Transform Your Outlook
If you or someone you know has trouble looking at the brighter side, these tips should help. https://t.co/c9TSMoWP6g
— Psychology Today (@PsychToday) March 26, 2017
2. Practice thought-stopping.
Before you can open yourself up to positive thinking, you’ve got to stop your negative thinking. When all of your thoughts are negative, negativity will be all you know. Remember: Energy follows thought. You can practice thought-stopping by becoming more aware of when your thoughts are based on negativity rather than facts. When you recognize that you are thinking in a negative, rather than factual, way, you stop the thought before it can cloud your perception.
3. End your “Yes, but…” attitude.
“Yes, but…” is a marker phrase of a negative outlook. When you “Yes, but…” life, you see the hole instead of the doughnut. When asked, “Do you like your job?” you respond, “Yes, but it doesn’t pay well.” When someone suggests you look for a better-paying job, you respond, “Yes, but then I might have to move to a different city,” and so on.
Every life has its ups and downs, but when you only see the downs as significant, you miss all the ups. Happiness can be as much a state of mind as a factual situation. Step two of your transformation into a more positive person is to stop “Yes, but…” and try “Yes, and…” instead. “Do you like your job?” “Yes, and I’m working hard to further my career.