12 Positive Thinking Tips To Change Your Mindset

We all want to be more positive, but too often we plod through life believing it’s ‘just not that easy’.  While I will agree there’s no instant fix or magic spell, I do believe that being happy, and positive thinking in general, can be achieved through a bit of simple effort and building good habits for life.  I know, you’re probably thinking what the heck is ‘simple effort’, so keep reading!  We’re talking about small changes that, over time will change your entire view on life.

I’ve summed up my go-to positive thinking tips that help create better habits for happiness!  These are my tried and tested ways to keep myself in a positive mindset.  Remember, when you go through these, that this is about habit building.  Your mindset will shift if you practice looking for the good in your daily life, not just once-off or now and then. Here’s what helps me stay positive:

1 Positive Self-Talk: Affirmations 

With the incessant negative self-talk going on in our heads using positive affirmations is a healthy way to uplift yourself.  We are so hard on ourselves that positive affirmations can feel silly, and even like a waste of time, but the more we speak nicely to ourselves the more comfortable we become with it.  With repetition you slowly chip away at that negative voice until one day you start believing the kind words and dismissing the negative.

When it comes to positive thinking tips, this is a conscious effort on your part to put yourself first.  To pay attention to where the negative is creeping in, and stop it in it’s tracks.  Positive affirmations are a form of self-love, and I believe self-love is where we need to start if we want to build a happy life, a life we love!

On a side note, this doesn’t have to be the ‘I am loved’ etc. affirmations repeated over and over.  If you feel comfortable with this method, wonderful, but it can be a simple shift in the way you talk to yourself.  Notice where you are being unkind and make a shift.  Instead of berating yourself with a ‘stupid idiot’, say something kinder, like ‘that’s ok, I’ll do better next time’.  Affirmations can feel inauthentic for some so, if that is you, start with this method instead.

2 Journaling for Gratitude and Release

I believe so much in the power of journaling I’ve already written 2 blog posts entirely focused on the subject!  Journaling is right at the top of the list of positive thinking tips, even if you’re writing something negative at the time!  Why?  Because you are releasing the negative energy.  You are processing it.  The worst thing you can do with negative emotions is keep them locked away inside you.  Letting them go, in a judgement free way like journaling, is a super healthy way to process.

A very popular use of journaling right now is the Gratitude Journal.  This is a simple but powerful way to get yourself into a healthy, positive thinking for the day.  Start (or end) every day with a conscious acknowledgment of what you have to be grateful for.  Try to really think about these, like your Grandma’s cookies or running through the rain.  Don’t make them generic.  As much as you may be grateful for the air you breathe, searching for more fine-tuned topics for your list ensures you are really feeling into the emotion of gratitude.  And, that’s where the positive thinking tip finds its home, in the emotion!

3 Using Vision Boards for Motivation

I love Vision Boards because they are both fun and inspiring.  From start to finish they bring positive energy into your life.  Getting to design your life exactly as you imagine it is a wonderful way of lifting your spirits and looking towards the future.  Plus, keeping them somewhere visible is a daily reminder to believe in the life you choose for yourself.

Making your Vision Board can be a great family activity.  Get everyone involved.  Your kids will love joining in, or designing their own.  And the shared, positive, experience will be so rewarding.  You will be sending a powerful message of hope and positivity to your kids.  This may seem trivial, but remember this is about your mindset.  You are sending the right messages to your psyche.

4 Bucket Lists as To-Do Lists!

Another wonderful way to put yourself into the positive way of thinking.  this is similar to the Vision Board but more action focused.  This is a to-do list, with everything you can dream of that will inspire you and bring you joy.  You can’t get more positive than that!

What I love about the bucket list is it’s a combination of the vision board and your goals list.  You get to dream and plan at the same time.  This is an action-orientated activity.  You are writing this list with clear intentions to make them happen.  So, get started.  Write the list and start making them a reality.

5 Meditation for Finding Peace

This is a deeper level than the other positive thinking tips I’ve already mentioned.  This is about changing you from the inside.  Meditation has a compounding effect on your mindset.  It helps you to find peace in a manic world.  Naturally, a positive mindset comes more naturally to a mind at peace.  While meditation takes time to works its magic, the rewards are life changing.  This is about making a commitment to yourself to find a place of calm within you.  A place that helps you manage the stresses of everyday.

