Positive thinking doesn’t mean that you ignore life’s less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.
Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information or expectations due to preconceived ideas of what may happen.
If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you’re likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.
Focusing on positive thinking
You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it does take time and practice — you’re creating a new habit, after all. Following are some ways to think and behave in a more positive and optimistic way:
- Identify areas to change. If you want to become more optimistic and engage in more positive thinking, first identify areas of your life that you usually think negatively about, whether it’s work, your daily commute, life changes or a relationship. You can start small by focusing on one area to approach in a more positive way. Think of a positive thought to manage your stress instead of a negative one.
- Check yourself. Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you’re thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them.
- Be open to humor. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times. Seek humor in everyday happenings. When you can laugh at life, you feel less stressed.
- Follow a healthy lifestyle. Aim to exercise for about 30 minutes on most days of the week. You can also break it up into 5- or 10-minute chunks of time during the day. Exercise can positively affect mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and body. Get enough sleep. And learn techniques to manage stress.
- Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback. Negative people may increase your stress level and make you doubt your ability to manage stress in healthy ways.
- Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don’t say anything to yourself that you wouldn’t say to anyone else. Be gentle and encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about you. Think about things you’re thankful for in your life.
Your Mind has Power
Be cognizant that your mind and your thoughts have great power. They can either make you a better version of yourself or keep you standard in mediocrity and in mental imprisonment. Throughout the day, your mind experiences hundreds of different thoughts and ideas that are profound and extraordinary, however, many people are not aware of the power the mind contains, and do not act upon their own desires and dreams because of doubt, fear, or the acceptance of failure. They sincerely believe they cannot accomplish their goals and unfortunately give up easily because they negate the magnitude their mind has.
The good news is that you are in charge of your own choices, destiny, and mind. Realizing you have complete control over your mind is the first step toward developing a positive mindset. You need to understand that although there are people, experiences, and places that may provoke a specific emotion, you are the only one who can control your current state of mind. Napoleon Hill writes in his book, Think and Grow Rich, about the role the subconscious mind plays in our everyday lives and notes that different thoughts cross our minds, and learning to habitually and consciously think positive thoughts helps the development of a more optimistic mindset.
Obstacles Equal Opportunities
Every individual is not exempt from problems, struggles, or obstacles, but if we looked at these from a different angle, our lives would be very different. Your day may begin with small unfortunate occurrences like spilling your coffee, getting a ticket for running a red light, or maybe your boss is not pleased with your work. Although these are unpleasant scenarios, you have to force yourself to stop and think for a moment, about what can be learned from these experiences. It’s not always easy to look at the positive when things are not going as planned, but in order to train your mind towards positivity, there needs to be a time for evaluation. Ask yourself these questions:
- What were the reasons that led me here to this situation?
- What can I do differently next time?
- Is there a more abstract lesson I can learn from this experience?
- How is this building my mindset to be more positive?
Remember that you are powerful.
Most of the time we have no idea what we are supposed to be doing, or who we are supposed to be imitating.
I say “imitating” because this is what we do: We conform to the external environment.
We play roles and cover up our true selves by identifying with “things” that end up defining who we think we are.
I’m a doctor, a salesperson, a secretary, a lawyer; I’m sad, happy, lonely, or miserable. I
’m, afraid, and I can’t help it—it’s who I am.
The truth is, though, we are none of those things. They are symptoms of the sleepwalking disease. You are more important than any label. We are not our professions.
We are not our circumstances. We are not even our mind.
What we are is far greater, far superior, far more important, and far more mysterious than our conceptual mind tries to define.
This is why we are far more powerful than we think we are.
Believe that you are more than enough.
If you have to let it be a person who is less fortunate, and let it be a lesson to learn just how abundant your life truly is. It’s just a matter of perspective.
You may find that you are not entirely grateful for what you possess. You may believe that you need more than you have right now to be happy. If this is the case, then you are absolutely right—you will need more, and you will continue to need more.
This cycle will perpetuate as long as your mind believes it to be true. If you focus on what you have, and not on what you lack, you will always have enough, because you will always be enough.
Stay cool.
If someone cuts us off in traffic or skips the queue at our local cinema, we may feel our blood pressure begin to rise and feel the need to react in a negative manner. We get uptight with other people’s actions, and in the end we punish ourselves for their bad behavior.
We end up losing control over our own actions because of the way other people act. But we are responsible for our own action, regardless of how rude other people may act. If it’s hard to stay cool, remember: you are the one who loses in the end, if you lose the lesson.