“We become what we think about.” – Earl Nightingale

You have heard all the benefits of positive thinking, but try as you might you just cant get into the mindset. You are not alone. This article will give you practical ways to help change your thinking.

When we are stressed, anxious or depressed we tend to use our primitive brain – your fight or flight response. This brain is negative – it needs to always think of the worst possible scenario so it can ‘protect you’. It’s obsessional, it will continue to ruminate on negative thoughts as it thinks by reminding you of the ‘threat’ it will keep you from it. This works for a real-life tangible threat, but not when we are only feeling this threat in our minds eye.

It’s ok that positive thinking doesn’t come naturally. The good news is that It is a habit, and like all habits we can develop it with practice. The more you practice the better you will become at it.

Start small: if you feel you are overly negative in all aspects of your life then trying to change everything in one go will be overwhelming and leave you feeling demotivated, which in turn may achieve the opposite.

“Where intention goes energy flows”- James Redfield 

Think of the areas you would like to change and then choose to focus on one at a time. Having an awareness of what you want to change is the first step.

For example, maybe there is one work colleague who always riles you after coming into contact with them. You decide this is where you want to start, so you set an intention that when you see them you are going to be brighter, smile, and try to see things from their perspective. As is often the case, you meet them and they say something ridiculous to you and all that good intention goes out the window, with you wanting to throw them out after it!

That’s ok, don’t be disheartened that the plan failed. You at least tried and no doubt you will be seeing them again soon so you can try again in your next interaction. Over time with the intention to have a better attitude with this person your subconscious will be working towards this and it will get easier. The key is to start small and then build on your successes.

It can also be helpful to “check in with yourself”. So after every interaction take a few minutes to think if it went to plan, could you have approached things differently, this evaluation will speed up the change.

Another good starting point could be the things you say to yourself, its very difficult to have a positive mindset if you are constantly “beating yourself up emotionally”

“Self Talk is the most powerful form of communication, it either empowers you or defeats you”- Wright Thurston

If you find you are particularly critical of yourself in can be helpful to ask the following question “would I say that to my best friend?” If the answer is no then don’t say it to yourself. If you are lucky enough to have a best friend, then know that they don’t want you to talk like that to their best friend.

What are you feeding your mind?: It’s difficult to stay positive when you are surrounded by negativity. We now have a constant drip feed of news and negative social media stories. What things in your environment bring you down, can you limit their influence?

There are many different resources available to help with a positive change in your mindset.

Gratitude Journals: These journals ask you to identify 3-5 reasons you are thankful within the day, a great way to start the positive thinking habit. Your subconscious mind loves routine and it knows that tomorrow you will be making another entry in your journal, it will start looking out for things you can write about, which slowly reinforces those positive neuropathways in your brain. There are a lot of good gratitude journals available to help you get into this habit but you can also create this yourself with a notepad.

Practising mindfulness: there is a famous Buddhist saying, “meditate for 20mins each day unless you are too busy, then you should meditate for 40mins”. When your mind is busy and you are feeling the pressure the more likely you are to be negative, by taking even 10 minutes to meditate you reduce your stress levels and create some much needed headspace and a better frame of mind. Click here to sample my deep relaxation download.

 

“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change their future by merely changing their attitude.” – Oprah Winfrey

 

Perception is everything! You can create a more positive mindset, it wont happen over night but neuroscience has taught us that thanks to neuroplasticity our brains are constantly being shaped by experience. With every repetition of a thought, we reinforce a neural pathway – and with each new positive thought, we begin to create a new way of being. These small changes, when repeated frequently enough, lead to changes in how our brains work, reinforcing the habit of thinking more positively: https://brainworksneurotherapy.com/what-neuroplasticity.

If you are struggling with negative thoughts or any issues discussed in this blog Contact me or click here to find out more about Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and how it can help you.

Useful Links

 

https://blog.mindvalley.com/the-power-of-positive-thinking/

http://operationmeditation.com/discover/seven-useful-positive-thinking-techniques/

https://anmolmehta.com/how-to-be-positive-thinking/