POSITIVE THINKING: THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT AND HOW IT IMPROVES YOUR LIFE

The “power of positive thinking” is a popular concept, and sometimes it can feel a little cliché.
But the physical and mental benefits that I have experienced over the years of positive thinking have been demonstrated by multiple scientific studies. Positive thinking 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.

All this sounds great, but what does the “power of positive thinking” really mean?
We all want to be positive but sometimes this can be hard depending on the circumstances that face us. Positive thinking should not in any way be taken lightly. In reality, it should be viewed in the same way we view words like “endurance” and “work ethic” But those views may be changing.

Studies are now indicating that there is much more to positive thinking than just being happy.
Having positive thoughts can help one create real value in their lives while building skills that last a lifetime as compared to a fake smile.

You can define positive thinking as positive imagery, positive self-talk or general optimism, but these are all still general, ambiguous concepts. If you want to be effective in thinking and being more positive, you’ll need concrete examples to help you through the process.

Here are 7 Practical Tips to Achieve a Positive Mindset

 

1. Start the day with positive affirmation.

How you start the morning sets 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? Instead of letting this dominate you, start your day with positive affirmations. Talk to yourself in the mirror, even if you feel silly, with statements like, “Today will be a great day” or “I’m going to be Awesome today.” You’ll be amazed how much your day improves.

 

2. Focus on the good things, however small.

Almost invariably, you’re going to encounter some obstacles throughout the day. When you encounter such a challenge, focus on the benefits on that situation, no matter how slight or unimportant they might seem at that time.

 

3. Find humor in bad situations.

Allow yourself to experience humor in even the darkest or most trying situations. Remind yourself that this situation will probably make for a good story later and try to crack a joke about it. This has really assisted me in my life since my wife and I had our first baby ( Layla )only is 4 months ago.

 

4. Turn Challenges into lessons.

Just remember you aren’t perfect. You’re going to make mistakes and experience some tough challenges in your life and in multiple contexts, at multiple jobs and with multiple people. Instead of focusing on how you didn’t achieve something, think about what you’re going to do next time—turn your situation into a lesson and an opportunity to learn and grow.

 

5. Transform negative self-talk into positive self-talk.

Negative self-talk can creep up easily on us every day and is often hard to notice. You might think I’m so bad at this or I shouldn’t have tried that. But these thoughts turn into internalized feelings and might cement your conceptions of yourself. When you catch yourself doing this, stop and replace those negative messages with positive ones.

 

6. Focus on the present.

I’m talking about the present—not today, not this hour, only this exact moment. In most situations, you’ll find it’s not as bad as you imagine it to be. Most sources of negativity stem from a memory of a recent event or the exaggerated imagination of a potential future event. Stay in the present moment.

 

7. Find positive friends, mentors and co-workers.

When you surround yourself with positive people, you’ll 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 similarly contributes to the group. 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. As you might imagine, positive thinking offers compounding returns, so the more often you practice it, the greater benefits you’ll realize.