Having a positive outlook is a choice. You can choose thoughts that improve your mood, shine a positive light in difficult situations, and usually color your day in a more cheerful and hopeful way in everything you do. By choosing to view life in a positive light, you can get rid of negative thinking and see life through a lens full of possibilities and solutions, not worries and obstacles. If you want to know ways to think more positively, follow these tips.
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Part 1 of 3: Assessing Your Thoughts
Step 1. Take responsibility for your attitude
You are responsible for what you think, and your outlook on life is a choice. If you tend to think negatively, then you choose to think that way. You can choose a more positive outlook with practice.
Step 2. Understand the advantages of being a positive thinker
Choosing to think more positively will not only help you take control of your life and make everyday experiences more enjoyable, it will benefit your physical and mental health and your ability to cope with change. Realizing these benefits can make you more motivated to always think positively in everyday life. Here are some of the benefits of positive thinking:
- Longer life span
- Lower levels of stress and depression
- Better resistance to colds
- Better mental and physical well-being
- Better problem solving ability when stressed
- A more natural ability to forge relationships and strengthen bonds
Step 3. Get into the habit of keeping a diary to reflect on your thoughts
Keeping track of your everyday thoughts will allow you to reflect and evaluate your thought patterns. Write down your thoughts and feelings, trying to identify the triggers that lead to positive or negative thoughts. The twenty minutes you spend each night tracking your thought patterns will go a long way in identifying negative thoughts and making plans to turn them into positive ones.
- Your daily journal can be anything you like. If you don't like long devotional paragraphs, you can make a list of the five most common negative and positive thoughts that were on your mind that day.
- Make sure you have time and opportunity to evaluate and reflect on the information you write in the journal. If you can write every day, maybe you need to think about it every weekend.
Part 2 of 3: Fighting Negative Thoughts
Step 1. Recognize negative thoughts that arise spontaneously
In order to move away from the negative thoughts that are blocking you from a positive outlook, you need to be more careful of the “spontaneous negative thoughts” that pop into your mind. Once you recognize the thought, you have the ability to resist and command it to go out of your head.
Negative thoughts that occur spontaneously for example when you hear that there is a test next week, you immediately think, "Maybe I will fail." The thought arises spontaneously because it is your initial reaction when you hear about the exam
Step 2. Challenge your negative thoughts
Even if you have been used to negative thoughts your whole life, you don't have to be negative all the time. Whenever negative thoughts overwhelm you, especially negative thoughts that arise spontaneously, stop and evaluate whether they are true or accurate.
- One way to challenge negative thoughts is to be objective. Write down the negative thoughts that come to your mind and think about how you would react if someone spoke those thoughts to you. It's likely that you'll be able to counter the negativity of others, even if it's difficult to do it yourself.
- For example, you might have negative thoughts like, "I always fail my exams." Chances are, you won't be able to stay in school if you keep failing your exams. Go through your test papers or grades again and look for exams that get good marks to pass; it can challenge negative thoughts. You may even come across exams with A's and B's, which will convince you even more that your negativity is overblown.
Step 3. Replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts
Once you believe that you can spot and deal with negative thoughts, you will be ready to actively choose positive thoughts over negative thoughts. This is not to say that everything in life has to be positive; if you do feel different kinds of emotions, that's normal. However, you can try to replace useless thought patterns with thoughts that help you grow.
- For example, if you have thoughts like, “I might fail the exam,” stop there. You have recognized it as a negative thought and evaluated its accuracy. Now try to replace it with positive thoughts. Positive thoughts don't have to sound like blind optimism, such as "I'll definitely get a hundred on the exam even if I don't study." You can create simple positive thoughts like, "I'm going to study and get ready so I can do my best on the exam."
- Harness the power of questions. When your brain is presented with questions, it tends to seek answers for you. If you ask yourself, "Why is life so scary?" your brain will try to answer the question. The same is true if you ask, "Why am I so lucky?" Ask questions that will draw your focus to positive thoughts.
