The Power Of Positive Thinking For Your Life And How To Achieve It
When we face obstacles in life, the outcome is often dependent on how we perceive and react to the situation. An increasingly large number of studies show that learning to develop a positive, productive mindset can help you navigate difficult times and grow as a person. Positive thinking, which can be defined as a way of looking at yourself and the world around you with optimism, confidence, and enthusiasm, can be a powerful force in your life. It is a mindset that can often be nurtured with the right approach. It can be helpful to get regular exercise, check in on yourself regularly, utilize affirmations, and practice mindfulness. Working with an online or in-person therapist can also empower you to effectively shift your mindset.
What is positive thinking?
Positive thinking can be considered a way of perceiving your circumstances and surroundings through an optimistic, affirmative lens. It is an attitude that can help you see the good in every situation, or at least avoid dwelling on the negative aspects. Positive thinking can result in an improved mood and other mental health benefits. A positive outlook can even reduce symptoms of physical health challenges.
Positive thinking can be heavily influenced by self-talk, or the way we narrate our own lives. When practicing positive thinking, your self-talk will likely take on a hopeful, optimistic view. For example, if you have a job interview that did not go the way you wanted, negative thinking may tell you that there is no way you will get the job and the interview was a waste of time. Positive thinking, however, might flip the narrative to remind you that even if you do not get the job, it was a good experience, and you will be even more prepared for the next job interview.
As you can see, the way you frame the narrative in your mind can greatly influence your emotional response to an event. Positive thinking and self-talk can make even bad situations seem more manageable and lessen the emotional impact these events may have on you.
The benefits of positive thinking
By actively working toward a more positive attitude, you may reduce stress and anger and improve happiness and overall life satisfaction. Cultivating positivity can improve your productivity and give you the confidence to overcome challenges that are thrown your way.
Another proven benefit of positive thinking can be decreased depression symptoms. Not only can positive thinking lead to greater happiness, but it can often help you look at the big picture instead of getting bogged down by potentially negative details.
Research suggests that positive thinking can also have physical health benefits, such as improved cardiovascular health and increased lifespan. It is thought that these benefits may be produced by lower levels of stress. High stress levels can negatively impact the immune system and other important bodily functions.
Tips for positive thinking
Like any lifestyle change, positive thinking can be a hard habit to start. But with consistency, you can practice positive thinking in your everyday life. Follow these tips to start on your positivity journey.
Do some digging
In most cases, beginning a practice of positive thinking does not require an entire mental overhaul. Rather, it can help to identify the circumstances and emotions that cause you to think negatively and write them down so you can remember them. This list may include situations like your daily commute to work, a weekly meeting with a colleague, or even just a trip to the grocery store—anything that causes you to think negatively about your circumstances.
You might start small by committing to changing your thoughts toward one of the things on the list and try to practice positive thinking during that situation. Once you feel you have a grasp on positivity in one area of your life, you can expand it into the other areas you’ve identified.
Check in with yourself
It may take time for you to change your mindset, and there will likely still be times when you find yourself having a primarily negative outlook. Because of this, it can help to check in with your thoughts and emotions frequently. If you find that you’re focused on the negative in your life, it can be helpful to think about the circumstances that brought about this mindset. This can help you identify similar situations in the future in which you might start to think negatively. You can check in with yourself through a daily journal, regular meditation, or simply asking yourself how you feel each day.
Get moving
In general, exercise has proven benefits for both mental and physical health. One way exercise can affect your outlook is through the release of endorphins. Endorphins can be defined as hormones that are released during exercise. They typically promote relaxation and happiness.
In addition to the endorphin boost exercise can give you, physical activity often reduces anxiety, which can make positive thinking easier. When you are in a calm state of mind, you may be better able to develop a new perspective. Getting into a regular exercise routine can also boost your self-esteem, which may help you maintain confidence.
Look for the lesson
It can be normal to have a negative reaction when you make a misstep or experience failure. When this happens, though, try to look for a lesson. If you missed an important deadline at work, you might think about what you can do in the future to prevent this from happening. By looking for the lesson in every mistake, and thus using your mistakes as learning experiences to improve yourself, you can put a positive frame on a negative experience.
Utilize affirmations
Positive self-talk can improve performance on tasks, boost self-esteem, and enhance mood. Repeating affirmations to yourself in the morning can put you in a positive frame of mind for the whole day. You might choose to start your morning by looking at yourself in the mirror and saying something uplifting, like “Today will be a great day.”
You can also utilize an affirmation that’s more personalized to your life. If you do not feel comfortable saying them out loud, you can write affirmations in a journal. Either way, starting your day with a positive affirmation can set the right tone and help you continue thinking positively all day.
Practice mindfulness
Focusing on the present moment can also help with positive thinking by eliminating distractions related to past or future events. Mindfulness is usually centered around bringing your awareness to your current thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. By quieting your mind and focusing on the present, you can relax and re-center, potentially giving yourself the opportunity to develop a fresh perspective without the worries we tend to accumulate throughout the day.
