Try to be positive

[faizun]

A few common strategies involve learning how to identify negative thoughts and replacing these thoughts with more positive ones. While it might take some time, eventually you may find that thinking positively starts to come more naturally. Consider putting some of the following tips into practice.

Avoid Negative Self-Talk

Self-talk involves the things you mentally tell yourself. Think of this as the inner voice inside your mind that analyzes how you perform and interact in the world around you. If your self-talk centers on negative thoughts, your self-esteem can suffer. When you start thinking critical thoughts about yourself, take a moment to pause and assess.

Elizabeth Scott, About.com's Guide to Stress Management, has some great tips for how to turn negative self-talk into positive self-talk. She advises readers to start by noticing their thought patterns and then focus on changing these into more positive ones. When you catch yourself engaging in a negative thought, mentally telling yourself to "Stop" can help break the pattern.


Try Humor

It can be really difficult to stay positive when there is little humor or lightness in your life. Even when you are facing challenges, it is important to stay open to laughter and humor. Sometimes, simply recognizing the potential humor in a situation can lessen your stress and brighten your outlook. Seeking out sources of humor such as watching a funny sitcom or reading jokes online can help you think more positive thoughts.


Cultivate Optimism

Learning to think positive is like strengthening a muscle; the more you use it the stronger it will become. Researchers believe that your explanatory style, or how you explain events, is linked to whether you are an optimist or a pessimist. Optimists tend to have a positive explanatory style. If you attribute good things that happen to your own skill and effort, then you are probably an optimist. Pessimists, on the other hand, usually have a negative attributional style. If you credit these good events to outside forces, then you likely have a more pessimistic way of thinking.

The same principles hold true for how you explain negative events. Optimists tend to view bad or unfortunate events as isolated incidences that are outside of their control, while pessimists view such things as more common and often blame themselves. By taking a moment to analyze the event and ensure that you are giving yourself the credit you are due for the good things and not blaming yourself for things outside of your control, you can start to become more optimistic.
Keeping Working On It

There is not on-off switch for positive thinking. Even if you are a natural-born optimist, positive thinking can take effort in the face of challenging situations. Like any goal, the key is to stick with it for the long-term. Even if you find yourself dwelling on negative thoughts, you can look for ways to minimize negative self-talk and cultivate a more optimistic outlook.

Finally, do not be afraid to enlist the help of friends and family. When you start engaging in negative thinking, call a friend or family member who you can count on to offer positive encouragement and feedback. Remember that in order to think positively, you need to nurture yourself. Investing energy into things you enjoy and surrounding yourself with optimistic people are just two ways that you can encourage positive thinking in your life.

http://psychology.about.com/od/PositivePsychology/a/think-positive.htm

[Emran Hossain]

This is necessary for every life. I believe we can encourage positive thinking in our life,Thank you for this post.

[faizun]

What Is Positive Thinking?


"I always hear people talk about the benefits of positive thinking. What exactly is positive thinking and how can it be used to improve health and wellness?"


Answer:

Do you tend to see the glass as half empty or half full? You have probably heard that question plenty of times. Your answer relates directly to the concept of positive thinking and whether you have a positive or negative outlook on life. Positive thinking plays an important role in positive psychology, a subfield devoted to the study of what makes people happy and fulfilled.

Research has found that positive thinking can aid in stress management and even plays an important role in your overall health and well-being.
What Is Positive Thinking?

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln

So what exactly is positive thinking? You might be tempted to assume that it implies seeing the world through rose-colored lenses by ignoring or glossing over the negative aspects of life. However, positive thinking actually means approaching life's challenges with a positive outlook. It does not necessarily mean avoiding or ignoring the bad things; instead, it involves making the most of potentially bad situations, trying to see the best in other people, and viewing yourself and your abilities in a positive light.

Some researchers, including positive psychologist Martin Seligman, often frame positive thinking in terms of explanatory style. Your explanatory style is how you explain why events happened. People with an optimistic explanatory style tend to give themselves credit when good things happen, but typically blame outside forces for bad outcomes. They also tend to see negative events as temporary and atypical.

On the other hand, individuals with a pessimistic explanatory style often blame themselves when bad things happen, but fail to give themselves adequate credit for successful outcomes. They also have a tendency to view negative events as expected and lasting. As you can imagine, blaming yourself for events outside of your control or viewing these unfortunate events as a persistent part of your life can have a detrimental impact on your state of mind.

Positive thinkers are more apt to use an optimistic explanatory style, but the way in which people attribute events can also vary depending upon the exact situation. For example, a person who is generally a positive thinker might use a more pessimistic explanatory style in particularly challenging situations, such as at work or at school.


http://psychology.about.com/od/PositivePsychology/f/positive-thinking.htm

[Omar Faruk Mazumder]

Nice post.... Here are some benefits of Positive attitude :

    More happiness and joy in life
    Improved self-esteem and self-image
    Improved relationships with family and friends
    More closeness and intimacy
    More success at work, school, or with hobbies and sports
    Increased motivation
    More energy
    Improved sense of well-being

[R B Habib]

We should all try to practice thinking positively, utopic idea though.