Today is a beautiful day! Thinking positively takes work, but over time, it becomes second nature. There are some simple ways that anyone can become a more positive thinker and all it takes, is the commitment to focus on good thoughts.
Negative thinking is as powerful as positive thinking — meaning that if negative thinking can creep in and take over our lives, so can positive thinking. A positive attitude must always start with good thoughts. The first step therefore, is to banish negative thoughts and attitudes, and consciously replace them with good ones.
How?
Once you make the decision to become a more positive person, it’s crucial to make positive thinking a daily habit, by shifting your thoughts from bad to good. And the good news is, all it takes is some daily conditioning to successfully make that shift.
1. Set yourself up to have a good day
By starting your day off on a positive note, you’re much more likely to have a good day overall. This starts the night before — getting enough sleep is crucial. As you go to sleep, orient your mid to the positive and not the negative. Upon waking, tell yourself “what a beautiful day!” Conditioning your mind to focus on the good when you first wake up is vital to being a positive person.
2. Banish negative words from your vocabulary
It’s easy to let negative words creep into our lives and before we know it, we’re repeating them regularly. Believe it or not, this is a significant cause of negative thinking. Pay attention to the words you use and replace any negative ones with positive words. Instead of having a “can’t do” mind-set, have a “can do” attitude, making sure to use words that uplift and brighten your life.
3. Use positive affirmations
Actually vocalize the type of thinking you want to have — say positive affirmations aloud, because hearing yourself actually speak the words, is more effective than just thinking them. If you tell yourself something good you start to believe it and, start to notice it — most negative thinkers do have good things happen to them…they’re just to wrapped up in the negative too notice.
4. Practice an attitude of gratitude
Being thankful means you’re conscious of good things in your life. You may hate your job, but be thankful you have one…and, look for a new one! You may be upset that you gained 5 pounds, but be grateful you have more than enough to eat, as there are children literally starving to death. Make the commitment to always look for the positive and be thankful for all the good things in life.
5. Be mindful
“Mindfulness” is very popular these days. While I’m not a fan of the various forms it’s taken on, just being aware of your thoughts, how you react to people and situations and the words you choose, is helpful in transforming from a negative thinker to a positive one.
6. Have compassion
It’s a proven fact that giving and helping others is an incredible source of positivity. It helps people, but it helps us too, because having compassion is one of the strongest forms of positivity. Make it a habit to be kind and caring and you’ll open a pathway for positive energy to flow into your life.
7. Look for the silver lining
Being a positive person doesn’t mean everything is perfect. Life is tough sometimes, but a positive person does try to see the silver lining — “what can I learn from this?” Look at the situation and see what benefit there may be for you or others.
8. Don’t dwell on the past
Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not yet here. So, focus on the now more often and don’t let yourself become shackled to your past — its’ beyond your control and getting stuck in the past can be very toxic to our mental health.
9. Find stress relievers
Negative people tend to get stuck in life — they either ruminate over the past, or dwell on the future and by doing so, they immerse themselves into stress. Find some hobbies or other relaxing stress relievers and make sure to engage in activities that make you feel better.
10. Look at the big picture
Are you content with your life? Is there someplace else you’d rather be living? Becoming a more positive person requires us to control our lives, and not the other way around. Consider keeping a journal and write out the things you’re happy with, as well as the parts of your life you’re not happy with — on those, make a plan on how you might change those negatives into positives.
For some reason, becoming a negative person just seems to happen. It creeps in and before we know it, we’ve morphed from a happy, content person, into a negative, unhappy person. Becoming a positive person again does takes some work, but the rewards far outweigh the effort!