The “power of positive thinking” is a popular concept. A positive mindset can give you more confidence, improve your mood, and even reduce the likelihood of developing conditions such as hypertension, depression, and other stress-related disorders.
So positive thinking is positive imagery, positive self-talk, or general optimism. If you want to be effective in thinking and being more positive, you will need a few tips to help you through:
Start the day with a positive affirmation. This will set the tone for the rest of the day. Have you ever woken up late, panicked, and then felt like nothing good happened the rest of the day? This is due to starting the day with a negative emotion and a pessimistic view that carried into every other event you experienced. Instead start your day with positive affirmation.
Focus on the good things, however small. Almost invariably, you are going to encounter obstacles throughout the day. So, focus on the benefits, no matter how slight or unimportant they seem. For example, if you get stuck in traffic, think about how you now have time to listen to the rest of your favourite podcast.
And then, turn your failures into lessons. You are not perfect. You are going to make mistakes and experience failure in multiple contexts. Instead of focusing on how you failed, think about what you are going to do next time - turn your failure into a lesson. Conceptualize this in concrete rules.
Transform negative self-talk into positive self-talk. Negative self-talk can creep up easily and is often hard to notice. You might think I am so bad at this or I should not have tried that. But these thoughts turn into internalized feelings and might cement your conceptions of yourself. So, stop and replace those negative messages with positive ones. For example, I am so bad at this becomes Once I get more practice, I will be way better at this.
Focus on the present. Not today, not this hour, only this exact moment. In most situations, you will find it is not as bad as you imagine it to be. Negativity stems from a memory of a recent event or the exaggerated imagination of a potential future event. Stay in the present moment.
Find positive friends, mentors, and co-workers. This way you will hear positive outlooks, positive stories, and positive affirmations. Their positive words will sink in and affect your own line of thinking, which then affects your words and contributes to the group. Finding positive people to fill up your life can be difficult, but you need to eliminate the negativity in your life before it consumes you. Do what you can to improve the positivity of others, and let their positivity affect you the same way.
Almost anybody in any situation can apply these lessons to their own lives and increase their positive attitude. Positive thinking offers compounding returns, so the more often you practice it, the greater benefits you will realize.
