The philosopher Marcus Aurelius quoted “Our life is what our thoughts make it” Many others have written similar quotes since.
Do you always look for the problem, or do you look for a solution?
Are you a glass half empty or half full person?
Many studies have shown the benefits of being a positive thinker, mainly a much lower risk of dying from death’s main causes.
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Various types of Cancer
- Infection
- Respiratory diseases
I am not going into detail on the above diseases, there is loads of information on the internet to read.
Other benefits of being positive from studies are: –
- Improved quality of life
- Increased energy levels
- Improved psychological and physical health.
- Quicker recovery from injury and illness
- Fewer colds
- Less chance of depression and anxiety
- Improved management of stress and being more resilient.
- Living a healthier longer life.
Thinking Positively
Focus on the happy times.
In life, we all have good and bad memories. To stay positive, we need to focus on finding the silver lining of the situation. When an event is cancelled, don’t take it personally, think about an activity you can do instead that you enjoy.
Gratitude
Keeping a gratitude journal, or any other way of practising gratitude has been proven to reduce stress, increase self-esteem and resilience, to help you cope when life throws you difficult times. Write of think of people and all the situations and things you find comfort or happiness with. Do this once a day, it can be part of meditation too. The list can be simple things like thanking a person for helping you, the love you receive from your pets, the joy of your garden.
Laughter
Laughing lowers stress, anxiety, depression, as well as improving your mood and self-esteem. When things are hard to find the funny side and laugh, I am sure many of you have experienced this when in a group, how laughing instantly changes the mood and the situation becomes easier.
Positive people
Positivity is as contagious as negativity. Therefore, consider spending time with positive people. It has been said you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Positive Self-Talk
We are our own worst enemies; we talk to ourselves in ways we would not consider talking to others. You need to become aware of this talk and change the negative statements immediately with a positive one. There are also phrases and words we should try to avoid, “I can’t”, “Should”, “problem”, “if”, “just”, “if only”, “but”, “someday”, “why me”, “I don’t know” are some, read a blog post here for 21 words and Phrases.
Want help in finding ways to quiet your negative self-talk, email Rosemary@soul-essence.com