Positive thinking, or a positive attitude towards life events, allows us to experience things in a more positive way. It is not meant to "turn every lemon into lemonade", the meaning of positive thinking is to adapt to ourselves patterns of thinking with a positive tendency, even in situations that are not pleasant.
Those who are good for him are not necessarily those who lived well all the time. Or rather, there is no one who lived a life of only goodness, joy and pleasure. And still there are those who manage to be happy in part and cope better in challenging or unpleasant situations.
Throughout my years of working with people suffering from illnesses and with their families, I have met people who face great, complex and painful difficulties. I found that the coping methods of each person and each family are different and diverse. Each one according to his personality, illness and abilities. Along with the great diversity, I found a very important and significant connecting line. Those who are good at dealing with difficulties are those who experience difficulties and coping as a challenge from which one can grow and grow. Those who manage to see the constructive, strengthening and empowering parts, even when it is very difficult to see them. Even when "you have to look for them with candles" they will usually be the ones who manage to continue "living" alongside life with their illness or that of their partner.
What can help us make room for more positive thinking? Thinking of the "glass half full" at the expense of the negative way of thinking that characterizes so many of us?
The negative thinking stems, among other things, from habits, social patterns and the need to protect ourselves.
I will protect myself from society's criticism - I will be the first to criticize myself.
I will reduce the possibility of being disappointed - if I don't expect success.
If I think negatively there will always be room for improvement.
And other different reasons and the truth is that sometimes they are also a bit strange...
In the society we live in today, we are used to a negative way of thinking in a primary and basic way, but positive or negative thinking is not innate, or at least not completely.
Researchers have found that the tendency to happiness is about 50% genetic. Everyone is born with a different level of happiness across the continuum.
And here is the place for the first practice of positive thinking - if 50% is determined for us by genetics, then there is room for (positive) work on the remaining 50%.
Our experiences throughout our lives affect our positive or negative way of thinking. But we can influence our way of thinking and develop positive thinking so that it becomes more and more automatic.
So what can you do?
Here are some examples –
- Using positive language - towards ourselves (inner speech) and towards others.
- Combine a daily activity that must be done into something enjoyable - for example, combine the task of folding laundry with enjoyable music. Combine the necessary sports activity with listening to a favorite podcast.
- Cherish gratitude and express it - set aside a fixed time in the day (for example before brushing your teeth in the evening) to say thanks for an experience or action from that day.
- Consume good and positive content - if sad movies do bad things, give them up. If Instagram or Facebook creates a feeling of being missed - you don't have to be part of it.
- Try to avoid dichotomous thinking of black or white, good or bad - most of the events in our lives are located on the surface of the continuum and not necessarily at the edges.
- Training for positive thinking - allow time in the day (preferably fixed time) to think about something positive that happened today.
Just as we are careful about physical activity to maintain and strengthen the muscles of the body, so we must be careful about practicing the "muscle" of positive thinking.
The phrase "think well, it will be good...", I don't really think it's true, but the phrase "think well, your mood will be better..." it already sounds different.