Positive thinking

In today’s challenging world it is vital to have energy, enthusiasm, and optimism in all areas of your life.

Here are ten actions to help you develop your feel-good factor.

1. Recognise the signs. Your mental approach to life is a combination of your feelings, thoughts and beliefs. Identifying and distinguishing these three elements is the first crucial step that you must take if you are to shift your outlook from negative to positive.

2. Challenge your thoughts. The key to real success in positive thinking is to find as many ways as possible in which to challenge the validity of your negative thoughts, and then to replace those thoughts with others that are more positive and more realistic.

3. Rethink your beliefs. Beliefs are firm convictions resulting from your experiences in life. The best leave you feeling positive about yourself, other people, and the world; the worst leave you feeling powerless. Identify helpful beliefs, and learn to change those that are not.

4. Establish your self-esteem. People who have high self-esteem are natural positive thinkers. And having a positive outlook means having high self-esteem. It follows that if you use positive thinking techniques to enhance your core beliefs, your self-esteem will soar.

5. Build your confidence. Apply positive thinking to performance and you gain confidence, whether you are playing a sports match or facing an interview. Positive thought patterns lie at the heart of confidence; when you think positively, you optimise performance.

6. Set some goals. Once you have set a goal in life, the brain responds with a burst of activity that is experienced as happiness. When the goal is achieved, another burst of activity makes you happy again. To maintain a positive attitude, keep setting – and achieving – your goals.

7. Uncover your meaning in life. The stronger a person’s sense of purpose and meaning in life, the happier and more positive they will be. So, make a determined effort to find meaning in what you are doing, and cultivate beliefs and experiences that reflect that meaning.

8. Create a positive environment. Positivity is generated from inside you, but what happens outside maters too. Environmental factors can influence the way you feel. By creating a space where you can be relaxed, comfortable, and focused, you can improve your outlook.

9. Improve your health. It is widely accepted that there is a link between physical health and mental well-being. To maintain a positive way of living, you need to support your mental approach with the right diet, exercise, and stress-reduction programme.

10. Work with energy. Most people spend a third of their adult lives at work. So it is vital to make sure that when you are working you feel positive about what you do. In that way your career supports rather than undermines your positive approach to life.

William Montgomery
CEO of TEN

Through his workshops, William Montgomery has helped hundreds of organisations and schools plus thousands of people to achieve their potential. To discuss your continuous improvement requirements, please call 0117 325 2010 or send a message to mail@askten.co.uk