Positive Thinking: The Need
To Eliminate Negative Self Talk
Positive
Thinking helps reduce stress, improvese health
and leads to more happiness - Examples and Exercises
provided
There's
been a lot said about positive thinking, that
it can not only reduce stress but can also bring
miracles and help people overcome cancer and other
medical and non-medical setbacks.
How
you think and see the world will ultimately have
an impact on your life and health. If you're positive
you'll likely have a happier life, better health
and enjoy more success.
A
negative attitude or a negative perspecitve can
lead to greater struggles financially, mentally,
and physically. |
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I'm
not just saying this, science is now proving that positive
thinking, your overall attitude and how you see the world
has a direct impact on your life.
The
kind of positive thinking that results from being optimistic
helps you manage stress better, improves your healh and
allows you to overcome many setbacks quickly and easily.
The
negative thinking that comes from being pessimistic doesn't
help you cope with stress and will likely create more
of that stress.
If
you think you're the pessimistic type, don't worry, you
can turn things around - here's how
Positive Thinking:
How It Works
Positive
thinking is about seeing the positive situation in your
life and in the world. That doesn't mean you ignore negative
events and don't prepare for the future. It's not about
thinking that everything is going to be wonderful and
no harm will ever come to you.
You
have to be realistic and learn from past events that didn't
work out for you.
Positive
thinking means that you focus on finding solutions, approach
those negative events a little differently and focus on
having the best work out for you instead of always looking
at the worst. You want to aim to see the glass as half
full and not half empty.
So
when you encounter unpleasant situations, you approach
them differently and deal with them in a more productive
and positive way.
Positive
thinking starts with your thoughts and your personal self-talk.
These are the endless words and thoughts that you say
to yourself throughout the day. These thoughts and words
seem automatic. Some come from applying logic and reason,
while others come from your perceptions, judgements, and
interpretations based on a lack of information. It's this
kind of self talk that is often negative and create some
serious damage and lead to more stress.
When
you have more negative thoughts than positive thoughts
then your outlook on life is likely to be pessimistic
and you'll end up in more negative situations. You'll
have more struggle and pain.
If
you're thoughts are positive, then you're most likely
an optimist and you probably practice positive thinking
daily. You'll enjoy life more and won't have as much stress
to deal wtih.
Benefits of Positive
Thinking
Over
the past 20 years scientists, researches and Doctors have
been citing the benefits of positive thinking. While most
of these benefits help with your health, positive thinking
can also help improve many areas of your life.
Let's
take a look at how positive thinking can help with your
health, and these benefits have been cited by many in
the medical field:
-
Lower
levels of stress
- Stronger
Immune systems
- Easily
able to recover from surgery and other medical setbacks
- Longer
life span
- More
prone to be happy
- Less
likely to be depressed
- Stronger
hearts and reduce risks of heart disease
- Better
able to overcome setbacks in life
- Better
mental ability
- Overall
better physical health
There's
no clear explanation for why people who practice positive
thinking enjoy the above benefits but researchers feel that
having a positive outlook just helps you better cope with
things and focus on solutions instead of magnifying problems.
They're just better able to manage stress and setbacks than
those who are more pessmisitic. Also, people who are optimistic
are usually more active physically and as a result, will
tend to be healthier and live longer. They also tend to
eat better, avoid alcohol, sugars and are non-smokers, all
of which helps them enjoy better health.
Stop the Negative Thinking
Negative
thinking and negative self-talk can really make life miserable.
Most people don't even realize how much negative self-talk
they have. Here are some common examples of negative self-talk:
- Thinking
of the worst: When ever something happens or
if you're planning something or getting ready to make
a change, complete a project, go out, etc. you automatically
think of the worst. Something as simple as running into
a little traffic makes you think that the worse is going
to happen, that your boss will fire you for being late
or that you'll have a miserable day
- Magnifying:
You magnify the worst and overlook or ignore the positive
in situations. For example: you get a project completed
at work on time, your boss pats you on the back and your
colleagues compliment you. You get some feedback and someone
suggests something that could have been slightly better.
