Maintain a Positive Attitude by Using Self Talk
Retraining the Mind to Focus on the Good Things in Life and Be Happy
Jun 23, 2009
Life is too short to waste time having a perpetually negative attitude. Turn that negative attitude around by learning how to focus on the good things in life and to maintain a positive attitude no matter what.
By training the focused and quiet mind to engage in positive self talk and reject negativity, a person can learn how to be happy and have a positive outlook regardless of external circumstances.
The Power of Positivity
Everyone’s heard the saying that “attitude is everything.” It can actually be true. Generally speaking, numerous scientific studies have demonstrated that, when compared to people in similar circumstances who maintain a negative attitude, people with a positive outlook enjoy better physical and psychological health.
For those who’ve cultivated a long-term negative attitude, developing a positive attitude can seem almost impossible.
Rejecting the Negative Attitude
Learning how to cut through a habitually negative outlook takes time and effort, but it can be done. Start by trying to catch the mind whenever it begins slipping into negative thought patterns by striving to replace them with positive and upbeat mantras/affirmations.
Preparing mantras or affirmations in advance is essential to this positive brain training, providing an instant redirection away from the habitually negative attitude.
Once a person can actually start catching and labeling a negative attitude as such, then they can begin to truly retrain the mind. The goal is to wire the brain with more positive neural patterns to replace the old, dysfunctional negative ones. The key to this brain training is to constantly demand that the mind maintains productive thought processes, recognizing the futility of dwelling on darker or more depressing aspects of whatever might be happening.
Almost any daily life situation can be viewed from a positive or negative standpoint, so it’s up to each individual to decide which view to take. It should be obvious, however, that a positive standpoint will ultimately be more productive, allowing the person to learn and grow from both “failures” and “successes” instead of taking either circumstance as an ultimate measure of self value.
How to Use Positive Self Talk
Positive self talk is one of the best ways to train the mind to instantly maintain a positive attitude in the face of adversity, thereby keeping it from sliding into negative thought patterns. Examples of this include the following:
- Instead of dwelling on a mistake at work that upset the boss, resolve to not make a similar mistake in the future and use the experience to learn what not to do next time — then let it go. Mentally review at least three successful work-related experiences to regain a positive vibe.
- Instead of focusing the mind on a skipped workout or an extra helping of dessert, plan and pack a smart lunch for tomorrow and make sure to budget some time for exercise in the morning — or take a short ten-minute walk now, and engage in mild self praise for doing so.
- Instead of feeling down or discouraged if a particular goal doesn’t happen within a desired time frame, try to genuinely embrace and enjoy the process involved in working toward that goal, reminding the mind of all the great learning and growth gained throughout this process.
- Instead of focusing on aspects of the body that might cause personal dissatisfaction, strive to develop a positive relationship with the body as it is now, telling this unique vessel what particular idiosyncrasies are appreciated by its owner-operator every single day.
- Instead of worrying or fretting over an important (or any) decision for days on end, set aside time to think it through and come to a conclusion that reflects the most important personal values at stake — one not based on what other people will think. Then take resolute action, and let it go instead of wasting precious life time on “what ifs.”
Notice that in all of the above examples, one of the biggest keys to maintaining a positive attitude involves dwelling in the present instead of fretting over or being ruled by actions from the past. Life is too short to waste living in the past. Learning how to have a positive outlook by using positive self talk can help a person be happy both now and in the future.
Focus on the Good Things in Life…and Be Happy!
Though it will be difficult at the start, in time, a habitually negative attitude can diminish in power, starting to be seen as separate from the self. As efforts at mental retraining continue, the focused mind will come to fully comprehend that a positive outlook is a much more productive state of being. Training the mind to habitually engage in positive self talk can be the ultimate key to maintaining a quiet but productive mind with a positive outlook.
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