Step 4. Minimize external influences that stimulate negativity
You may find that certain types of music as well as violent movies or video games can affect your overall attitude. Try to minimize your exposure to violent or stressful stimuli, spending more time listening to relaxing music or reading. Music is very good for your mind and books on positive thinking can provide advice you can apply to become a happier person.
Step 5. Avoid "black and white thinking"
In this type of thinking, which is also called “polarization”, all that is encountered is yes or no; no gray area. This can make people think that they have to do everything perfectly or not do it at all.
- To avoid this type of thinking, you have to welcome the gray areas in life. Instead of thinking that everything has only two sides (that is, positive and negative), list the other sides between the poles to see that things are not as bad as they seem.
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For example, if you're about to take a test and you're not happy with the subject, you may be tempted to skip the exam or not study at all, so if you fail, it's because you didn't try. However, this approach ignores the fact that you are likely to do better if you spend more time preparing for the exam.
You should also avoid thinking that the test results are only A or F. There is a lot of “grey area” between A and F
Step 6. Avoid “personalization”
Personalization is assuming that you are personally at fault if something goes wrong. If you go too far with this type of thinking, you can become paranoid and think that no one likes you or wants to be friends with you, and assume that every little move you make will upset the other person.
People like this might think, "Wani didn't smile at me this morning. I must have done something to upset her." Though maybe Wani is just having a bad day, and her mood has nothing to do with you
Step 7. Avoid "filtered thinking"
This happens when you choose to only hear the negative side of a situation. Most situations have both good and bad elements, and recognizing both will be of great help to you. If you think like this, then you will never see the positive side of any situation.
For example, you might take an exam and get a C, along with a note from the teacher saying that your results improved a lot from the previous exam. Mind screening makes you think only of the negative C grades and ignores the fact that you have shown improvement and improvement
Step 8. Avoid "creating a catastrophe"
This is when you assume that the worst is going to happen. Creating a catastrophe is usually associated with worrying that you will do something unsatisfactory. You can fight it by looking at the possible consequences realistically.
For example, you are studying for a course exam and think that you will not pass. If you have a tendency to create catastrophes, you will widen that insecurity by assuming that you will fail and have to drop out of college, then be unable to work and have to live on other people's benefits. If you look at your possible results realistically, you'll realize that even if you fail an exam, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll fail your course, and there's no need to quit
Step 9. Visit a relaxing place
You need to have a private place to be alone when it comes to changing attitudes and perspectives, that's very important. Many people find that spending time outdoors can improve their mood.
- If your workplace has an open area, complete with picnic tables and chairs, take some time to relax outside and refresh your mind.
- If you're physically unable to visit someplace relaxing out there, try meditating and visiting a nice open area with perfect weather in mind.
Part 3 of 3: Living an Optimistic Life
Step 1. Give yourself time to change
Developing a positive outlook is actually the development of a skill. Just like trying to master any type of skill, it takes time, as well as intense practice and constant reminders not to get caught up in negative thoughts.
Step 2. Be physically positive
If you change your physical or physical habits, the mind will follow you. So that you can feel happier in general, take a positive approach to your physique. Practice good posture, stand up straight and lower your shoulders and pull them back. A slouched posture will make you feel more negative. I also need to smile more often. Smiling not only provokes other people to smile back, but it can also make your body believe that it is happier.
Step 3. Practice sensitivity
You will feel happier if you are more sensitive to your actions and your life. If you're just living your life like a robot, chances are you'll forget to discover the pleasures that life has to offer. By becoming more sensitive to your environment, choices, and daily activities, you will have more control over your own life and happiness.
- Consider meditation as a way to center yourself and learn perfect focus. By meditating for 10 to 20 minutes every day, at whatever time you feel comfortable, you can increase your sensitivity to yourself and the present moment, to help control bad thoughts with greater awareness.
- Try taking a yoga class. Yoga can also help you become more sensitive to the world because you are aware of the in and out of your breath.
- Taking deep breaths and resting your mind even for a moment can make you feel happier.
