7 Steps Towards Positive Thinking
Your thoughts affect your actions, and harnessing the power of positive thinking can help you live your best life. When you live and breathe a positive attitude, it trickles into your day-to-day routine, your relationships and your career.
While changing your mindset is a little daunting, it can be as simple as having a positive thought of the day. If you need helping hand, we’ve got seven steps towards positive thinking, to help you along the way.
1. Start with a gratitude journal
One way to focus on everyday positivity is to create a gratitude journal; writing is a great way to look back on all the things we are grateful for, and it can make us happier. Writing a daily journal couldn’t be simpler. Every night, jot down a few bullet points under the following headlines.
- Things to be grateful for today – Look at the events of the day and list out all the things you can be grateful for.
- Things to be thankful for – Long term things in life that you can say ‘I am thankful for’.
2. Take time for yourself
It may seem obvious, but me-time can support positive thinking. And no, this doesn’t mean vegetating in front of the TV but making time for yourself every week.
For example, you can be unhappy if you hate your job and all you do is work. Begin to look forward to taking time out for yourself to read that book you never got around to or start attending that local spin class each week. (See also: why connecting to nature is good for you and mood lifting exercises you can do at home.)
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3. Goal setting
Positive thinking goes hand-in-hand with smart goal setting. Plus, goal setting can empower you and generate new ideas. When starting your goals planner, it’s important to write down the ideal situation, determine its importance, craft clear-cut goals, a target date to complete this, and then take the small steps to achieve them.
4. Trust the process
Going through changes can be challenging to adjust to. But, if you trust in the process, you can soon start to reap the benefits. It’s not about making drastic changes to your lifestyle, but small, manageable steps with a little bit of patience. Even when the negative niggles come along, it’s essential to believe in the process; otherwise, you may set yourself back. (Check out 6 books that can awaken your positive potential.)
5. Deal with negative thoughts
Sometimes it is impossible to stop or control negative thoughts and pushing these aside can make things worse. For example, you might find yourself taking things to heart, beating yourself up over a setback or having a gloomy view of the future. It's important to open up your thoughts and not keep them inside. Try and talk to a loved one or write your feelings down, sharing your feelings can help to clear negativity of yourself. (See 7 ways to clear negative emotions here.)
6. Surround yourself with positive people
It may come with some difficult decisions, but if you surround yourself with positive people, can help you feel positive. Look to the people who already inspire you — your mom, your best friends, your partner — and think about what it is in them that you admire. Do they share their happiness? Are they there when times are tough? The more you place these positive people in your surroundings, the more you’ll see the world differently.
7. Live in the moment
Everyone worries from time to time, whether it be about family, work or your love life, we place a significant focus on the future. But if you take a step back, enjoy every moment, reflect on positive times, or even have a social media detox or meditate, you can truly be in the now.
These small but practical steps to mindful living in the moment can help to lead to bright, successful futures, as you begin to recognize the possibilities and seize the opportunities of today.
