A positive attitude can make a real difference to our health and can help eliminate negative thought patterns.
While Phil takes a well-earned rest to recharge his batteries, I thought I’d have a go at writing a blog while I cover reception and write something on positive attitude and perspective. After a few weeks of overindulging (in my case mostly on cheese and binge-watching TV!!) it’s good to dust off the brain cells and get them working again.
As I’ve been clearing away the Christmas decorations, deep cleaning the house and getting super organised with my new calendar, my thoughts have turned to thinking about what I want to achieve this year. It’s all too easy to think new year new me, but why is there a sense of pressure to reinvent yourself and to feel a sense of accomplishment?
I wouldn’t be the person I am today if the old me hadn’t got me this far, so my new year’s resolution this year is to celebrate and think positively towards all the good things in my life, about me, and those people in my life. Now I know what you’re thinking… it’s radical I know, imagine being able to think positively about yourself and not beat yourself up with critical self-talk, but this year I’m making it my mission to have a healthy positive attitude and perspective.
In order to explain, by positive attitude I’m not talking about popping to Specsavers and getting a prescription for rose tinted lenses, life can have its challenging moments, right? Researchers are currently exploring how having an optimistic outlook on life can help you cope with stress and initial findings are positive. Stress can have a harmful effect on the body, therefore approaching life with a more positive outlook can bring its health benefits.
Positive Attitude: Getting Rid of Negative Thoughts
Changing your thought patterns takes time and practice to promotes positive attitide, in the spirit of new year’s resolutions we are hopefully attempting to form new habits. To help me in my mission I researched some hints and tips to point me in the right direction. Essentially to think and enhance a positive attitude I first need to think negatively! Once I’ve identified all those areas I think negatively about, I can focus on one area at a time and put a positive attitude and spin on them. I’ve set an alarm on my phone so I can periodically check in with my thoughts throughout the day, and if they’re negative, I can then turn them into positive. I’ve given myself permission to smile, laugh and have fun throughout the day, it’s important to recognise that your moods and feelings are like the weather, they soon pass and being open to humour will help attract positive people who will support me and give helpful advice and feedback to keep me going on the upward spiral to positivism.
In addition, I’m going to be kind to myself, sometimes we can say some harsh words to ourselves and more recently I’ve been asking myself if I would say those harsh words to anyone else. Of course, the answer is no, I would never dream of it, but why is it OK to talk to myself in that way?
When a negative thought pops into my mind about myself, my mission this year is to replace it with a positive affirmation that is gentle and encouraging. Affirmations are like repetitive exercises for the mind and repeated often enough they help to change thinking patterns so that over time you begin to think and act differently.
Positive Attitude: Gratitude Journalism can help
Enough about me, how am I going to think positively about life in general and those others in my life? Well, I treated myself to a nice new sparkly journal in the sale and at the end of each day I’ll be jotting down all the things I’m grateful for in my life (relationships, opportunities, experiences, sights, sounds and feelings) and connecting with the emotions each gratitude brings.
Gratitude journalism is not simply a list-making exercise. It can help you to develop better relationships with others, increase your personal joy, get better sleep – yippeeee, and lower symptoms of physical pain as well as shift your focus to the positive and short cut negative thought processes.
So, here’s to the new year and a more positive me. Wishing you all the best for 2020.
