Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come. -Robert H. Schuller
Our brains can sometimes feel like negativity machines. They detect the bad and fixate on it. If someone was rude to us in the morning, it may be enough to spoil the entire day. What is more, we might sometimes fall into beliefs or ideas that are also negative and that can have lasting consequences throughout our lives. While blind optimism has its problems, too much negativity can poison our thinking. Let’s discover how you can change your negative thoughts to be more positive.
Remember the good things
If your brain automatically pursues the negative, then you need to train it to see the good in life. This is a task that can’t be accomplished in a single day. Rather, it is something that needs to be cultivated over time. The first step is to focus on remembering and recalling the good things that have happened during your day, your week, your year, and your whole life.
You can write down a journal focused on gratitude to keep track of the good things. There are more creative approaches. For example, you can put a paper with a good memory in a jar and pull one at random to remember the best experiences.
Give yourself permission to be more positive
A common problem with trying to change your thinking is that a part of you resists it. Consider what you think and believe about positive people. Maybe you see them as less intelligent, as pessimism is often linked to intellect in our culture. Maybe you worry that others will take advantage of your positivity.
You need to let go of that mindset and give yourself permission to think in a different way. Commit to it fully. If you still have doubts, allow yourself to experiment for a couple of months. If positivity fails you, you can always revert back to negative thinking.
Do things you like
Positive emotions can make it easier to think positive thoughts. So try to encourage yourself to do more things that bring you joy. Eat foods you like, watch movies that you love. Give more time to your hobbies and your friends.
Often, we have chores that cannot be put off. But even on your busiest day, try to plan for fifteen minutes of doing something that will be fun, enjoyable, relaxing. Add pleasant elements to your tasks – buy a soap you love and use it every day. Burn a candle with a great aroma. Do a puzzle or read a couple of pages from a book you adore. Promote positive emotions throughout your day.
Practice self-compassion
An Important element of positive thinking is being positive about yourself. This is not easy, often, it’s the greatest challenge. People might feel positive about others but not themselves.
A good tip is to think about yourself with the kindness or grace you can extend to others. Think of a dear friend or your child self in your place. Offer yourself kindness and avoid harsh words and judgments about your ability to be who you are.
Learn from positive people
It’s not always intuitive to see a way forward with positive thinking. One way to improve is to observe positive people and see how they think. Ask them to teach you how they look at the world and learn with an open mind and an open heart.
Positive people are not a whole different species of person. They can get sad and mad like the rest of us. But they can bounce back from that easier. Learn from those you admire and who have a mindset you want to imitate.
Positive thinking is a skill that is sure to benefit you in all areas of your life, from your work to your relationships. Give yourself the chance to enjoy your life a little more and have fun, to be more hopeful and resilient when dealing with the challenges any person faces.
