In a world of non-stop stress from school, family, and everything else, it can be a struggle to stay positive. More and more people feel stress build up and come out in angry outbursts, or it sits on our shoulders causing physical pain and tension. In more severe cases, depression can creep in. In times like these people often wonder how to stay positive in such a negative world.

Being positive is a choice we make every day when we get out of bed. Although the concept of “fake it “til you make it” may be a hard concept for some to grasp, it has been proven to boost self-esteem and help people live more positively.

In her TED talk “Fake It Till You Become it,” Amy Cuddy explained how body language is a huge factor in how we view ourselves and how we stay positive. Cuddy said people who watched 30-second soundless clips of doctor/patient interaction could predict how nice the doctor was and whether or not that doctor would be sued. This is particularly interesting because it shows how much people depend on body language in daily interactions.

Since body language is so important, doesn’t it make sense that it can shape the way we feel about ourselves and others?

Cuddy’s studies have shown that if you can fake it you can become it.

For example, by standing in open and confident positions for only two minutes per day, you can change how you feel about yourself and how other people feel about you. With this data we can really begin to see how our lives are changed by our outlook on life.

Cuddy’s studies play an important role in helping people become more positive by physically changing the way they carry themselves. But what about the written word? Can it help change attitudes as well?

365 Positivity is a mobile app that was launched Jan. 16, 2015. This app sends positive blurbs to mobile devices every day for one year. The blurbs can be saved to the mobile devices to be re-read or shared with others.

Founder Ben Arogundade explained on his website that staying positive was a struggle for him so he created the app hoping to impact people around the world with positivity. Arogundade said that he was under so much stress in his life that it caused him severe pain.

“My discomfort became so acute that I went to see my local deep tissue masseur for some relief. When I lay face down on her massage table, she was so surprised at the extent of the tension in my legs and torso, particularly the muscles in my upper back, that she stopped to ask me what had been happening in my life or work that had caused such damage,” Arogundade said.

Arogundade’s hope is to positively impact people with words and affirmations.

Some may argue that while this is all well and good, sometimes life is too hard and it may seem impossible to find a positive light in anything. While this may seem to be true for some, researchers say there are ways of finding a positive light in even the hardest of times.

Jordan Hauger, a pre-nursing Black Hills State University Junior, has made it a point to post only positive status updates on Facebook. He tags 365 Positivity in every post, which range from happy pictures to stories about a good part of his day.

Hauger said that his inspiration for these posts came from looking back on 2014, seeing where he lacked positivity, and deciding to make Positivity 365 his New Year’s resolution.

“It is a choice you make to be positive and I think the more you practice being positive the more natural it will just come to you,” said Hauger.

Hauger said he hopes that people remember him as a positive person because it makes other people’s lives better.

Just like Cuddy in her TED talk, Hauger conditions himself to live a more positive lifestyle, whether it’s writing a post on Facebook or just being more positive when he wakes up in the morning.

Like Arogundade, Hauger is trying to positively affect people around him with his own experiences and words of encouragement every day.

Living a positive life is not always easy. Struggles come, but making conscious, daily choices and reinforcing positivity into your life can greatly change your attitude.