How do you become more positive? What a question, right? Some of you may be skeptical. It can be a daunting task. I realize there are different perspectives and everyone has their own opinion. The following are some time-proven and some scientific tools you can use to become more positive.
Look for the silver lining
Yes, silver lining. Not the head in the clouds silver lining. I am talking about looking at life with the desire to see the good. Changing what you look for will change what you see. If you buy a new red Mustang, you will find that you see more of them on the road after the purchase. You have made yourself more aware of red Mustangs.
Training your mind to find the good begins with a conscious effort to develop the skill. Your brain can be trained just like your body. Making a decision to search for a positive no matter how small will develop over time into a way of thought. The more you do it the more positive things you can begin to notice and they will also begin to happen quicker.
Keep your chin up
Yep, chin up is a great way to improve your mood and outlook overall. On Cambridge.org they list the definition as “something to say to someone in a difficult situation in order to encourage them to be brave and try not to be sad”.
Most do not realize the accuracy of this statement. The below chart helps show how where you place your eyes affects what area of the brain you are accessing. So in simple terms here when you look up you are accessing or creating the visual pictures in your brain. When your eyes are, to the right or left at ear level you are accessing the auditory portion of the brain. Funny here with ear and auditory. ;0) You will notice that when you are looking down you are accessing your internal dialog and the Kinesthetic or feelings. This is why keeping your chin up is used to help get you out of your feelings and into a more positive creative state of mind. So be conscious of where you are looking when you are feeling sad or anxious. You may need to bring your chin up!
Pause, breathe, believe
Ah, pause. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a pause button for negative thoughts? No work just hit pause. Well since we do not come with pause buttons we have to learn how to pause. Most people do not even realize they are on a negative train of thought right away. The quickest way to recognize what is happening is by how you feel. More often than not if you are feeling sad or anxious you are on a negative train of thought. As soon as you catch it, pause.
Now breathe, yes, breathe. Take a few deep breaths slow and on purpose to slow your mind. If the thoughts continue start listing things you are grateful for. Anything no matter how small you can not be grateful and negative at the same time.
Believe in your ability to find something positive. List out something positive about that moment. You stopped a negative train of thought, is a great positive thought! Now keep going and list as many as you can.
Practice, practice, practice
Y’all all the above are great resources to help become more positive. Each one in its own right will help you accomplish this. However, if you really want to become more positive you will have to make a conscious effort to practice one or all of them daily.
The rewards of less stress and more smiles and happiness are well worth the effort. I would love to hear how you stay positive and how the above strategies worked for you.
Have a blessed day, Y’all,
Peggie Sue | The Midlife Dream Life Coach
