There’s no denying it.

It’s 2017 –  the world is much smaller than it has ever been, and with that comes its benefits.

Got a story to tell? Yup, 180 characters sound enough.

Trying to find the one? Just swipe right.

Oh, this looks nice. *snap*

In our age, everything is fast. Almost anything can come in an instant and distance becomes an illusion. We’re used to reading full articles. Now, we don’t even bother to read past the headlines. Nobody reads broadsheets anymore. Infographics is the fad, nowadays. The world is literally in your hands (or whatever it’s holding). Everything’s already laid out for us, eh? All of these are supposed to make life convenient.  Or does it?

There lies the problem. We become impatient. It is unusual for most of us to always love the situation we are currently in. There may be times that the days are dragging; we feel ill just thinking about living another day with it. We could easily recognize if we are in a toxic environment – you may be dealing with bullies, being ostracized by colleagues, living and working in a negative environment, or finding yourself in constant conflict with others. It may also be the little things: the accident that made you late for work or the desktop that chooses to lag at the most critical time. It happens to the best of us.
But you should always remember, “don’t let this toxic environment win by giving into the negativity.” And because we need to find ways on how to deal with these, here are some tips that may help in maintaining that positive attitude:

1. It is NOT a reflection of who you truly are.

When you are surrounded by stressors daily, it could really affect your self-worth. You need to learn how to separate the negativity from the reality of who you truly are.  There are a lot of people who stop being authentic and sacrifice what matters to them just to survive the toxic environment.

The old adage, “this too shall pass” comes to mind. Chances are, this toxic environment is not going to change anytime soon; however, your attitude can. Acknowledging the fact that there is no way to control everything in our lives eases out the emotional baggage we carry every day. Finding “alone time” such as meditating or walking around by yourself may just be what you need. Even doing nothing counts. These small activities may not instantly brighten up your day but are guaranteed to help you cope and soften the blow when life hits you hard.

2. When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you. 

It turns out Louis Armstrong is right all this time. Studies suggest “your mood is elevated and your stress is reduced if you plaster a big smile on your face, even for a short period of time. (Frowns have been shown to have the opposite effect.)”

In addition, did I mention it’s contagious? Adrienne Wood, a Ph.D. student in psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, supposes that people have an instinct for facial mimicry that allows us to even experience other people’s feelings. Smiling alone might sound weird, but why not smile for the world to see? Sounds like a win-win situation.

3. Get offline.

Wakes up.
Checks phone.

Indeed, the age of information has changed how we carry on with our lives more than we are aware of. Social media platforms have become our source of news and entertainment. Use of freedom of speech is at an all-time high. With all the clutter we find on the web, no wonder we get stressed out before the day even starts.

Sensory information triggers the time we check our mobile devices: notification sounds, phone vibration, or simply the screen lighting up whenever we receive a text. Thus, the key here is to block these triggers to break the habit of drowning on our screens.

Putting your phone where your eyes can’t see it, or your ears won’t hear it might just do the trick. Doing this would let you focus on the more important things. A little tweaking with our gadgets would go a long way.

Just don’t miss that call from mom.

4. Make IT work for you.

Use technology such as phone applications and desktop extensions to de-clutter and organize your day. Getting to know what habits work for you and having the technology to maintain this habit would do wonders.Consider the Pomodoro Technique, born out of Francesco Cirillo’s need to minimize distractions and maximize productivity. Using a tomato-shaped kitchen timer (“pomodoro” in Italian means tomato), this technique makes your workload more manageable by breaking it into smaller tasks. Here are the steps that you may follow in doing the Pomodoro technique but you may set your work and break time according to your preference:

• Set your timer to 25 minutes.
• Work without any distractions until your timer goes off.
• Take a 5-minute break.
• After repeating steps 1 to 3 four times, take a 15 to 30-minute break.

There are even apps that track the time you spend on each website as well as apps that make you calm and eliminate distractions. You may try the Pomodoro technique here.

5. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals

Find people outside your toxic environment whom you can vent to. Venting out to people that belong to the same environment can only add up to the pessimism you are feeling. Having a good support system will help you see the light in every dark situation. This way, you can vent and release your pent up frustration without bringing it home with you.

6. Establish boundaries

Learning to say “no” can be really difficult, but it will be worth it. This can include maximizing your break times, not coming in or staying late at work or at school, and not taking all tasks that are bombarded to you. Boundaries are not only beneficial for you, it will also set an example to others that it is okay to put yourself first and let these external activities come second.

And if you are still struggling to turn the situation around, try to make it a learning experience. Author and entrepreneur Amy Rees Anderson, writing for Forbes, explains:

Finally, try to focus on turning your bad situation into a good learning experience. Most often our strongest personal growth comes from living through our most difficult situations. When you are working in a toxic environment, try to pay close attention to the lessons you can take away from the experience.

Always remember that this is not permanent and that you should never fight fire with fire. Don’t sacrifice your personal integrity because of sudden bursts of emotions, but don’t let others walk on you either. Toxic environments may come and go, and if you can learn something from it, great—but as long as you’re in it, watch your back, defend yourself, and keep your head down until the smoke clears.

References:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/amyanderson/2013/06/17/coping-in-a-toxic-work-environment/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/smiling-contagious-study_us_56c20ea2e4b0b40245c75650
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/2013/02/26/fake-smile/#26fb547334cd
http://thenextweb.com/lifehacks/2015/02/28/how-to-stop-checking-your-phone-like-an-addict/
https://zapier.com/blog/best-pomodoro-apps/http://www.marieclaire.com/career-advice/news/a24972/pomodoro-technique-productivity/