“I love my negative life,” said no one ever.
And if you knew how powerful those negative thoughts were, you’d never look back and positive thoughts would be your bible. Luckily, positive thoughts are not as hard as you think and take you mighty far if you’re willing.
There are a lot of advantages for someone who is a positive thinker. Being able to deal with the world and your surroundings can be overwhelming and exhausting. But as humans, we have very powerful minds – so powerful that even neuroscientists don’t know that much about how our brains actually work. If you learn how to have a positive mindset, then life becomes not only easier, but happier too.
Here are a few ways that positive thoughts shape your life for the better and how to implement them into your life:
You learn to catch your negative thoughts:
Once you get a grasp of how to catch your thoughts, you’re able to have less adn less ‘problem’ thoughts, aka negative thoughts. When you begin reducing the negative thoughts, it reduces the negative beliefs you hold within you and the negativity you experience from life lessens as well. In addition, when you’re conscious of the thoughts you are having, you are able to understand what you need. A great tool for learning to be aware of your thoughts is meditation. When you take the time to silence your thinking for ten minutes a day, you become more aware and sensitive of what you’re actually thinking and then can take charge.
Another way to recognize your negative thoughts and reduce them is by paying attention to your mood. Our emotions are very telling in what’s going on in our heads and, incase you didn’t know already, your thoughts contribute to your emotions. When your negative thoughts arise and your mood changes, it’s a great reminder to ask yourself what exactly is running through your head. In those moments, you can ask yourself if a) those thoughts are even true, and b) if this way of thinking is serving you right now. Chances are, both are a no.
You can then release them, there’s nothing more to do once you invalidate them. You persevere and elevate a little bit with every negative thought you catch and toss out. It takes work, but it’s always worth it – it’s not like you’re going to stop thinking anytime soon, so what do you have to lose?
You naturally become happier:
When you have less negativity running through your head, you have less negativity in your life. Which, therefore, helps you become naturally happier. It’s literally just a shift in your vibration – but a big enough of a shift to cancel the thoughts holding you back and move towards a cleaner slate and what is meant for you. You’re no longer putting those vibes out there and therefore the Universe isn’t handing you more of them either. Of course, thoughts will always continue to arise – but it’s about recognizing and making a choice.
You naturally grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually:
You choose to spend your time doing what you love and staying away from the things that you don’t like. When you develop a positive mindset from the inside out, you’ll be naturally removing people/things/experiences from your life that no longer resonate or suit you. Growth is like putting old things into boxes and giving them away to make room for things that are coming. If you’re stalling, then you’re not growing. Pick up positive habits that are, a) good for you and b) you enjoy, a combination of the magic recipe.
Your mind and body become healthier:
Being a negative thinker can be absolute turmoil to your health. On the upside, positive thoughts can help you physically, emotionally, and mentally thrive. When you choose to be positive and happy, your body reflects your brain. If you think positively, then you’ll feel good. When you feel good, you’ll do more good for yourself such as eating healthier or getting exercise.
A good way to get good thoughts into your head is by finding and repeating affirmations that your soul resonates with. I knowt this seems like a cliche as that seems like a joke for some people. But here’s the gist babygirl: beliefs are your reality (are they not?), and your repeated thoughts create those beliefs. Repeated thoughts are sometimes layered DEEP in you. Frankly, affirmations make your job easier because all you have to do is repeat them a few times a day every day. What’s the worst that can happen besides that fact that you spend an entire minute reciting affirmations? Obviously, however, only good things come from this one. Who doesn’t want to love themselves and have their body reflect it?
You see things clearly:
Clarity is your next best friend! What an advantage it is that we get to implement our emotions with clarity? Here’s the thing – clarity lies IN your emotions. If you want to read more about this and what that means, check out my article here, Emotions Are Your Emotional Guidance System. Long story-short, your emotions direct you to exactly what’s going on within you. If you’re sad, you won’t come out of that sadness until you deal with it head on – otherwise it will plant its wound in your becoming your inner-wound, affecting others aspects of your life, until you deal with it.
BUT – when you develop positive thoughts, you’re able to see things from a bigger picture. You recognize that your positive thoughts are in alignment of your soul. And your soul has all the clarity your human-self is in search of. Connet with your soul and the clarity will appear.
Something that is really important to remember here is that, when you are choosing to over negative with positive thoughts, you need to resonate with those positive thoughts or they will just slide passed and not make a dent.
That’s why I suggest picking affirmations that resonate with you – because they have a deeper meaning for you and you’re soul is already connected to it even if your human self has a hard time believing it (at least for now.)
