The positive thinking has a lot of benefits and it has also been widely advocated in most activities. Practicing optimism can help prevent and alleviate depression and anxiety, decrease stress, strengthen the immune system, and foster better communication and teamwork in both personal and professional environments, as well as result in increased happiness and a better quality of life. It is suggested that patience should be applied when it comes to improving positive thinking as it is a skill that can be learnt and therefore, one can change the default to a positive thinking mode that is healthy for the body.
Benefits of Positive Thinking
Unfortunately, there is little evidence that supports the view that there are no benefits in being optimistic and thinking positively. Benefits include:
- Longevity -There is evidence that optimists may die younger than pessimists, just like there is evidence of the opposite. Optimistic attitudes towards life are associated with effective coping with stress, as well as practicing appropriate heath-related behaviors.
- Better Disease Resistance – Research has revealed that the immune system of those people who make a conscious effort to go for the positive side of situations rather than the negative is better and less inflamed than that of the negative people.
- A close relationship between cardiovascular ailments such as stroke, heart disease, and high blood pressure and optimism have been noted. This means that positivity is good for the heart as indicated by the proverb.
- Greater psychological resilience – Having a positive attitude towards life and tasks is important as it demonstrates a person has the ability to overcome difficult situations. They are able to recover from stress and the other adverse life conditions more rapidly.
- Increased productivity- A positive thinking mentality means that individuals that apply the strategies have been proven to earn more than their negative thinking counterparts. Positive emotions lead to more of feeling of control and efficacy.
- Better relations – Friends of optimists state that optimism makes the individual more sociable and therefore more enjoyable company. Perceiving high levels of positivity can further enhance the personal relationships.
Understanding the following can help in developing a positive mindset:
Fortunately, optimism is a choice and like any other quality, one can cultivate on a daily basis. And finally, even the most critical audience can alter their outlook and start introducing positive thinking and actions into their routine. Helpful tips include:
- Identify negative thought patterns. The first component is realizing that there is a pattern of negative, abusive, or pessimistic self- talk. Identify your primary self-defeating thoughts that you tend to think most of the time.
- Challenge negative thoughts. When you know you have self-sabotaging thoughts, you have to pause and ask if what s being said is true and can evidence be provided? This means that you should work on seeing various scenarios in a more positive light or from a more positive angle.
- Cultivate gratitude. Take breaks or set a few minutes aside to think about all the positives in your life regarding the people and things you value. Being thankful increases positivity since it shifts one’s focus to what they appreciate or are thankful for.
- Seek inspiration. Watch inspirational books, movies, lectures, interviews, or read optimism oriented essays or quotes. The untamed enthusiasm that they depict is likely to influence your own affirmative outlook.
- Limit media consumption. It is the general observation that mainstream news and social media have more negative outlook. Lower portion intake to ensure that the effects of the foods consumed are positive ones.
- Spend time in nature. Research reveals that the natural outdoor environments could be utilised to erase negative feelings as they have uplifting benefits.
- Establish uplifting daily habits. It ranges from morning meditation, journaling, physical training, positive hobbies among other activities can help in shaping the day.
- This includes choosing the right friends, relatives, neighbors and other people you interact with in your everyday life. It is true that the people we surround ourselves with shape our thoughts and attitudes. Aim for some of your friends to be positive in their outlook in life.
- Help others. A good deed in form of volunteering or sharing some of your time does create meaning in your life while at the same time enhancing your positive affect and reducing the size and magnitude of your problems.
- Notice positive moments. Learn to appreciate good messages, compliments, achievements, good weather, tidy landscapes or beautiful formations in the natural world and successful interactions with people.
Cultivating Positivity Takes Practice
One can cultivate the positive attitude or otherwise referred to as the optimism just like one builds their muscles through exercise. But the payoffs help make it profitable. With the help of shifting destructive self-talk patterns into more helpful ones, one can improve the emotional well-being, perspectives on life, objective health indicators, and overall well-being. And with every individual’s consistent effort in changing our attitude towards a positive one for at least a day, positivity will become our new default.
It is important to realize that the tips mentioned above are not hard and fast rules of what you should do, but rather a list of options from which you can choose what would best suit you in achieving the kind of positivity that inspires you. This may be possible by beginning implementing one or two strategies at a time so that more can be added as the learner gains experience. In doing so, pessimism can be actively fought over time by consciously selecting optimism, appreciation and affirmative images of the future will build up to a new positive confirming feedback cycle on its own.