10 Strategies to Develop Positive Thinking

Being positive does not mean that your life is all apple pies and golf courses. Being positive means that you accept where you are, the situation or the challenge you are faced with, and you do your best to get where you would like to be.

It is true that it takes courage to be positive when everything is negative but being negative has never changed or improved anything, except that it will attract more negative situations.

 We may all experience in our lives tough moments like the loss of a job which may trigger a lot of stress, anger, anxiety and more. That's really ok. All these emotions are very normal. Emotions are not meant to be ignored or suppressed. Emotions are here to guide you to take better decisions in your life not to block you from acting.

Here 10 strategies to Develop positive Thinking that I learned from my journey:

Positive thinking involves a lot of investment and persistence. Embarking on a journey of inner growth requires from you to release your old ways of thinking, and to be ready to embrace new ways and new perspectives as the subconscious mind learns through repetition.

 1.     Have a clear goal every day or a sense of purpose

A mind that wanders has never been a satisfied mind. Have you ever seen someone with a positive attitude who wakes up every day with no plan for the day and no goal to attain?

Clarity of goals will keep you focused, and give you a reason to wake up every morning. When you don't know what you want, you have more chances to be trapped in a negativity and other related emotions like anger, frustration, resentment, jealousy and more.

It is never late to reset everything and start again. What are the top 3 things you would like to achieve or improve? what is the first step you need to take to make things happen?

 2.     Change the way you think

Most people are able to see the trees but not the forest. They look at the symptoms that created their problems but not the roots. If you are struggling with the same issues for many years, then you may need to start observing the causes that are feeding them.

Problems in communication can be just the apparent part of the iceberg but self-esteem can be the cause. To solve this issue, you will have to go deeper and improve the way you communicate with yourself before improving your communication with others.

3.     Focus on the things you can control

 People get trapped easily because they waste their time and energy focusing on the things they cannot control instead of what they can control. You may not control this pandemic, people’s reactions, the loss of your job but you can control your attitude, your nutrition, and your habits. There will always opportunities for those who know how to turn their pain into gain.

What are the things you cannot control in your life that trigger your daily stress?

4.     Transform your negative self-talk into positive self-talk

 There are a lot of self-help techniques that can empower you to turn these negative affirmations into positive ones. Our thoughts can be shifted with intentional focus. To stop these self-talks, you need to stop nurturing them.

Take a challenge and go through this mental diet for at least one week: stop all sorts of negative thoughts, self-blame, gossiping, or criticism. Focus more on the solutions than the problems. Don’t let your mind wander, doubt, or judge.

The aim is to train your mind for more self-control and your will be amazed by the results. It worked for me and it should work for you as well.

5.  Focus on the positive side of things

There is always a positive side of everything even in the most challenging situations. When you focus on what you have rather than on what you don’t have, you enhance your optimism and positivity. Focus gives you a sense of purpose; it is the fuel that will keep you moving in the right direction. But it is easy to get caught in the trap of focusing on negative aspects. It is for  this reason that embracing an optimistic view will help you spot more positive opportunities.

A gratitude map can empower you. Write down at least 20 things you are most grateful for?

 6.     Surround yourself with positive people

Surround yourself with people who share the same values and the same beliefs, people who believe in you and support you, not the ones who install doubt within you. This is not about selfishness but more about self-care. A toxic relation can cause you more pain than anything else.

Make a list of those who drag you down or are simply toxic to you, which one you need to eliminate?

 7.     Learn from failures

We all make mistakes, and we all fail in life. To move on, you need to stop blaming others or yourself for being in that situation and take responsibility, and focus on what you want to achieve and not what you lost. Make plans to be healthier, learn new skills, and simply add value from within you.

What are the 5 mistakes or failures you had during the last three years and what are the learnings?

 8.     Avoid disruption

To avoid disruption, you will have to make a filter all along your way to keep an eye on the things, events, news, content that are in line with your goals, especially in an era where we are bombarded on a daily basis of texts, and messages. When you connect yourself into a channel that reports bad news, murders, rapes, etc., then how can you be positive?

 Observe your habits and try to identity all the sources of your disruption.

9.     Practice Mindfulness

A lot of people are either depressed because they are unable to get detached from what happened in the past or anxious as they are worried about the future. They end up being nowhere. Your life happens now.

Practicing mindfulness on a daily basis will enable you to be in the present moment, and develop mind control to counter your negative thoughts with uplifting ones.

If you are tense at work, mindfulness activity is not trying to stop the mind as this will trigger more tension.

Mindfulness is to stop for a moment and to be aware of that tension. Where do you feel tense? what is the intensity? What are the thoughts behind this tension?

 10.  Forgive others

Forgiveness may not change what happened to you but it will definitely improve your future well-being. Forgiveness is about who you are not about the others. That's why forgiving does not mean that you forget the lesson or allow people back to your life. It just means that you get rid of all negative emotions and move on. Not forgiving will not change anything but forgiveness can improve your life. Who are the people you need to forgive and move on?

 Being positive is the ability to accept where you are and do your best to reach your future destination.

Being positive is about adopting the right attitude even when things go wrong or unexpected.

Being positive is about the willingness to forgive even when you are hurt, and smile when you don't feel like smiling.

Being positive is the ability to look at your challenges and hurdles as opportunities and not setbacks; to embrace adversity to develop more resilience.

Being positive is the capacity to turn your anger into wisdom, your deceptions into learnings and your pain into gains.

Being positive is the inner confidence and trust that things will get better even in the absence of great results.

What was your favorite strategy?

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