Positive thinking helps lead to positive feelings of happiness, satisfaction, pleasure and contentment. In contrast, negative thinking can lead to pervasive negative emotions like fear, anger and jealousy. Negative thinking all too easily becomes a bad habit. Positive emotions not only affect our mental health, but also have been shown to boost the immune system, increasing resistance to illness and disease. Practicing positive thinking exercises can reverse the effects of negative thinking and free you from the negative thought treadmill.
Enjoy the Present Moment
Martin Seligman, Director of the Positive Psychology Network, recommends that we all work on our own definition of "the good life." By having a solid understanding of the unique set of goals and values that make us happy we are apt to have a greater number of positive experiences. Try this "beautiful day" exercise created by Seligman: Outline the events and qualities of your ideal day. This might include spending time with family, working on an engrossing project, running ten miles, or all three! Once you have a good idea of what your beautiful day would look like, put it into practice. Then, journal about your experience. Were your thoughts more positive on your beautiful day? Was there any activity you might add next time? Keep trying this exercise until you have fine-tuned your own set of goals and values.
Practice Gratitude
Have you ever made yourself cringe, even blush by simply conjuring up the mental image of a past mistake? Or burn with anger at the thought of a hurt or harm inflicted by another? Remember that emotions are always generated by thoughts, and we can work to change our thought patterns. Take control of your past by focusing on gratitude. Try creating a gratitude journal and list all the things in your life that you are grateful for. Although you may not be ready and able to forgive every slight of the the past, your gratitude survey will help you feel more in control, as well as cultivate positive emotions.
Reframe the Past
Positive thinking can create a hopeful outlook for the future. You can increase your optimism and hope by being on the look-out for cognitive distortions and faulty thinking based on past experiences. For example, overgeneralizations, like taking the result of the poor performance on your last job interview, and expecting that performance to happen again and again. Confront these cognitive distortions by writing them down along with sentences, like, "I wasn't prepared for that last interview, but I know more about the company I am interviewing with next week." The goal is to stop irrational negative thoughts from overtaking future events, replacing them with feelings of hope and optimism.
Beware of Negative Input
Negative input can take the form of a talk radio show, a television program, or a next door neighbor. Be mindful of the people and media you surround yourself with and how they make you feel. Limit your interaction with people and things that interfere with your positive thinking.
References
- Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment; Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D; 2002
- Cognitive Distortions
- Positive Thinking Your key to Success
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