Walking around with a rain cloud above your head doesn't just affect your mood. Pessimistic and negative thoughts also negatively impact your health, points out the Mayo Clinic. Practicing positive thinking on a regular basis strengthens your immune system, lowers your risk of heart disease and even increases your life span. Harnessing the power of positivity to improve your health and your happiness doesn't require immediate solutions to your life problems. You can start with a few happiness-inducing positive thinking exercises.
Be a Thought Detective
If you're prone to pessimism, you may not even realize how many negative thoughts you have throughout the day. Take one day to note every instance of worry and every negative thought or emotion. Pay attention to how long you allow yourself to dwell on the bad. Your thoughts, not the situations attached to them, determine your positivity.
Seek and Destroy
Reversing a streak of pessimism takes a little mental fine-tuning. One strategy involves neutralizing your negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Each time you have a negative thought, recognize it, stop dwelling on it and replace it with a positive thought. For example, if you're worrying about one bad day at work, stop yourself and think about all the productive, enjoyable days you've had instead. With enough practice, seeing the positive instead of the negative will come naturally.
Start Your Own Internal Cheering Section
Negative thinking often comes with a side of self-berating. Constant criticism, name-calling and unkind thoughts toward yourself can hurt just as much as if they came from your friends and family. Take a kind and gentle approach to your own self-criticism. In other words, "Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else," advises the Mayo Clinic.
Build an External Cheering Section
Misery loves company. If you find yourself constantly surrounded by negative people, it's easier to fall in step with their pessimistic ways. Instead, surround yourself with positive people who inspire you to improve your outlook on life. Work together to support and encourage each other -- and to have more fun!
Rev Up Your Gratitude
Practicing gratefulness and focusing on the positive aspects of your life and your personality boost your mood, according to "Live Your Life Well" from Mental Health America. Keep a list or journal of people, experiences and thoughts that make you happy. Tell the people in your life how much you appreciate them. Take stock of the good in your life on a daily basis.
Dwell on Joy
Mental Health America recommends wallowing -- but not in despair. Instead, spend extra time in your happy moments. Whenever something makes you smile or brings back a happy memory, linger on those thoughts and feelings in the same way that you used to dwell on negative thoughts or worries. Seek out things that make you happy and relish every second of your joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment