Oasis Living Magazine, November 01, 2011
Do you sometimes find it hard to see things positively? Do you often see the negatives before the positives? If this is you, you are not alone. We all find ourselves coping with troubling thoughts from time to time, especially when we are going through turbulent times in our lives. We might feel depressed, anxious, sad, angry, stressed out or just overwhelmed. Our thoughts have a big influence on our mental and physical health. When we “tell” ourselves something about a situation, it affects how we feel as well as how we do.
The good news is that we can choose to change the thoughts that have a direct impact on our attitudes, actions and the outcomes. There are many things in this world and in our lives that we can’t control, such as the weather or the actions of others, but we can always control our thoughts. Positive thinking is a conscious decision.
So, what is positive thinking? According to successconsciousness.com, it is a mental attitude that allows into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success. It is basically training your mind to consciously choose positive and optimistic thoughts – seeing the glass half full rather than half empty. It is to mentally focus on the very best possible outcome for any situation you face. Positive thinking affects our behavior, our well being, our performance and our mood.
Obviously, no one can think positively all the time. Sometimes bad things happen, such as losing a job, having an argument with your husband or wife, or having a car accident. However, after a period of time to absorb the news or to adjust to the new reality, one must reframe and take control of one’s mind and thoughts.
So how can we do that? There are many tools that can help steer us towards a positive attitude. A very effective tool is affirmations, which are simple & free. An affirmation is a short positive statement you say to give yourself a boost. After all, we are what we think.
We use affirmations to get something that we desire. We can say them outloud or in our minds. Although it is something we want in the future, we “pretend” that we have it now, so we always say it in the present tense with the expectation that it will happen. There is no room for doubts or negativity. At first, it can feel a bit awkward, as if we are faking it, but soon you will get the anticipated results.
Affirmations:
I am ……………. I am healthy and loaded with energy! |
Affirmations are also effective when you say them in front of the mirror. The best times to use affirmations are when you first wake up in the morning and just before going to sleep.
To become more aware of our positive and negative thoughts, the Rubber Band tool is very useful:
| Rubber Band: Put a rubber band on your wrist for a few days. Every time you have a negative thought going through your mind, SNAP the rubber band. This will show you how many negative thoughts you have in one day, and help you to become more conscious of your thoughts. The aim is to decrease the number of times you snap the rubber band. |
Another quick and easy tool to become more positive is:
| Think Three Positives: Before going to sleep, think of three positive things that happened in your day. This will help you to focus on the good things, to be grateful, and you might also have lovely dreams! |
If you feel a bit down and out, or if you simply lack focus, why not try one of these techniques. Louise Hay says it well: “Every thought we think is creating our future.” If you believe good things will happen… they will. You can control, change or reframe your thoughts at any given time. It is your choice.
