I’ve made a conscious effort to be more positive this year. What’s amazing about this is that the more positive you get, the more you believe in the possibility of things. And the more you believe in that, the more things actually become possible.

Here are a few ways you can bring more of the positive into your life:

1. Surround yourself with a circle of influence.

Right at your fingertips … is the world! Get on Twitter and follow some amazing people. Get on their blogs and be inspired. Find a handful (or more) of people who can bring sunshine and warmth to you each and every day.

I’ve found a few people who are living the dream I want to live. So I follow them & get inspired to get there myself. Check out these fine folks:

Chris Guillebeau: Bog: The Art of Non-Conformity. Twitter: @chrisguillebeau

Jonathan Fields: Blog: Awake @ The Wheel. Twitter: @jonathanfields

Penelope Trunk: Blog: Brazen Careerist. Twitter: @penelopetrunk

Henri Junttila: Blog: The Wake Up Cloud. Twitter: @henrijunttila

If you need face-to-face time with people, do something like I did. I called a handful of people I have worked with over the years who I thought had great integrity, creativity and a positive vibe - and asked them to meet once a month at a cool coffee shop to chat and share ideas on how to be successful in life and in business - or whatever we are passionate about. Surprise, surprise … they all jumped in!

2. Place negative people outside of that circle.

Now that you have some great people in your circle, get the negative people out. Simple as that. Create some distance!

You know who they are. People at work, friends, family members, that lady down the street who hates cats. They will bring you down. Complaining about things never solved anything. It is a time and energy waste. Do not participate. Just walk away!

3. Get some sun.

If you’re like me and live in the North-East, this time of year means driving to work in the dark - and driving home in the dark. If that’s not depressing, then I don’t know what is.

The sun is the giver of life. So try and catch some daylight whenever you can. During the winter months, use your lunch hour to get outside for a walk, a jog, or just to eat your sandwich.

If that’s impossible, try getting some light via light therapy, dawn simulation or other methods to fight off the winter blahs.

4. Get moving. Yup, time to exercise.

I stand behind this one 100%. Whether it’s that walk during lunch or something more hardcore, we all need to get moving. Our bodies are these amazing machines that are made for locomotion!

I’m not a fitness freak, but I do run and lift weights. When I’m consistent with my workouts, I transform into a lean, mean, fighting machine that does wonders for my self-confidence - adding to the belief of the possible.

And when I’m not consistent, or just plain inactive for a while - I feel like a completely different animal. I feel soft, weak - and quite incapable of great things.

The mind and body are tied together in ways we are just learning to understand.

This guy might be a little hardcore for some, but he’s quite amazing: Phil Kaplan. Let him teach and inspire you. He did me!

And drink lots of water too! Sometimes all those little aches and pains will go away when you start drinking 4-6 classes of water a day.

5. Laugh a little, or a lot, every day.

Nothing cures a down day better than something that makes you laugh. So make a point to get some chuckles every day. One of those people in your circle of influence better be hysterical.

There’s a millions humor sites online, so find a few you like and check in often.

I have a few people on Twitter that make me laugh:

@theresa_lauren

@everydaydude

Read the comics. Listen to great morning radio. Listen to comedy albums (old Bill Cosby ones are great). Just get some laughs every day!

Also be willing to laugh at yourself. It’s very freeing.

6. Give back.

If you really want to feel good about yourself, do good for others. Give back a little.

It could be as simple as packing up some old clothes and dropping them off at the Salvation Army, or donating supplies to your local animal shelter, or helping your neighbor shovel the driveway.

We all have something to give, be it time, money or knowledge. Sharing in this way simply says, I have more than enough of something - and that is always a good feeling. There is always someone in the world who can benefit from that.

7. Be the ideal you.

There is the you, as you are right now. And there is the ideal you, the person you want to be. Every single day that those two don’t come closer together is a wasted day.

You want to feel positive about something? Take a step toward being the ideal you!

If you want to be more outgoing, then make friends with your seatmate on your next flight (see next item). If you want to be more positive, surround yourself with like-minded people. If you want to more successful, mind a mentor (they might even turn out to be a living legend).

There are a million tiny baby steps we can take each day to become more of the person we want to be. Take them.

8. Smile & make friends.

Smile. Right now. Try it. You’ll feel better instantly.

The simple act of smiling more will transform your life! As I said above, I am trying to be more outgoing - so I’ve decided one thing I can do is simply start talking to people I interact with every day: cashiers, travel partners, they guy waiting to get his oil changed sitting next to me.

You’ll be surprised what cool, interesting, and amazing people are in our everyday lives.

On my last two flights I started conversations with my seatmates and ended up meeting two of the coolest people I have ever met. We exchanged contact information and now I have two new friends. And it all started with a smile and a “Hi”.

9. Find some great tunes.

Music is something that has been in our lives since man first started to be man. It is part of who we are as humans. To deny its power is foolish.

Just like a smile, if you want to feel better right now, put on some great tunes! If some part of your body is not grooving to the music, then fast forward to another song.

Instead of listening to the news on your drive home, put on your favorite CD and crank it. Loud.

I deny anyone not to get an amazingly good vibe from the Rocky theme. Cheesy, but effective.

10. Learn.

I firmly believe we are put on this earth to learn something. There are few things more powerful than knowledge. It is the great equalizer, or unequalizer - it all depends on how you look at it.

If you want to truly grow as a human being, then search out and learn new things. If you want to die a slow and sad death, then blind yourself with ignorance.

Harsh? Maybe. True? Yes.

The past few months I have kicked up my knowledge intake and feel like I have transformed more to the ideal me. All because I decided to open my eyes and learn from those on the trail ahead of me.

What you don’t know might just be the most limiting thing in your life.

Every day, make a point to fix that!

And the possible will start to happen!