Positive Thinking – Change the way you think, feel and act
What is happiness and how do we become ‘happy’? Happiness means different things to different people and we all have different life experiences. Although we can’t always control what happens in our lives, we can control how we experience things. Changing how you experience things will make you feel happier.
Positive thinking doesn’t mean that you have to be cheerful. Positive thinking is about having thoughts that will help you have more positive and less negative feelings. This will make it easier for you to reach your goals and make positive changes in your life.
Being more mindful can help us think, feel and act more positively. Mindfulness doesn’t mean that you need to be spiritual or religious. You don’t even have to do yoga or meditation to be mindful. Mindfulness is about focusing on the present and being engaged in what we are doing. It will help you to manage negative feelings and to learn to enjoy things more.
Appreciate more by practicing mindfulness
Mindfulness is about focusing on the present and being engaged in what we are doing. It can help us to feel enjoyment, gratitude and relaxed, whilst also being a useful strategy to deal with negative emotions. You don’t need to be spiritual or religious, or good at yoga or meditation to practise mindfulness. We will show you ways to practise your mindfulness.
Mindfulness helps us to focus and live in the moment. It can be as simple as looking around you and being aware of what your senses are taking in. This doesn’t need to take extra effort or time, just a deliberate focus on what is happening around you and your physical feelings. This can help us to take more pleasure from simple or routine activities and can relieve the focus on negative thoughts of the past and future as we are focused on the present.
Mindfulness also helps us to accept ourselves and our experiences. We often get caught up in a particular aspect of what we are doing, usually the part that is negative. Taking a step back and taking in our surroundings, can help us put things into perspective. This is particularly effective when dealing with frustration or anxiety. We should accept these feelings and then consider our situation. This will then help us to deal with these feelings calmly and constructively.
Ways to be mindful
- Deep breathing – slowly breathing in and out can help to focus our minds and relax our bodies. Try 5 or 10 slow breaths in and out. Focus on your breathing and try to be present and let go of any thoughts you are having. Repeat this regularly throughout the day, especially when you experience negative emotions or stress.
- Be aware of your senses – When you are doing routine daily activities (such as walking, washing up, or laying in bed) focus on one sense at a time. What can you hear, smell, see, feel and taste? Focus on being in the present rather than your thoughts.
- Take a mindfulness walk – Go for a walk and notice the things around you. Use your sense and pay attention to what’s around you. Take in the colours, sounds and smells of nature or people watch. You may be surprised that such a simple activity can give you pleasure or gratitude in places that you have previously taken for granted.
- Meditation – Meditation is about focusing for a set amount of time and being open to our thoughts and feelings. You may focus on a sound, your breath or on relaxing your muscles. It is normal for thoughts to pop into your head, so don’t be frustrated. Instead, recognise the thought and try to bring yourself back to the present. It will take time and practise to improve, but you will start benefiting from meditation straight away. There are free meditation apps such as Aura or Calm, which can help you meditate.
- Yoga – Yoga can be used for mindfulness. Whilst performing the poses, focus on your breathing and how your body feels.
Mindfulness helps us to focus and live in the moment. It can be as simple as looking around you and being aware of what your senses are taking in. This doesn’t need to take extra effort or time, just a deliberate focus on what is happening around you and your physical feelings. This can help us to take more pleasure from simple or routine activities and can relieve the focus on negative thoughts of the past and future as we are focused on the present.
Deal with anxiety – reduce your feelings of worry and anxiety
We all feel anxiety or worry sometimes and a small amount of anxiety or worry actual helps to motivate us to get things done. However, regular or strong feelings of worry or anxiety can affect our health, relationships and work.
Below are some strategies to help reduce feelings of worry and anxiety.
- Do regular physical activity – Physical activity has been shown in numerous studies to help with anxiety or depression. Being active helps to boost our mood, energy and productivity, manage our thoughts, and give us a greater sense of control and empowerment. Ideally, you should have a workout routine and schedule, however, even going for more walks will help you mentally and physically.
- Reassess your feelings of anxiety – You can stop or reduce anxious thoughts by identifying them, finding their root cause and then questioning and changing them.
- Approach your anxiety – If you are anxious about a specific situation you can find a way to see if this anxiety is valid. For example, if you are anxious about sharing an idea at work with your boss, you can try sharing the idea with a colleague first. Once you’ve got advice or built up your confidence, you can share it with your boss. You will probably find your feelings of anxiety were exaggerated.
- Practice Mindfulness – Mindfulness can help you feel calm and relaxed. It can also help you to accept your feelings, so you can deal with them more effectively.
If you are experiencing severe anxiety or it is greatly affecting your health, relationships and work you should see a professional.
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