Our outlook and attitude on life in general plays a huge part in how happy we are in life and how successful we become. Someone who thinks positively about everything will be more relaxed, calm and smile more than someone who is always looking at the negative side of a situation.
Not only does how you think and feel affect you, it also affects those around you, particularly your family. Developing and keeping a positive outlook is essential if you want to lead a positive and fulfilling life.
There are lots of ways you can develop a more positive outlook and begin to change how you think and feel about situations but they take practice and time to ensure you don’t slip back into old habits of negative thinking
How many times have you heard or said “practice makes perfect”? Well it’s true, believe it’s possible and practice until it becomes second nature.
And as an added bonus… your positive outlook rubs off on your those around you!
The five main key points to remember when changing your outlook are:
#1 STOP IT!
When you catch yourself thinking something negative like “I bet this meeting is a waste of time” or “I’m so fat” tell yourself “STOP”, then turn that negative thought into a positive statement like “whatever happens in this meeting I will learn something” or “these extra pounds went on gradually and I can take them off gradually”.
#2 Don’t let others influence you
Don’t let your conversations with others turn negative, it is easy to let others discourage you, particularly if they have a negative outlook on life. Don’t be tempted to fall back into your old ways, turn negative talk into positive and look for the good in everything and any situation. Next time a colleague complains about their computer going slow remind them how slow dial up was.
#3 Pay and accept compliments
Look for the positive in those around you and point it out, this way you can encourage a positive attitude all around you. And if someone pays you a compliment smile and say thank you, DON’T brush it off!
#4 There is always a positive in there somewhere
Whatever you are doing in your day-to-day life always look for the good in it, although it might be a boring task which you usually hate doing and one which leaves you feeling negatively, try to find something about it that turns it into a more positive situation. I really dislike book keeping and would put off keeping track of my expenses. Now I make sure I update my spreadsheet on a weekly basis and the positive is that I can identify I have spent too much early on and cut back for the rest of the month (I have a passion for personal development books and courses) and if I have decreased my expenses from the week before I reward myself with a new nail varnish and a big smiley face in my diary
#5 Don’t give up
Never let yourself become distracted or hoodwinked into going back to negativity, it takes time to change the way you feel and think and if you have been down on yourself and the world for a long time then your new outlook will take a while to register and stay around. If you realise that you have gone a few days feeling negative don’t think of that as a failure. Tell yourself there is no failure, only feedback and start again, DO NOT give up!
You will find over time that many areas of your life can be changed just by changing your outlook from negative to positive. You will find that your self-esteem improves, you become more popular and feel happier and more confident.
Go on, give it a go, what have you got to lose?