Surround yourself with positive people
Do you have people in your life with whom you tend to engage in negativity or commiseration? Interacting with people who have a negative mindset can influence your thoughts and behaviors, possibly making it hard for you to foster positivity. If you have people like this in your life, try to change the tone of your conversations to focus on the positive aspects of your circumstances. You can also try to spend most of your time with people who practice positive thinking themselves. This can reinforce the outlook you’re trying to cultivate.
Practice self-care
Often, we are so busy with work, school, relationships, and other obligations that we do not take time for ourselves. Self-care can be a necessary component of mental and physical wellness, often helping to empower us, provide us with confidence, and value ourselves highly. It can remind us that we are worth caring for and deserving of compassion. Taking some time for yourself and your hobbies can help you recharge your batteries, improve your health, and develop a positive mindset.
Benefits of online therapy
If you’d like help fostering positivity in your life, consider utilizing an online therapy platform like BetterHelp. With online therapy, you can connect with a therapist remotely through video call, voice call, or online chat, which can help you avoid potentially negative experiences like traffic and sitting in a crowded waiting room. Your therapist can also help you get useful resources, such as at-home exercises that can assist you in practicing positivity on your own time.
Effectiveness of online therapy
Research shows that online therapy can help individuals shift their outlook, even in the face of significant life challenges. For example, in one study, researchers found that online therapy could help participants who were living with chronic pain develop a more positive mindset. Participants generally reported elevated levels of happiness and reduced depression, both immediately after treatment and at a six-month follow-up.
Takeaway
What is the power of positivity?
The power of positive thinking refers to the benefits of looking at the world through a positive, affirmative lens. This attitude can help you see the positives in every situation and can lead to an improved mood and other physical and mental health benefits. Positive thinking does not necessarily mean you ignore the negatives in your life, but rather having an attitude of confidence and optimism even when things go wrong.
What are the 5 advantages of positive thinking?
The benefits of positive thinking may include lower rates of depression, greater resistance to illnesses, better coping skills during times of hardship, increased life span, and reduced risk of physical health problems, including death from cancer, respiratory conditions, cardiovascular disease, stroke, or infections.
Does positivity give you energy?
Positivity may not directly give you energy, but it can improve other areas of your life that can make you feel ready to take on the day. For example, positive thinking can improve depression symptoms, and depression and sleep are closely linked. People with insomnia may be as much as ten times more likely to develop depression, and among people with depression, 75% of them have trouble falling or staying asleep. If someone with depression practices positivity and it improves their symptoms, they may sleep better, which can increase energy.
What are the healing powers of positive thinking?
It may be overstating the effects of positivity to say it has healing powers, but it may have benefits that can affect physical health. Recent research shows that positive thinking can have many health benefits, including increased lifespan, possibly due to decreased stress levels.
Why is positivity better than negativity?
Although the reasons why positivity has a positive benefit on physical health are not entirely understood, research shows that there is a strong link between them. It may be because positive thinking makes people better able to deal with hard times, defending the body against the inflammatory damage of stress. Or, it may be that people who tend to think positively may make better decisions when it comes to their health. Some recent research concluded that the presence of optimism has less of an impact on physical health than the absence of pessimism.
What are examples of positive power?
The power of positive thinking can come from the type of positive thinking you use. For example, if you focus on self-encouragement, you can become your own cheerleader. If you’re focusing on self-affirmation, you may become more confident. Thinking about past mistakes and telling yourself that you did your best can help you move forward while focusing on the future can help you stay focused on future success.
What are the three C's of positive thinking?
The three C’s of positive thinking are catch, check, and change. The first C, catch, refers to catching or tuning into your negative thoughts. If you have an unhelpful thought as you go about your day, try to identify it as such. Then, check it. Take a step back and analyze what you were thinking. Ask yourself, is there another way to look at the situation? How likely is the negative outcome you’re worried about? What would you tell a friend who was thinking this way? Finally, change them. How can you reframe the situation? See if you can turn your negative thought into a positive one.
What are the 10 traits of positive thinking?
People who are positive thinkers have many traits, and no two people are the same. Ten traits that positive thinkers might have include optimism, acceptance, resilience, integrity, gratitude, self-confidence, happiness, forgiveness, perspective, and empathy.
What are 3 ways of positive thinking?
There are many ways of positive thinking, but there are three ways to think about it: past, present, and future-focused positive thinking. Positive thinking focused on the past may mean putting a positive spin on difficult things that happened while still acknowledging that the situation was difficult. For example, if you didn’t get a job you interviewed for, you can tell yourself that you learned valuable lessons for the next time.
Positive thinking that focuses on the present can help you face current challenges and notice what is good about your life. You might think about how lucky you are to have your friends, focus on a recent good meal, or witness the beauty of the moon's shine at night.
Future-focused positive thinking can help you get excited about the future. For example, think about what you can accomplish if you continue to work towards your goals or an event to which you have to look forward.
How do you attract positive energy from the universe?
There is no scientifically proven way to control the energy from the universe, but some may believe that the best way to get positive energy is to put out positive energy. This can be as simple as sending a relevant but happy message via your social media account or similar technologies or mailing a written card to a friend. Whether you call it karma or just focus on creating joy through your web browser, things can seem more positive when you try to see them that way.
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