Step 4. Bring out your creative side
If you've never had the chance to bring out your creative side, now is the time. Taking the time to bring out the artistic side and create something with your own hands or explore the purest thoughts will have a magical effect on your power to think outside the box, allowing you to think positively. Even if you don't feel inclined to be creative, there's a lot you can do to express yourself in a more positive way.
- Take a course to learn something you've never done before, consider learning pottery, painting, mixed media collage, poetry, or woodworking.
- Try learning a new craft like knitting, crochet, sewing, or embroidery. Beginners who don't want to take a course can find materials and guidance from craft shops and online tutorials.
- Do doodles or drawings in a sketchbook every day. Try to find old pictures again and turn them into something new.
- Be a creative writer. Try writing poetry, short stories, or even trying to write a novel. You can even perform a poem you wrote in front of other people.
- Try role-playing, dressing up as your favorite TV or comic character, or trying to be part of community theater.
Step 5. Surround yourself with positive people
Usually we are influenced by the people around us. If you feel that the people around you tend to be negative, look for people who are more positive. This will cultivate your own positivity. If someone in your family or partner continues to be negative, encourage them to work together with you to be more positive.
- Avoid people who drain your energy and motivation. If you can't avoid them, or don't want to, find ways to keep them from influencing you, and try to keep them in contact only briefly.
- Avoid dating people who have negative views. If you are prone to negative thoughts yourself, you will fall into a trap. If you are in a relationship with someone who has a hard time thinking positively, it may be best to seek counseling together.
Step 6. Set meaningful goals
Whatever your goals are, you must keep working towards them and have faith in the goals you set for yourself. Once you reach your first goal, you'll be inspired to keep reaching other goals, as well as adding new ones. With every goal you achieve, no matter how small, you will gain confidence and your self-esteem will increase, so that your positivity will continue to be nurtured.
Doing whatever it takes to reach your goals, even small steps, can make you feel happier
Step 7. Don't forget to take time to have fun
People who schedule fun events in between their busy schedules tend to be happier and more positive because their lives are anything but boring and less monotonous. Fun activities can relieve fatigue from hard work and problems. Remember that fun is not the same for everyone, so you may have to find activities that are fun for you.
Always make time for a laugh. Spend time with friends who make you laugh, go to a comedy club or watch a funny movie. If your laugh nerves are constantly stimulated, negative thoughts will be difficult to settle
Tips
- "Positive attracts positivity" in the same way as "negative attracts negativity". If you are kind, friendly and easy-going with others, you can expect the same treatment. On the other hand, if you are rude, disrespectful and unkind to others, then people will not respect you and will avoid you because of your unpleasant or dismissive attitude.
- You can't always control what happens in life, but you can control what you think and feel. You can choose to view things positively or otherwise. You decide.
- Take care of your body and eat healthy. This is an important foundation for a positive outlook – positive thinking will be much more difficult if you are unhealthy or unfit.
- Laugh often. Laughter and positive emotions because comedy, humor, fun and fun activities are an important part of keeping your spirits up. And yes, you can laugh in hard times; sometimes laughter is all you need to start fixing things.
- If your day feels like a mess, think about all the good things that happened that day, thinking that the whole mess could have been worse. You will find that your day is going well if you look at it that way.
- Feeling that you can control your life is an important part of positive thinking.
Warning
- Sometimes worries about the past or the future get in the way of positive thinking. If you're stuck in the past, letting bad or sad experiences from the past affect your current experience, learn to accept what happened without letting it affect your current thoughts and outlook. If you're so focused on the future that you're ruining the present, try to reduce your worries about what hasn't happened yet and start enjoying the moment.
- If you have suicidal thoughts, seek help immediately. Life is not just to be lived, you have the right to live this life to the best of your ability. There are many people ready to help you overcome discouragement and adversity.
- Anxiety and depression are serious conditions that require treatment. This condition is not the same as common negative thoughts, although negative thoughts may be part of a problem that can accelerate/prolong anxiety or depression. Seek immediate medical help to treat mental problems like these; the sooner you seek help, the sooner you can live a normal life and feel whole again.
