look yourself dead in the eyes, and say your affirmations. Using affirmation this way can make it more impactful.
Remember, it’s a day to focus on positivity, so give it your all and milk out as much positivity as possible.
This idea for celebrating Positive Thinking Day can feel a bit “out there” if you’re new to spiritual practices. But the truth is you can shape your life using positive affirmations.
Science shows that self-affirmation (affirming yourself) offers many benefits, including stress-buffering effects, especially when you are consistent and really focused on what you repeat to yourself.
Don’t have a clue about what to say to yourself while looking in the mirror? Here are a few suggestions:
- Today is a good day
- Today, I choose happiness and joy
- I am strong, well-rested, and energized
- I am powerful
- I am a productive person
- I love who I am and who I am becoming
- I am confident, courageous, and resilient
- I am deserving and worthy of good things
- I attract success and happiness
- I radiate love to all
If you’re new to this practice, I recommend reading this article to learn more about affirmations and how to use them daily.
3. Do Nice Things for People
Another fun and uplifting thing you can do this year to celebrate Positive Thinking Day is to extend a little kindness to others, both to the people you know and strangers.
Remember, celebrating positivity isn’t just about focusing on you ― find ways to put a smile on people’s faces and cheer them up.
Here are a handful of suggestions you might want to try:
- Leave a kind and thoughtful note for a friend, neighbor, family, or significant other.
- Send a gift to your favorite teacher.
- Make a music playlist for someone you know (Tip: create a collection of favorite oldies for a tech-challenged older loved one).
- Give a stranger a sincere compliment (remember to make eye contact, wear a genuine smile, and use a meaningful voice tone).
- Help a stranger carry their groceries to their car.
- Donate to charity, a cause you believe in, or an orphanage near you.
- Leave nice comments on people’s posts on social media.
- Donate blankets to the animal shelter.
4. Share Inspiring Quotes
Quotes are powerful inspirational tools; you can find a handful for just about any subject, including encouragement, support, love, and more.
Find some powerful quotes on whatever subject is important to you and share them on your social media page to inspire others. That’s a great way to spread positivity using the power of the internet.
5. Hang Out With Positive People
Spend the day with optimistic people, doing fun things together. It doesn’t matter if you do a spiritual activity like group meditation or share funny jokes; the most important thing is to engage in activities that spark feelings of happiness, love, joy, and contentment. These emotions contribute greatly to positivity, which is the day’s theme.
Here are other things you can do when hanging out with likeminded positive people:
- Watch inspiring movies
- Watch a comedy TV show together
- Discuss topics from a motivational book you’ve all read
- Take turns sharing personal stories to inspire each other
- Talk about the good things currently happening in your community
- Challenge each other to mention 5 things you are grateful for (Tip: to make it more challenging and fun, no one should repeat what someone else has mentioned.)
- Take turns to share unique self-care ideas that could benefit each person in the group
Remember to Practice Positivity Daily
Setting aside one day to celebrate positivity is great, but don’t limit positivity to one day. Although National Positivity Day is a good reminder that we can choose to be happy, regardless of whatever is happening around us, every morning gives us another chance to live positively.
As you celebrate this year’s Positive Thinking Day, use the opportunity to reinvent yourself. Let this day encourage you to be more optimistic, smile more, and be more intentional about finding the good around you.
It might seem like the world is predominantly negative, but many positive things are happening around us. We just need to look beyond the overhyped negativity and listen a bit more attentively to hear the still, small voice of positivity.
