Its Time Once Again for Great Moments in Positive Thinking
Jump to section What is positive thinking? 10 benefits of positive thinking 5 tips to start "thinking positive" How to identify negative thinking 2 examples of positive thinking Switching mindsets When you're feeling down, the last thing you want to hear is that glass half full metaphor. What's that supposed to do for you? It can seem like there's no benefit to positive thinking at that moment. You're disappointed because you want the full glass. And you don't have it. Or, maybe you feel like your glass doesn't exist at all. It's broken, stolen, shattered, someone else's. Angry, frustrated, disappointed, sad, afraid — you need to spend some time with those negative feelings. The key is to acknowledge them, then move on. Life is complicated and can be hard. When someone tells you to "cheer up" or "think positive," it can seem pretty tone-deaf. Relentless positivity without reality rarely helps. That's why toxic positivity has given positive thinking a bad rap. While it may not work any immediate miracles, positive thinking that acknowledges reality can benefit us all in the long run. Hope and growth are good for your health. Some people are more optimistic than others, but that doesn't mean you can't learn to see the opportunities and silver linings in life. The first thing to know about positive thinking is that it doesn't mean that you ignore facts or logic or force yourself to have only positive emotions. That's not realistic. Positive thinking means that you approach negative news or stressful situations with a positive outlook. You're able to look beyond the crisis or setback rather than being consumed by it. You may have to acknowledge and process the negative aspects, but you understand that you will get through it. You know that bad news doesn't mean the entire world is bad or that you will never experience goodness again. A positive thinker assumes best intentions from others and interprets actions more favorably rather than jumping to negative thoughts and assuming the worst. A positive thinker can visualize good outcomes. Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. The thoughts running through our heads never end. Some may be from clear facts and unbiased, but many have a positive or negative outlook. If you practice more negative self-talk and think about all the downsides, you're probably more of a pessimist. But that's not to say we can't change our behavior to adopt a more positive mindset. It takes some effort, but after you practice consciously adopting a more positive approach, your brain will form new ways of thinking. Some optimists work hard to combat their negative emotions, but negative thought patterns can be changed with mindfulness and self-compassion. Why is it important to have a positive mindset? The power of positive thinking can impact your physical and mental health. The health benefits of positive thinking may surprise you, too. Read over this list of 10 benefits that positive thinking can bring your well-being, and think about how they could impact your life: We all want to reap the benefits of positive thinking, but sometimes we need help getting started. A BetterUp coach will help guide you towards practicing more positive self-talk. Start experiencing what it feels like to have a coach that's focused on your growth with BetterUp. Having a positive attitude takes practice. If you struggle with positive thinking, know that you can't completely change how you practice self-talk overnight. It can be challenging for people who have more pessimistic thoughts to change their habits of thought. It's important to understand that sometimes you'll slip back into thinking negative thoughts, but that's okay. What matters is that you're trying to empower yourself to have a more positive mindset by becoming aware of your automatic negative thoughts and reframing them to be more positive. Becoming aware lets you question your negative automatic thoughts. Many coaches recommend some version of these questions to ask of your thoughts: Here are five more tips to help you start thinking positively: You can be grateful for many things in your life, both big and small, like having your family close by or the rain holding off during your walk to work. Write down whatever you're grateful for and keep it in a gratitude journal. When you're feeling pessimistic or upset, reflect on what you're thankful for in your life to boost your mood. Are you getting enough sleep each night, or at least trying to? Being well-rested sets you up for a better day. It helps us recharge and get our tasks done. Dwelling on how tired you are won't help your attitude, either. Your self-talk will be filled with wanting to get your day over with impatient thoughts, so try developing a good nightly routine that prioritizes your sleep schedule. If you're in a negative situation, there's no sense in being in denial and pretending it never happened. For example, if your brother has taken the car and you have to walk to an appointment, reframe the situation: this gives you the chance to get some exercise and fresh air. Understand your locus of control. Accept what you can't change and do your best to think of the positives instead. Is there one particular situation or environment that makes you incredibly pessimistic? If you can identify areas that throw off your positive outlook on things, you can start to work on strategies that'll help. It can be something like your commute to work that gives you negative thoughts. Try to have fun with the challenge. Next time, create a fun playlist of music to put on when you head to work. Avoid people or places that really drain your energy, and try spending more time with positive people. When you try your best to find humor in your daily life, it helps you look on the bright side. It also enables you to cope with stress and reduce your heart rate. If you can't laugh, then at least smile. Laughing along with yourself can help you accept any mistakes and calm yourself down. If you need to, watch a funny video or phone a friend that can make you laugh. Negative thinking can creep up on us in a few different ways. If you're used to practicing negative self-talk, you may not even realize when you're doing it. It becomes automatic and actually creates cognitive bias in how we view the world. Here are two examples of when negative thinking can happen: When you're met with a difficult situation, you may only see the downside. You might automatically filter out all of the positive aspects and only focus on the bad things. When we forget about positive affirmations, we forget that we're capable and have some control in our lives. We also forget to look for humor in a situation. There may be positive thoughts attached to the situation, but you can't see them because you're too focused on the negative ones. Negative thinking can happen when you polarize everything that happens to you right away. Things can only be good or bad with nothing in between. When we're experiencing anything from new changes or something from our usual routine, they're perceived as positive or negative. Either things work out just as you wanted, or everything is a failure and a waste of time. This isn't reality. Life is shades of gray and most outcomes have a mix of highs and lows. Both are opportunities for learning how to improve the next round. Positive thinking helps you change your attitude towards whatever situation or environment you're in. Read these two examples of positive thinking and imagine how a change in attitude and perspective could impact the experience: Your coworker just called in sick, but their work still has to be completed to meet the deadline. You've never done their job before, and you're worried you'll fail and ruin the entire project. Rather than spiraling into thinking the worst, you see this as an opportunity. Your team needs you, and you get to learn new skills, work with new people, and experience the tasks that your coworker handles. You might nail it, or you might just get by, and either is ok. You're invited to a friend's party. A few of your mutual friends were supposed to go, but they canceled at the last minute. You show up to the party and only know the host, making you feel awkward and bored. Rather than feeling like a socially-awkward loser or feeling resentful toward your friends who canceled, you accept that you don't know many people here and feel grateful for seeing your friend on their birthday. You focus on your friend's special moment and do your best to meet new people. Remember: You grow when you are uncomfortable. Why wait when it comes to learning how to practice more positive thinking? Start experiencing what it's like to have a BetterUp coach that will help guide you in the direction of positive self-talk that makes you enjoy life even more. We'll help you train yourself out of your self-sabotaging negativity to be your best self and meet your goals unhindered.
What is positive thinking?
10 benefits of positive thinking
5 tips to start "thinking positive"
1. Remember to be grateful
2. Get plenty of sleep
3. Accept situations as they are
4. Identify areas you need to work on
5. Remember to laugh
How to identify negative thinking
Filtering out the positive thoughts
Polarizing our thoughts and reactions
2 examples of positive thinking
Trying something new
Getting out of your comfort zone
Switching mindsets
Published April 12, 2022
Source: https://www.betterup.com/blog/positive-thinking-benefits
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