The “power of positive thinking” is a popular concept; sometimes it can feel a little cliché. But the physical and mental benefits of positive thinking have been demonstrated by multiple scientific studies. Positive thinking can give you more confidence, improve your mood, and even reduce to 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?
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 things and being more positive, you’ll need concrete examples to help you through the process.
Start the day with positive affirmation.
How you start the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Instead of letting negative thoughts dominate you, start your day by telling yourself with statements like, “Today will be a good day” or “I’m going to be awesome today.” You’ll be amazed how much your day improves.
Focus on the good things, however small.
Almost invariably, you’re going to encounter obstacles throughout the day – there’s no such perfect day. When you encounter such a challenge, focus on the benefits, no matter how slight or unimportant they seem. For example, if you get stuck in traffic, think about how you now have time to listen to your favorite radio station.
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.
Turn failures into lessons.
You aren’t perfect. You’re going to make mistakes and experience failure in multiple contexts, at multiple jobs and with multiple people. Instead of focusing on how you failed, think about what you’re going to do next time – turn your failure into a lesson.
Transform negative self-talk into positive self-talk.
Negative self-talk can creep up easily and is often hard to notice. You might think “I’m so bad at this” or “I shouldn’t have tried that.” When you catch yourself doing this, stop and replace those negative messages with positive ones.
Focus on the present.
Most sources of negativity stem from a memory of a recent event or the exaggerated imagination of a potential event. Stay in the present moment.
Find positive friends, mentors, and co-workers.
When you surround yourself with positive people, you’ll hear positive outlooks, positive stories, and positive affirmations. Do what you can to improve the positivity of others, and let their positivity affect you the same way.
