In times of crisis, there are always people who tell us that we should think positively. This is advice that sounds good and quite logical, but to think positive isn’t always easy or helpful, usually because we simply don’t know how to do so properly. This may seem a little puzzling - how can someone mess up thinking positively? However, after you finish reading this article you’ll understand that there are definitely a few mistakes that can be made, some of which you may have even made in the past...
Every time we get upset or sink into depression because of something someone else has told us, we are actually projecting the negativity that lies in our thoughts about it. To change this situation and to adopt truly positive thinking, we must not ignore the little voice in our heads that makes us feel bad, but rather try to understand the reason for it. Just ask yourself why you’re upset and which side of your personality or lifestyle makes these actions or words difficult for you. Once you find the answer, you can tell yourself that now you know the reason for the negativity that surrounds your thoughts, and you can "fight" it with positive thoughts and actions that target the source of the problem.
As you may already have understood from the previous section, positive thinking doesn’t always come at the expense of negative thinking, both of which can certainly coexist, however, the positive side should be given greater importance. One of the most important rules that help to do this, and which many do not follow, is that we shouldn’t suppress negative thinking altogether. Whenever there is anger, frustration, or sadness in our lives, we must accept these feelings and understand that they are created as a result of the reaction of our inner selves to the world. These feelings are there, but they do not define us. Just tell yourself in your head: "I'm angry/ frustrated/negative and these feelings are part of me, but they are not me." You are not sad or depressed, you feel sad or depressed - it is a small difference that may seem silly to some, but it has tremendous meaning and it makes it much easier to overcome negative thinking and adopt a better attitude.
Like a battery with a positive and negative side and like the eternal cycle of light and darkness in the world, we also have to have positive and negative sides. Positive thinking doesn’t ignore this fact, and therefore, in order to apply it effectively, we must accept ourselves as we are and not try to eliminate significant aspects of our personality. The father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud put it simply: “Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.” So, don’t let your positive thinking "run over" who you really are. If for example you want a job promotion, but you know that your professional knowledge is lacking, don’t tell yourself that you’ll definitely get it if you want enough and think positively. Instead, tell yourself that your chances of getting promoted will increase considerably if you spend an hour each day completing gaps in knowledge related to your work.
Positive thinking can’t make you happy if while having positive thoughts about the future you are still angry with yourself because of the past. The problem that many of you may be thinking right now is that forgiving yourself is good advice, but it can be as difficult to implement as positive thinking. To apply it, you can use the principles outlined in the first section of this article and click here to learn about 7 steps that will help you forgive yourself and move forward with your life.
When we are stuck in a negative mood, our imagination always creates terrible scenarios that make us postpone decisions, act hesitantly and feel general misery. In addition, when your mind is filled with imaginary events related to rejection, degradation, disappointment, or sadness, it harms our quality of life and prevents us from moving forward in our lives. We don’t actively try to think about this possible negative future; these thoughts simply appear because of our imagination. To adopt positive thinking, we must harness its mighty power in the opposite direction, and imagine positive scenarios frequently. It is important to remember that just as in the case of imagining negative thoughts, not everything we think about will actually happen in real life, but thanks to this tool we won’t fall into the trap of negative thinking and feel, as a result, stuck in place.
How many times in the past have you received compliments from other people and treated them with disdain and disbelief? And how many times have you consciously reinforced your positive thinking and trained it just as athletes train their muscles in the gym? If your answers are a lot and a little, respectively, then it's no surprise that you have a hard time enjoying the benefits of positive thinking and harnessing it to improve your quality of life. These two things are closely related to our ability to apply positive thinking in a way that really makes us happier
