Take one look at Rydel Lynch’s Twitter account, and it’s clear that positive thinking is important to her. The 23-year-old musician—who’s in the band R5 with her brothers Ross, Riker, and Rocky, and her boyfriend, Ellington Ratliff—regularly tweets quotes like “Think happy, be happy” and “Happy mind, happy life.” And Lynch tells Shine she practices what she preaches.
“Our whole family really tries to stay positive,” Lynch says. “If you start thinking one negative thought, then it leads to another, and then you kind of just keep going down and down. It’s hard to get out of that funk.”
Shine caught up with Lynch to find out more about her positive mindset, self-care routine, and how she stays authentic in the spotlight.
Your go-to mantra is, “You get what you think about.” What does that phrase mean to you?
Since we were little, my dad tried to explain to us, “You get what you think about,” meaning if you put good vibes out into the universe and try and continue on a positive, upward spiral, then you’re going to get that in return. Instead of thinking about what you don’t have, think about all the things you want to achieve and keep them in your mind. Your mind is so powerful.
How have you applied that mantra to your life?
To “get what you think about,” you have to think about it all the time—envision it, dream about it, write it down.
My dad always said we should have a dream board, and seven years ago my brother [Riker] made a dream board for our band. He wrote down: Perform on ‘Jimmy Kimmel’, perform on ‘Ellen’, perform on ‘Good Morning America.’ And at the time, we’re like, “All of that’s impossible!” But Riker was like, “No, I’m writing it down, and it’s happening.” We just worked our butts off to make that happen.
It all comes with hard work, but “you get what you think about” is a mantra to keep reminding yourself to stay positive.
You’re about to embark on a huge new tour. How do you practice self-care while on the road?
What’s nice about our touring life is I’m with my whole family, and that just helps so much. We’re such a close family, and we all keep each other grounded.
When I need a moment to myself, I like to just chill in my bunk on the bus. But for the most part, I’m around my brothers and my mom and my dad and my boyfriend (R5 drummer Ellington Ratliff). They’re all such good influences and bring so much to my life. Just being around them really is all I need to remind me to keep being a good person.
Have you always felt confident on stage and in the spotlight?
My brothers and I have been performing literally nonstop since we were little, so it definitely was a natural thing for us to be on stage. We all feel like we were meant to be on stage and meant to be performers.
I really just try to stay true to myself and be myself 100 percent of the time.
I’m not worrying, “Oh, I’m in front of people now, I need to be this way or that way, or I can’t tweet this.” I’m trying to just keep myself unfiltered and just be my crazy, usual tomboy self all the time.
How do you relax after a big show?
I watch Netflix, and we’ll sometimes will pick a series to watch on the bus. I also like cards, so sometimes mom and I will whip out the cards and play some games.
We love the positive quotes you share on Twitter—how is positive thinking part of your day-to-day routine?
I constantly am trying to think of the good things in life. It takes a lot of practice, and you have to work at it and remind yourself of the good things and why you should be happy.
A really good start: When you wake up every morning and before you go to sleep at night, name three things that you’re appreciative of—not things you’re happy about or love, just things you’re appreciative of, like “I’m so appreciative that I have breakfast on the table this morning” or “I live with my brothers.” If you can name three things every morning that you appreciate, I think that helps so much.
If you are feeling down, what helps comfort you?
Sometimes, I need to talk to my mom. I’ll be like, “This happened, I had the hardest day.” It feels good to cry and sometimes just sit and mope—but you definitely can’t stay in it too long. You have to get back up and keep going. My mom will give me some tough love, and she’ll bring me out of the funk. She keeps me strong.
If you could send an inspiring text to your teenage self, what would you say?
I would say, “Stay young, stay fun, keep smiling.” That’s pretty much what I did when I was a teen, but I would just remind myself of that and say, “Keep doing what you’re doing.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Read next: Stuck in Negative Thinking? Here's What to Do
Shine is supported by members like you. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. See our affiliate disclosure for more info.
