Sometimes having positive thoughts can become quite difficult especially when we are going through a rough patch. However, thinking positive thoughts can actually even out or get rid of negative things that are happening in our lives. Knowing how to correct your thoughts will be of great benefit.
Lindsay Holmes gives you some great tips.
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” — William Shakespeare
When something goes horribly wrong, our emotions hardly feel like a choice. It’s logical to feel upset, angry or guilty about a negative situation, so it only makes sense to react accordingly, right?
Not entirely. Research suggests that our happiness is more of a choice than purely influenced by circumstance. And as the Shakespeare quote above implies, the nature of our situations may just be determined by how we categorize them. In other words, a negative attitude may appear to be the logical reaction, but that doesn’t mean we have to adopt one.
It isn’t hard to be one of those people who looks on the bright side of life, but it might take some practice. In honor of Positive Thinking Day, below are six tips for becoming a more glass-half-full kind of thinker.
Don’t be a Pollyanna.
Despite popular belief, positive thinkers don’t always see the world through rose-colored glasses. Part of effectively adopting this mindset is training yourself to become a realistic optimist, says positivity expert Joffrey Suprina, Ph.D., dean of the College of Behavioral Sciences at Argosy University.
“Many people think that positive thinkers only look at the good side and ignore everything else,” he tells The Huffington Post. “But if you go too much in that direction, there’s a potential for harm as well. Positive thinkers really are individuals who recognize both the bright side and the negative, but they choose to focus their energy and time on the side that’s going to promote the most positive outcome.”
Practice awareness.
The difference between those who see the positive over the negative also lies in their observations. Suprina says positive-minded individuals squash the ANTs, or automatic negative thoughts, as soon as they start to appear.
“Most negative thoughts aren’t conscious, we’re not even aware of them,” he explains. “Positive thinkers are aware of those messages they’re telling themselves and the direction they’re taking them. They don’t go down that rabbit hole of negativity — they catch it and reverse it around.”
Avoid labeling your thoughts.
“In order to achieve this type of thought process, we also need to let go of judgment,” says Suprina. “In our society we have this tendency to label something as either good or wrong [so quickly].”
Image credit: HD Wallpapers 3d
Get the rest of the tips, Huffington Post
