9 Easy Ways to Develop A Positive Outlook On Life

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Thinking positively does not mean eradicating negative emotions from your life altogether, as esoteric teachings often advise. Troubles happen anyway, and it is impossible and even harmful to the psyche to forbid reacting to them. However, it is quite possible to find benefits, lessons, and opportunities in the circumstance. Take the example of the American inventor Thomas Edison, who said, “I did not fail. I only learned 10,000 ways that don’t work.”.

The essence of positive thinking is the ability to find a reason for joy at any moment in life and to perceive failures rationally, analyzing the causes and accepting them as valuable experiences.

There are many benefits of positive thinking: you can enjoy life, be interested in new things, be healthy, cheerful, and confident, look good and be successful.

Negative thinking is the lowest level of thinking development. The stronger it is, the more problems a person has in his life. Unlike positive thinking, negative thinking has dangerous consequences. Unwillingness to learn new things and unpreparedness for changes, dissatisfaction with the present, nostalgia for the past, the expectation of the worst, greed, condemnation of others.

A negative-minded person never knows exactly what he wants – he is always dissatisfied with everything.

9 effective methods for positive thinking

So, being an optimist is beneficial. But what to do if you are prone to pessimism? In this case, psychologists have come up with special exercises for the development of positive thinking. We have compiled a list of 9 simple exercises for every day.

1. Use reframing

Reframing is the interpretation of negative situations in a positive way. The positive aspects can be less significant and even absurd – the main thing is to find them at all.

2. Write down positive events that happened during the day

It doesn’t matter how significant they are or in what sphere of life they happened. The more the better, but you should start with at least 3-5. Then indicate what actions led to these events. Exercise instantly raises the mood and develops the habit of paying more attention to positive events.

3. Smile more often

Even a forced smile becomes real after a while and improves your mood. This is the conclusion reached by the American social psychologist Amy Cuddy, author of books on the influence of body language on the formation of positive thinking and personality traits.

4. Free yourself from the past

Most of us will have unpleasant situations from the past that we replay in our heads and emotionally relive them over and over again. This is unnecessary. You can’t change the past, and there’s no reason to carry that kind of weight around with you. Imagine a problem from the past going up in flames, sinking in the ocean, or crashing on impact. Describe what happened on paper and burn or actually drown it. Aloud, or in writing, forgive the offender or yourself.

5. Don’t forbid yourself to experience negativity

Thinking exclusively optimistically is impossible, and trying to do so will lead to more frustration. Speak out the emotions you have and allow yourself to experience them for a length of time.

6. Do something for other people

It can be charity, nice words, or helping colleagues and loved ones. The satisfaction of what has been done, the appreciation of people, and the realization that others may have more serious problems and difficulties, will bring a huge charge of positivity.

7. Practice affirmations

Affirmations are the repetition of positive phrases, for example, “I am lucky in business, I successfully solve work problems.”. Affirmations can be applied not only to something global, but also to specific events in life, such as “I successfully speak at this meeting” or “this business meeting is productive”. If at first, the affirmations seem strange and inappropriate, after dozens of repetitions the brain adapts, begins to believe in what has been said, and tries to find confirmation of it in life.

8. Take a mini-vacation every day

Allocate 30 minutes or an hour every day for something that brings you joy. Walking, meeting friends, reading, playing football, bath with fluffy foam, aromatic tea with cake… During the “vacation” try not to think about pressing matters and problems, enjoy every minute.

9. Analyze

Approach negative events in life with a rational perspective. If trouble has occurred, try to answer the following questions in detail:

• Why did this happen?
• What unrelated factors or your own actions led to this?
• What can be done to resolve the problem?
• What steps should be taken in the very near future?

If you really want it, you can learn to have an optimistic outlook on life. Implement the positive thinking exercises from this article into your daily routine and see what happens.