Friday, April 20, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Positive thinking: Reduce stress by eliminating negative self-talk
Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even
improve your health. Practice overcoming negative self-talk with examples
provided.
Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this
age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your
attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic — and it
may even affect your health.
Indeed, some studies show that personality traits like optimism
and pessimism can affect many areas of your health and well-being. The positive
thinking that typically comes with optimism is a key part of effective stress
management. And effective stress management is associated with many health
benefits. If you tend to be pessimistic, don't despair — you can learn positive
thinking skills. Here's how.
Understanding
positive thinking and self-talk
Positive thinking doesn't mean that you keep your head in the
sand and ignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means
that you approach the unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You
think the best is going to happen, not the worst.
Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the
endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head every day. These
automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes
from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you
create because of lack of information.
If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative,
your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly
positive, you're likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.
The
health benefits of positive thinking
Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking
and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide
include:
·
Increased life span
·
Lower rates of depression
·
Lower levels of distress
·
Greater resistance to the common cold
·
Better psychological and physical well-being
·
Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
·
Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress
It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking
experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook
enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful
health effects of stress on your body. It's also thought that positive and
optimistic people tend to live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical
activity, follow a healthier diet, and don't smoke or drink alcohol in excess.
Positive
thinking: Reduce stress by eliminating negative self-talk
Identifying
negative thinking
Not sure if your self-talk is positive or negative? Here are
some common forms of negative self-talk:
·
Filtering. You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and
filter out all of the positive ones. For example, say you had a great day at
work. You completed your tasks ahead of time and were complimented for doing a
speedy and thorough job. But you forgot one minor step. That evening, you focus
only on your oversight and forget about the compliments you received.
·
Personalizing. When something bad occurs, you automatically blame
yourself. For example, you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled,
and you assume that the change in plans is because no one wanted to be around
you.
·
Catastrophizing. You automatically anticipate the worst. The
drive-through coffee shop gets your order wrong and you automatically think
that the rest of your day will be a disaster.
·
Polarizing. You see things only as either good or bad, black or
white. There is no middle ground. You feel that you have to be perfect or that
you're a total failure.
Focusing
on positive thinking
You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking.
The process is simple, but it does take time and practice — you're creating a
new habit, after all. Here are some ways to think and behave in a more positive
and optimistic way:
·
Identify areas to change. If you want to become more optimistic and engage in
more positive thinking, first identify areas of your life that you typically
think negatively about, whether it's work, your daily commute or a
relationship, for example. You can start small by focusing on one area to
approach in a more positive way.
·
Check yourself. Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what
you're thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to
find a way to put a positive spin on them.
·
Be open to humor. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially
during difficult times. Seek humor in everyday happenings. When you can laugh
at life, you feel less stressed.
·
Follow a healthy lifestyle. Exercise at least three times a week to positively
affect mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and
body. And learn to manage stress.
·
Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive
people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback. Negative people
may increase your stress level and make you doubt your ability to manage stress
in healthy ways.
·
Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything
to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else. Be gentle and encouraging
with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally
and respond with affirmations of what is good about you.
Here are some examples of negative self-talk and how you can
apply a positive thinking twist to them.
Negative
self-talk
|
Positive
thinking
|
I've never done it before.
|
It's an opportunity to learn something new.
|
It's too complicated.
|
I'll tackle it from a different angle.
|
I don't have the resources.
|
Necessity is the mother of invention.
|
I'm too lazy to get this done.
|
I wasn't able to fit it into my schedule but can re-examine
some priorities.
|
There's no way it will work.
|
I can try to make it work.
|
It's too radical a change.
|
Let's take a chance.
|
No one bothers to communicate with me.
|
I'll see if I can open the channels of communication.
|
I'm not going to get any better at this.
|
I'll give it another try.
|
Practicing
positive thinking every day
If you tend to have a negative outlook, don't expect to become
an optimist overnight. But with practice, eventually your self-talk will
contain less self-criticism and more self-acceptance. You may also become less
critical of the world around you. Plus, when you share your positive mood and
positive experience, both you and those around you enjoy an emotional boost.
Practicing positive self-talk will improve your outlook. When
your state of mind is generally optimistic, you're able to handle everyday
stress in a more constructive way. That ability may contribute to the widely
observed health benefits of positive thinking.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Positive Thinking Your Key to Success
Positive thinking brings inner peace, success, improved
relationships, better health, happiness and satisfaction. It also helps the
daily affairs of life move more smoothly, and makes life look bright and
promising.
Positive thinking is contagious. People around you pick your mental
moods and are affected accordingly. Think about happiness, good health and
success, and you will cause people to like you and desire to help you, because
they enjoy the vibrations that a positive mind emits.
In order to make positive thinking yield results, you need to
develop a positive attitude toward life, expect a successful outcome of
whatever you do, but also take any necessary actions to ensure your success.
Effective positive thinking that brings results is much more than just repeating a few
positive words, or telling yourself that everything is going to be all right.
It has to be your predominant mental attitude. It is not enough to think
positively for a few moments, and then letting fears and lack of belief enter
your mind. Some effort and inner work are necessary.
Are you willing to make a real inner change?
Are you willing to change the way you think?
Are you willing to develop a mental power that can positively affect you, your environment and the people around you?
Are you willing to change the way you think?
Are you willing to develop a mental power that can positively affect you, your environment and the people around you?
Here are a few actions and tips to help you develop the power of positive
thinking:
·
Always use only positive words while thinking and while talking.
Use words such as, 'I can', 'I am able', 'it is possible', 'it can be done',
etc.
·
Allow into your awareness only feelings of happiness, strength and
success.
·
Try to disregard and ignore negative thoughts. Refuse to think
such thoughts, and substitute them with constructive happy thoughts.
·
In your conversation use words that evoke feelings and mental
images of strength, happiness and success.
·
Before starting with any plan or action, visualize clearly in your
mind its successful outcome. If you visualize with concentration and faith, you
will be amazed at the results.
·
Read at least one page of inspiring book every day.
·
Watch movies that make you feel happy.
·
Minimize the time you listen to the news and read the papers.
·
Associate yourself with people who think positively.
·
Always sit and walk with your back straight. This will strengthen
your confidence and inner strength.
·
Walk, swim or engage in some other physical activity. This helps
to develop a more positive attitude.
Think positive and expect only favorable results and situations,
even if your current circumstances are not as you wish them to be. In time,
your mental attitude will affect your life and circumstances and change them
accordingly.
By Remez Sasson
Sunday, April 15, 2012
~ SUNDAY INSPIRATION ~
It's not only children who grow.
Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with
their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't
tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it,
myself.
~Joyce Maynard
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