Instead of appreciating all the positive comments you
recieved, you focus on the one little thing that didn't
go so well and that's all you think about the rest of
the day and evening
- Take
everything personally: When something goes wrong
or doesn't work out you take it personally and you blame
yourself for it, even if someone acknowledges that it
wasn't your fault. For example: You're meeting a friend
for dinner and they have to re-schedule. Instead of just
re-scheduling and moving on, you think they changed the
time and/or place because they didn't want to see you.
Or if you're with friends and the waiter gets the dishes
wrong, you think it's your fault because you changed what
you ordered
- It's
either black or white: There's no grey area,
things are either one way or another. They're either good
or bad (and you see most as bad), they're black or white.
There's no middle ground. You have to have everything
perfect or it's no use
These
kinds of negative self-talk and negative thinking don't
allow you to enjoy life, and they create more stress which
has a negative impact on your health. You need to change
this kind of negative self-talk to positive self-talk.
Apply Positive Thinking
The
sooner you turn negative thinking into positive thinking,
the better and it's a lot easier to do than you think, it
just takes some time, and practice. After all, you're changing
they way you think and creating a new habit - which takes
time. Here are some things that you can do to be more positive
and optimistic:
- Find
the thoughts that need to change: If you want
to be more optimisitic and engage in positive thinking
you first need to find out where you are most negative,
and identify the negative thought patterns that need to
be changed. For example: you might be negative at work,
so track your thoughts, identify the negative thoughts
and replace them with positive thoughts. Start with one
area and work on replacing those negative thoughts every
day. Then move on to another area and so on
- Laugh
and have fun: Laugh at yourself and try to laugh
at other things as much as you can. Laughter will reduce
the stress and help eliminate the negativity. Find humor
in things, even when they don't work out the way you want.
You can either laugh or cry, choose to laugh. Do something
you enjoy just for the fun of it - it will make the day
much more pleasant
- Eat
Better, Be Healthy: Choose to eat healthy foods
and exercise regularly. The mind and body are connected.
A health body leads to a health mind which leads to less
stress and a better quality of life
- Randomly
Track your thoughts: throughout the day catch
yourself thinking. Ask yourself if your thoughts are positive
or negative. If you're having some negative thoughts,
change them to positive thoughts. This kind of habit leads
to positive thinking sooner
- Practice
Positive Self Talk: Choose to speak positive
words to yourself and choose to have positive thoughts.
Start slowly, and be kind to yourself. Use gentle words
and when you find yourself saying something negative,
change it to something positive. Try working with affirmations,
when done correctly this can help develop the kind of
positive thinking you want
- Choose
Positive People: Surround yourself with positive
people. If you've been negative for a while, you'll find
that you have a lot of negative people around you. So
start surrounding yourself with positive people. They'll
help you stay positive and give you the kind of advice
that will help you in life. Negative people don't help
you and will make life more difficulty or increase your
stress levels.
Here are some
examples of negative self-talk, negative thoughts and how
you can apply positive thinking to them
| Negative
Self Talk |
Positive
Thinking |
| I
can never do this |
I
can do this and I can find a way to do this |
| I
don't know how |
I
can learn, I can do anything |
| It's
too hard |
There's
an easy way, and I'll find it |
| I'm
not smart enough |
I
am smart and I can find a solution |
| I'm
too tired |
This
is important and I can get this done now |
| I've
never done this before |
There's
always a first time, I can learn anything |
| It
will never work |
It
can work and I can find a way to make it work |
| I'll
do it tomorrow |
I'll
start today and get this done on time |
| There's
too much to do |
Let's
start with the important things and get this done one
at a time |
Engage in Positive
Thinking Every Day
To
get better at positive thinking you have to practice every
day. If you have a lot of negative thoughts and if you're
pessimistic you can develop positive thinking and the
kind of optimism that leads to a better life, it's just
going to take some time and practice, so be patient.
As
you practice positive thinking daily, you won't be so
negative, you won't be so hard on yourself, and you'll
see your self-talk go from negative to positive. You'll
also find your stress levels dropping and you'll be able
to cope with challenges much better. You'll also see the
world as a better place. Your new positive attitude will
improve your mood and also help those around you be more
positive.
You'll
have a more positive outlook and you'll be able to handle
stress better which will lead to better overall health,
which is one of the most powerful benefits of positive
thinking.
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