Positive thinking can ultimately increase your satisfaction with life, found a study performed by the Department of Psychiatry, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University, School of Medicine and published in a 2007 issue of Yonsei Medical Journal. The study tracked 409 Koreans and found that those who had positive attitudes were generally more satisfied with their lives. Positive thinking can affect your health, your outlook on life, your relationships and even your career. Learn positive thinking methods to help banish negative thoughts before they manifest and ruin your level of satisfaction.
Substitute Thoughts
When you have a negative thought jeopardize your positive thinking, allow yourself to acknowledge the negative thought, and then replace it with rational positive thinking. For instance, if you think "I'll never get this report done in time for the deadline," note that you may not get it done in time. Then, think of something positive, like "I'll get it done properly and present it to my supervisor when it's done well." This helps you to see positive thinking as a realistic way to deal with problems.
Stay in the Present
The American Heart Association recommends positive thinking as a way to increase your quality of life, and notes that thinking too far in the future or too far in the past can cause you to feel negatively about your life. Instead, think about what today has to offer, and what you can do in the present. While there is no harm in planning for the future, stressing about what might happen or about things that will occur that you can't help is useless and negative.
Reason With Facts
Negative thoughts are often unrealistic and sensationalist. "The winter will never end," you say when you're feeling the winter blues. "No one likes me," you think when feeling left out. Obviously neither of those statements is true, and they only serve to offer self-pity and make your mood worse. Instead, stick to the facts, says the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reason with yourself that the winter will end, and you'll soon see spring, or that you have a good, core group of friends that cares for you.
Make the Bright Side
You may have been urged by a well-meaning person to "look at the bright side" or find the silver lining in a problem. Instead of looking for the bright side, make your own out of a bad situation. A long stay in the hospital could be turned into rewarding volunteer work. Losing your job may become the ideal time to follow another career path. Make your own silver lining by recognizing seemingly negative events as opportunities for growth and development.
Laugh
The Mayo Clinic notes that laughter sometimes is the best medicine when it comes to striving to think more positively. Laughing lifts your moods and allows you to stop thinking negative thoughts. Surround yourself with positive people, pick up a funny movie or tell a joke to turn a negative mood positive.
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