Thinking positively does not mean pushing everything negative away from yourself, because then you fall into the extreme of toxic positivity. Rather, thinking positively means first being aware of your own thoughts and feelings, reflecting on them, and finally directing them in ways that feel good. The following tips can help:
Recognize negative thoughts
We often go through life in a bad mood and don’t really know why. Actually, everything is fine: we have a roof over our heads, we earn money, we have our favorite dinner in the evening, and yet there is this dark veil that stands in the way of our happiness.
In these moments, it’s important to find out what negative thoughts are plaguing you. For example, are you constantly worrying and getting caught up in “what if?” scenarios? Really listen to your negative thoughts and pull something concrete out of the dark background noise. If it helps you, you can also write down these negative thoughts to record them.
Accept your thoughts
The next moment is about accepting those negative thoughts. Remember that we all have up to 60,000 thoughts, the majority of which are negative. It’s okay to feel anxious about the future. It’s okay to get upset – about yourself or others. It’s okay to be dissatisfied. Accept your negative thoughts instead of rejecting them directly. That’s how they keep coming back. It is better to allow them, live through them and then check them off. The best way to do this is to meditate. Here you learn to accept yourself as you are. And that you are largely in control of your thoughts and your perspective.
Change your perspective
The last step is to change your perspective and turn negative thoughts into positive ones. In doing so, your choice of words alone can make a difference. If a project at work isn’t going so well, you might now think, “What a bummer, I can’t get anything done!” But if you want to think positively, you should rather say to yourself, “Okay, that didn’t go optimally. But at least this way I know what to look out for next time.” Don’t demonize every little thing, but try to draw out the positive. I know that can be hard as hell at first – especially if you’re very realistically or pessimistically inclined. No one said positive thinking was easy either!
In fact, it means a lot of work in itself and takes practice, but once positive thinking has become your habit, it will show up in more inner peace, serenity, and less stress. That alone makes it worth the effort!