How to Harness the Power of Positivity
The power of positivity is something not to be overlooked when crafting your dream life. It allows us the ability to move forward and encourages a growth mindset. All things that are necessary as we start to live out our dream life.
Over the past couple of days we have talked about reframing limiting beliefs, as well as focused on creating a vision board for our life and goals. But, I wanted to take some more time to talk about the power of positivity.
The Power of Positivity vs Cynicism
You may not know this about me, but I am a realist. And with that comes a good bit of cynicism. Is that a bad thing? No, I don’t think so. But, over the years I have become less of an optimist and more of a pessimist. It wasn’t always like that!
When I was younger I had the power of positivity totally under control. I knew what I wanted and I went for it. A lot of that stems from a serious car accident I was in when I was 15. Spending a couple of months at Shriner’s Burns Hospital and not knowing if I would be able to walk again were challenges that I knew I would overcome. Failure was not an option.
In my 15 year old brain, I already knew the outcome of this situation. I would walk again, I would go home by Thanksgiving, I would become a better student. And that is how my life continued for some time. But, as I got into my adult years, and I learned more about the world around me, a healthy (or unhealthy?) dose of cynicism entered the chat.
What happened?
It is easy to let disappointment and life circumstances get you down. When I was in the hospital, I didn’t have that struggle. I was looking to get well and get out. I had the power of positivity on my side. But, as we grow older, and more life experience comes into play, cynicism rears its ugly head. Not for everyone, of course, but for some of us.
I can look back on the situations in my life where a lot of negative things happened and I can go either of two ways. First, remembering how positive I was in the moment, overcoming obstacles and making great strides. Or, I can look at those situations, remember I was positive in the moment, but remember all the struggles and heartache those situations introduced into my life.
It is a tricky road to walk on. I like to have a little bit of cynicism, but I don’t want everything to be negative. And neither do you!
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Shift Your Thinking
This is where we connect to changing your limiting beliefs. It sounds easy, just shift your thinking! But, we all know that once you get into a negative mindset, it is harder to pull yourself out of it. The first step is to acknowledge what you are thinking. It is easy to not recognize that you are becoming negative. It almost happens gradually, until one day everything you look at has a negative thought associated with it. Flip the script – give yourself space for those feelings. Journal about them, but then let them go. Easier said than done, and it may take many-a-day of journaling to actually let them go, but try.
Another way to help you shift your thinking is to surround yourself with positive people. Joy is contagious, and when you have people surrounding you focused on the power of positivity, it seems to crowd out some of the negative. There is a lot of work that needs to be done by you, but constantly feeling that positive energy is a huge help.
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Finally, practice gratitude. When you take the time to name what you are grateful for, you get a boost. I am sure there are all kinds of scientific reasons why this helps, but I think it is another way to crowd out the negative. When you focus on thankfulness instead of negativity, your mood brightens, you are able to take a deep breath, it helps change your mindset.
The Power of Positivity in Your Life
Understanding the power of positivity is just the first step. It takes work to lose some of the cynicism and negative self-talk. But, it is worth it to put in the work. We don’t want to always be focusing on all of the bad in the world. Instead, we want to focus on the good. Think about that thing that fires you up. Name it, and try to do it more often.
Finding joy in crafting your dream life is part of the process. We have a lot of feelings that we need to deal with, but you don’t need to give them all the power. For a very long time I just assumed I was a pessimist. Deep down I still do think that sometimes. But, I remember to include gratitude. I remember to look at the small changes I have made, and I am able to squash that pessimism and turn it into optimism.
Do you struggle with staying positive? What is one way the power of positivity can improve your daily life?
