One of the most important parts of living a happy life is positive thinking. You need to maintain a positive mindset each and every day, because a positive mindset will help you overcome challenges, stay motivated towards your goals, appreciate the great moments, and wake up every moment happy to be alive.
But time, upbringing, experiences, and society have a tendency to take the positivity out of you, and replace it with cynicism and negativity. For those that are cynics, the idea of regaining a positive mindset seems impossible or foolish. But it really is possible, provided you commit to techniques that increase positive thinking.
An incredible strategy for overcoming negativity is to fake positivity. Faking positivity involves acting like you think a positive person acts from morning to night, each and every day. It'll feel unnatural, but the mind actually has a way of adapting to the way you act. It's why some actors start taking on the personas of the characters they play in a movie. Faking positivity, as long as you fake it genuinely like an actor or actress, really can have an amazing impact.
Positivity is also contagious. It's hard to choose your friends, but often if you find yourself with negative people you'll also start experiencing that same negativity. Ideally, try your best to find the most amazing, positive, happy friends that you can, and if you spend time with them their outlook will rub off on you.
Another strategy that many people enjoy is writing in a journal designed specifically to be a place where you share only positive thoughts. The challenge is to make sure that you write at least 10 new and interesting thoughts per day. Ideally, you write based on your experiences throughout the day. If you commit to this strategy, your mind will start to notice the positive things as they happen because it wants to put it in the journal.
Even though exercise and fitness don't seem like something that affects your emotions, the reality is that exercise actually has some amazing qualities that can help with positive thinking. Exercise increases "good mood neurotransmitters" while also burning away stress hormones. It also is a positive coping tool that often helps you feel better about yourself as well. If you're not regularly exercising yet, it is something you should strongly consider.
Goal setting and achievement are also an incredibly valuable way to maintain a positive mindset. You need to learn to set realistic goals that you are truly passionate about and learn what it takes to reach them, but setting and achieving realistic goals is a great tool for becoming a more positive person about your day to day life.
If you want to get started learning more about how to get a positive mindset, contact me today. I offer life coaching services in both Calgary and Canmore that can teach you how to become a more positive, happy person.