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I have a friend who is so positive I sometimes question if he is human. He can be faced with the most seemingly miserable series of events and yet, he never seems to let it get him down.

Just how positive am I talking?

• Example 1:

To put his amazing positivity into context, he once forgot his sleeping bag on a camping trip in winter and proceeded to shiver all night. He then went on to freeze the next morning without giving up or going home.

• Example 2:

We once had a friend we had to take to hospital. We were up the whole night without any sleep making sure they were okay and at 6am at McDonald’s he told me all about how great his apple pie was and how ‘today is a great day’.

• Example 3:

He was once lost in the middle of nowhere and had to ride his bike over 20 kilometers before finding a train line back. He told me, ‘my legs were so tired, and I was so hungry, but the ride was great exercise, and the scenery was awesome’.

His advice?

So, what is his advice on staying positive when you’re faced with a challenging situation? He told me that staying positive is liking fighting your body. Sometimes his brain is fatigued and exhausted, or just thinking negatively. The secret he said, was to ‘pretend it’s a challenge and fight your body. Look for all the good things to contradict what you think is bad’. However, even he, the most positive, persistent person I know, can sometimes feel a bit blue. Whenever he is feeling like this, his usual bubbly outspoken self tends to retreat away. This is always a sign he might be feeling down to me. After a chat and a chill, we always talk about what is going on in our lives and seem to end feeling better.