Having a positive attitude can have a big impact on your life. According to studies, it can make you feel happier and make you more resilient. And potentially, it may also be able to help you live longer too! If you’ve had a negative attitude for a while, it can feel like a massive challenge to turn that around and be a more positive person. With a few mental shifts, it’s more achievable than you might think. Here are some tips for getting and keeping a more positive attitude.
Recognize that change starts with you
A lot of us feel that life is something that happens to us, which can make you feel as though luck is a big factor in how it plays out.
Realizing that you actually have much more control of your future is a mental shift that is super important for maintaining a positive attitude.
Change starts with you - if you believe something is possible, there’s a much bigger chance that it will happen. And if you don’t believe it’s possible? You’re not likely to take any steps toward change and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Any changes you want to make to your health and well-being all start with your mindset.
Know that you’re enough
Accepting who you are and not comparing yourself to other people is a big part of having a positive attitude. Those ultra-confident people you’ve been secretly envious of are probably not as super-confident as you think. What they do have in bundles is self-acceptance.
We all have different things to offer to the world and finding ways to embrace this can help you to move past the negative mindset that usually comes with feeling inadequate about yourself. Positive affirmations can be a great way to encourage your mind to recognize that you are definitely enough.
Switch negative thinking for positive
Negative thinking is one of the hardest things to change but it’s also one of the most important shifts to make for a positive attitude. If negative thought patterns have become second nature to you, you might not even be aware of just how negative and self-destructive your thoughts are.
Isolating your thoughts is the first step, and mindfulness can be great for this. You might find that within your negative thoughts, you tend to repeat a few more often than others and pass judgment on yourself with specific bits of self-talk. Whenever you find yourself talking negatively to yourself, try to stop it in its tracks and turn it around into much more positive self-talk.
Start the day off right
How you start off the day can help you to get off on a positive note for the rest of it. Positive affirmations along the lines of “This is going to be a good day” can put you in the right mindset. Morning rituals can also include eating a healthy and filling breakfast, drinking a glass of warm water and lemon to get your digestion going, and doing gentle stretching exercises to improve your circulation. Spending a bit of time on these every morning can be a game changer for a more positive start to the day, even if you find that you have to get up a little earlier to make it happen.
Find enjoyment in the little things
We often rely on the big things to trigger happiness but you’re more likely to find contentment if you look for positives and enjoyment in the smaller things in life. Instead of believing that money and a great career will bring you joy and fulfillment, switch focus and get into the habit of appreciating the things around you. From the sights and sounds of nature to enjoy a calming cup of tea, there are lots of opportunities to enjoy small moments that can help you to feel more content with life.
Gratitude can be really good for helping you to look deeper and turn negatives into positives. When you’re faced with a stressful situation or just one that isn’t going as you planned, dig deep and flip things around to find a silver lining that you can express gratitude for. Even in a traffic jam, you can find a positive such as being thankful for a chance for some “chill” time to relax, for example.
Smile a lot
How often do you smile on an average day? If it’s not a lot, you’re missing out on chances to release some feel-good brain chemicals, including serotonin. Smiling sets the scene for genuine happiness so even if you don’t feel happy right now, making sure to smile can change that. Even a fake smile can do this, according to studies.
Look for opportunities to learn and grow
How do you tend to feel when things don’t go to plan? If you usually feel that it’s a sign that life isn’t fair, try reframing your thinking. Instead of asking why these kinds of things always happen to you, switch it up and ask what you can learn from the fact that it did happen. How can it help you to grow as a person, for example? In this way, you can turn failures and mistakes into opportunities to learn and develop.
Surround yourself with positive people
Another top tip for maintaining a positive attitude involves the people you surround yourself with in your day-to-day life. Be honest with yourself here and ask if the people around you are really inspiring you to be positive or helping to drag you down and reinforce negative thinking. If it’s more the former than the latter, you might want to rethink the company you keep and look for people who can help you to project positive energy.
Be Well and Fabulous!
CEO Charmaine Fuller, HHC
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