Positive thoughts are encouraged all day every day, but don’t confuse that with denial. At the end of the day, we have to deal with our emotions and negative thoughts proactively so they can actually release them. And for the thoughts that are deeply layered from years and years of your life, it may take more practice.
There are more reasons why being a positive thinker is powerful and life-changing. But one thing is for sure; it gives you not only the vision; but also the power to make a change for yourself to get to where and who you want to be.
How to Do it (Positive thoughts, I mean):
Positive thinking is not just for talking the talk. When you learn how this practice can enhance your life, everything changes from the inside out!
Positive thinking is a skill we must learn to develop. Being negative in a negative-driven world can be a lose-lose situation. There are enough hardships to go through in this life for each and every single one of us. Your negative and oftentimes, default thoughts, aren’t doing you any favors either. Luckily, learning how to thinking positively can make a dramatic difference in your life much. It not only reduces the stress in your life but also gives you a sense of purpose and direction in how to deal with anything that comes your way.
But before we can achieve gaining a positive mindset, we have to first understand how to get out of our own way about it.
Here are my six practices for reducing negativity and increasing positivity:
Get rid of the negativity:
This is the first and most important step, whether they are things or people, whatever makes you feel negative – ask yourself why you feel that way and then honor yourself by letting it go. There’s a lot of people and things out there that can trigger us, and those triggers are there to help us work through our own inner work. But sometimes, certain things just do make us feel really negative and we have to learn how to reduce those feelings into our life which often begins with reducing those people or things that are part of the problem. For example, I once had an ex who did something to make me feel less than, so I erased his butt out of my life so I no longer had to deal with that. I still worked on my own inner-work so I wouldn’t be triggered again, but I sure am not opening the door to that if I can help it. Here’s where positive thinking can come in handy: “I deserve better,” then follow through.
Surround yourself with positive and happy people:
Positive thinking gets even easier when you’re around the right people. This goes hand-in-hand with step one; when you finally lose the negativity, you make room to pick up the positivity. This took me a while to figure out, but once I did, I realized the impact it had on me. I also realized that life is too short to be hanging out with people that only bring you down, and I want to have the most fulfilling life that I can possibly achieve.
Start your day with a positive thought:
This is the secret to your best day! Start your day with a rampage of all positive thoughts, then go from there and be delighted about how the Universe works in your favor! Wake up each day and tell yourself “today is going to be a really great day” and, “this breakfast tastes amazing,” or, “I love being able to brush my teeth and make them sparkly white.” Whatever it is that makes you feel good – acknowledge it! Start out your day with any positive thought and go from there, you will be amazed as to how this impacts the rest of your day. Eventually, you will automatically pick up this habit and it will have very pleasant surprises for you!
Practice self-praise:
When was the last time you gave yourself a compliment? This is the moment where you can change everything, instead of saying; “I look terrible today” replace it with; “even though I only got 3 hours of sleep, I still look damn good”. While listening to a TED talk, I heard Amy Cuddy say, “fake it til you become it”. I treasure this advice and use it every single day. This works, which is why I’m telling you about it. What’s the worst that can happen if you try it? I once told myself I am worthy one hundred times just to see my mood shift on a whole new level – that was more for fun but turned out even better than that.
Think of failure as an obstacle forward and a lesson learned:
More often than not we are bashing ourselves for anything and everything. Whether it is not doing well on an exam or whether you forgot to do something at work, do not automatically resent yourself for it. Think of it as an obstacle or as a lesson learned and then move on. What did it trigger in you? How can you shed some light on it (and from a place of love)? What’s your truth – the shadow or the light? Then move on!
Be grateful:
I have mentioned this in my previous post, How to be Happy in 5 Simple Steps, and that is because I think this is a really important (and easy) habit for everyone to pick up. This barely takes any time at all, wake up, say your thanks, and go on about your day. Practice fully stepping into those grateful vibes, the Universe doesn’t pick up on your fake vibrations – only the real ones. So don’t fake your gratitude, I’m sure you have plenty of things to add to this list. Beginning, hopefully, with clean water and a bed to sleep in. There, I did some of it for you 🙂
You will be amazed as to how your life will change for the better once you start acknowledging what you already have. As I once heard somewhere, “…you could always have more, but you could also have less.”
I have to admit something, I am extraordinary lucky because I was born with a positive attitude. However, you do not need to be born with something to acquire it. Incorporate these practices into your life and you’re on your way to a happy human who knows how to think positively to benefit themselves!
You may also enjoy:
The Path to Positivity
How to Stay Positive During Difficult Situations
Don’t forget to follow @positivitysparkles on Instagram for the latest posts!
Pingback: Your Guide To Building And Maintaining Healthy Boundaries