Did you know that the key to being happy every day could be as simple as developing a positive mental attitude? When it comes to coping with negative thoughts, it just takes a little bit of self-help. Read on to discover how mental serenity is only a few steps away!
Your brain thinks an average of over 60,000 thoughts a day, and 80% of them are negative. Pretty astounding, right? All that mental unrest can lead to depression, anxiety and keep you from leading a peaceful life.
Staying positive plays an important role in keeping anxiety and depression to a minimum. A positive mental attitude gives you the chance to put things into perspective and focus on the good in life. Over time, this can improve your mental health, relieve stress, boost wellness and develop your ability to make the right choices when you’re faced with life’s challenges.
But make no mistake: a positive mental attitude isn’t about pretending that everything is fine or keeping a smile on your face when you’re overwhelmed with uncertainty, fear or anger. Just because someone looks ok on the outside, doesn’t mean everything is ok on the inside. And when this happens, a negative mental attitude is bound to show at some point.
In order to cope with all the everyday events that have a negative impact on your mind, the first step is to use positive thinking. Positive thoughts are the key to a calmer and more peaceful existence.
Simply put, just see the glass half full! When you’re going through a tough time, try to find the silver lining in your situation to help you put things into perspective and focus on what matters most. Although it might take a little practice, try to see the good in every bad situation. Here are some examples:
The bottom line is that your attitude toward an event is what determines how that event impacts your mind. We’re not implying that you have to live in a perfect world where problems don’t exist, but to accept less-than-ideal situations and cope with them by looking at them from a positive perspective.
Your mind is like a fertile garden, so plant seeds of success. They’ll grow even faster when you water them with positive thoughts.
This is an extremely effective technique used by top athletes and people who deal with high levels of stress in everyday life. When faced with uncertainty, your mind is bound to generate feelings of fear and doubt about how future events will unfold.
Using positive visualization before a major event in your life can improve your focus, keep your mind off failure and help you manage stress. By making your mind believe that you’ve already experienced a positive experience, you’ll increase your chances of success.
Positive visualization is simple. Before facing a situation you fear, visualize your desired outcome of the event. Let all the details of the event come to you and experience the emotions and sensations that are associated with those details.
Positive visualization requires you to involve all your senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. This is how you use your entire being to mentally reach your goal.
What you say directly affects your thoughts, which is why using positive words is so important. Like visualization, speaking positively affects your mental attitude.
You can do this by making an effort to express negativity less often and repeat positive phrases to block negative thoughts. For instance, you can express gratitude by thanking other people and say why your grateful for what they did (“It makes me happy when you…,” “I appreciate it when you…”).
If you’ve had a bad day or recently went through a hard situation, you’re likely to have negative thoughts. So here’s another exercise. Mentally verbalize, read or write down your positivity to help you overcome negative thoughts and get yourself back to a better place.
Writing, reading or saying simple phrases like “I’m going to be ok,” or “I’ve got this!” that focus on positivity and success are much more powerful than you might think. You know the famous mantras and motivational quotes athletes tell themselves before a game, match or competition? Those are perfect examples of positive verbalization.
Better your confidence, calmness and serenity by developing a positive mental attitude. Think positively and see the glass half full, visualize your future success and spread positivity to make a giant step towards happiness!
Join the 7 million users already registered on FizzUp
Join us