--- title: Happiness: 8 Things Positive People Do Differently description: They celebrate the small accomplishments. canonical: https://time.com/4152395/positive-people-habits/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-22T17:00:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:10.514Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 8 Things Positive People Do Differently og:description: They celebrate the small accomplishments og:url: https://time.com/4152395/positive-people-habits/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7a6ae36d3583b51/698875c9428a9e4541cd09ef/people-cheering-high-five-cafe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5313 og:image:height: 2989 og:image:alt: people-cheering-high-five-cafe og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 8 Things Positive People Do Differently twitter:description: They celebrate the small accomplishments twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7a6ae36d3583b51/698875c9428a9e4541cd09ef/people-cheering-high-five-cafe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 8 Things Positive People Do Differently > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Diane von Furstenberg on the Most Important Relationships in Her Life [Watch (HLS stream): Diane von Furstenberg on the Most Important Relationships in Her Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/khZcaYPz.m3u8) (3:21)  _Published 2015-04-16. “When I was growing up, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but I knew the kind of woman I wanted to be. I wanted to be glamorous, I wanted to be independent, and I wanted to be driving my own bus,” says the iconic fashion designer._ by [Elena Nicolaou / Avelist](https://time.com/author/avelist/) ## Elena Nicolaou / Avelist Dec 22, 2015 5:00 PM UTC  Business people high fiving at meeting in cafe Business people high fiving at meeting in cafe Getty Images by [Elena Nicolaou / Avelist](https://time.com/author/avelist/) ## Elena Nicolaou / Avelist Dec 22, 2015 5:00 PM UTC Some people go through life carried forward on the wings of good vibrations. These people are the chipper, resilient, Leslie Knopes of the world. But not all of us are born with the superpower to be naturally positive. Luckily, you can acquire positivity. Being positive is a skill that can be developed over time by tweaking small habits. If you build some of these traits into your daily life, things will become brighter day by day. And it’s not because things are any better–it’s because your perspective will be. Here are a few things positive people do differently, and ways you can add a little sunshine to your daily routine: 1. **They find something every day to look forward to.** Whether it’s catching up on a favorite TV show, trying out a new dessert recipe, or having a phone conversation with a friend in another town, these things don’t have to be big. Having concrete activities to look forward to will make your days unique, distinct, and hopefully give each one a sheen of happiness. 2\. **They celebrate the small stuff.** Don’t prolong happiness. Find joy in even the tiniest things–your favorite song coming up on shuffle, a funny text from a friend, a beautiful sunny day–because it adds up. Soon, you won’t have to stop and smell the roses because you’ll be smelling them all the time. 3\. **They’re kind.** When in doubt, choose kindness. Positive people look on the bright side, sure, but they also tend to pay it forward by passing on their positive energy to others. Giving is generous, but it also makes the giver feel even better. Now that’s a win-win. 4\. **They stay busy.** “Busy” isn’t code for “stressed out of your mind.” Instead, being busy means filling your life with fulfilling activities. It relates back to having something every day to look forward to. Start a hobby. Structure your weekends with fun things to look forward to. Most of all, be proactive about keeping busy, because living your life to the fullest is up to you. 5\. **They accept responsibility for their actions.** Being positive doesn’t mean being delusional. By owning up to where you trip up or make mistakes, you’re being honest with yourself. So, since you’re not hiding from yourself, you can then… 6\. **They forgive themselves.** As much as you want to treat others with kindness, you deserve the same treatment. Okay, so we all make mistakes, and we all have regrets. Learn from them. Forgiving yourself will make it infinitely easier to… 7\. **They know when to move on**, and not dwell on defeat. You gotta pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and valiantly forge ahead. A positive person knows that a defeat isn’t the end of the journey, but part of the journey. 8\. **They resist comparisons.** Being positive is far simpler when you do not set yourself against others, as we all have separate strengths and struggles. Instead, work on achieving your own fulfillment, which you can only find by searching inwards–and, of course, by staying positive. _This_ [_article_](https://www.avelist.com/list/8-things-positive-people-do-differently-18819) _originally appeared on_ [_Avelist_](http://www.avelist.com) _More from Avelist:_ * [Three Ways Temporary Friends Permanently Change Your Life](https://www.avelist.com/list/three-ways-temporary-friends-permanently-change-your-life-18921) * [4 Ways to Use Goals and Rewards to Beat Procrastination](https://www.avelist.com/list/4-ways-to-use-goals-and-rewards-to-beat-procrastination-18793) * [7 Physical Signs that Diagnose Your Stress Level](https://www.avelist.com/list/7-physical-signs-that-diagnose-your-stress-level-18888) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4152395/positive-people-habits/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4152395/positive-people-habits/"},"headline":"8 Things Positive People Do Differently","datePublished":"2015-12-22T17:00:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:45:10.514Z","description":"They celebrate the small accomplishments","url":"https://time.com/4152395/positive-people-habits/","keywords":["Psychology","Living","Innovation","advice","Know Right Now","knowrightnow"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7a6ae36d3583b51/698875c9428a9e4541cd09ef/people-cheering-high-five-cafe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elena Nicolaou / Avelist"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7a6ae36d3583b51/698875c9428a9e4541cd09ef/people-cheering-high-five-cafe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"people-cheering-high-five-cafe","caption":"people-cheering-high-five-cafe","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4152395/positive-people-habits/","name":"8 Things Positive People Do Differently"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: How to be Mentally Strong","description":"It’s estimated that you say 300-1,000 to yourself in a minute: keep those words positive","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/uzXSRUbM/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-25T17:28:45.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uzXSRUbM.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4152395/positive-people-habits/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4152395/positive-people-habits/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Diane von Furstenberg on the Most Important Relationships in Her Life","description":"“When I was growing up, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but I knew the kind of woman I wanted to be. 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