If you haven’t tried meditation before, head over and read 10 Meditation Tips for Beginners.  This is a daily practice that will truly enrich your life and help you to tap into your inner truth more than anything else I have experienced.  For me it is a foundational positive thinking tip that could really change your life.  So, don’t be scared to give it a go!

6 Positive Media Only

Do you associate media with positive thinking tips?  I’m sure you don’t!  The media you consume daily needs to be leaning more towards the positive wherever possible.  My go-to for positive media would be music .  But, besides a ‘Happy Place’ playlist, we need to make positive changes in all our media intake.

Believe me, this is a huge one!  Putting on your favourite song is a wonderful quick fix for lifting your spirits, but knowing where to establish boundaries for yourself with regards to the media and negative tv we watch will help you feel more positive and balanced overall.  No, don’t bury your head, but please don’t bury yourself in negativity either.  You can make a conscious choice to be informed without being inundated.

Watch TV programs that make you laugh or remind you in the good in humanity, instead of shows filled with dread and anger.  These things influence you more than you realize.  Watching something frightening before bed will mean your body and mind cannot shut down properly.  You will be on high alert.  Make your social media intake a positive experience too, this is totally in your control and can be a wonderful, uplifting experience instead of something that drags you down.

7 Positive People Only

People are like media too, their messages and energy affect you.  We don’t always get to choose the people we spend our days with but, wherever possible, seek out those good ones!  Stick to the one’s that fill your bucket.  You know, the one’s that make you feel lit up and fill you with energy instead of draining you.  The ones that you can drop the masks with and just be loved for who you are.  They are life’s diamonds.

When you find yourself around negative people try to find ways of distracting from negative conversation.  Change the subject or throw out a compliment, that will shift the mood.  Remember, even the negative people don’t want to be that way, they are just stuck in a cycle.  So, help lift them out where you can.

8 Get Some Air

Being indoors too much weighs us down.  Making an effort every day to just get outside will improve your mood.  This is such a simple fix.  No mindset shifts needed, this positive thinking tip is really just about stepping outside your door.  That’s all!  Because, trust me, the moment you do you will feel a shift.

The benefits of being in nature are plentiful.  The fresh air, the connection to this beautiful earth and its creatures.  The sense of calm.  There are no words to describe the feeling you get from being in nature.  For me it feels like being filled with peace while being charged with energy at the same time.  It doesn’t make much sense, does it?  Like I said, no words!

So, don’t get too comfortable inside those four walls.  Remember what it feels like to recharge in the natural world.  Step outside, recharge your batteries, and find a positivity boost unlike any other.

9 Set Goals to Keep you Focused

This has the same effect as your Bucket List.  It is all about intention setting.  When you make a decision that you are going to work towards something it becomes like a beacon of light for you.  Provided you don’t put too much pressure on yourself about it!  Make it something to look forward to, like planning a Christmas Party or a birthday.

Whether your goal is fitness and health related or work related, remember that the key here is to focus on positive thinking.  So, make your goals just big enough to challenge you but within your reach.  You want to stay motivated and excited about your goal.  You want to believe in your ability, not doubt it.  When you’ve achieved your initial goal, then you can set the next one.  Keep it light and motivational.

10 Help Others

When you make an active effort to help others you can’t be anything but happy.  It’s a natural bi-product of spreading love and kindness.  We are all connected at the end of the day.  One big, human family.  We need each other and when we show up for each other we come to this realization through the way it makes us feel.  We feel like we belong.  Like we matter.

There are a thousand ways to make a difference in this world.  Helping someone, from sponsoring a charity to surprising someone with a gift.  It can be just about anything.  Listen to your intuition on this one and you will find ways to bring joy to this world.  And when you do, you’ll be wondering who got more benefit out of the experience, you or the one you helped!

11 Connect with Friends

We mentioned positive people earlier, but these are the ones you choose.  Choose wisely!  Spending time with the people that make you laugh, smile and feel like you belong is an absolute winner of a positive thinking tip.  It’s a no-brainer, really.  These are the people that get you, embrace you for who you are with all your flaws and insecurities.  These are the people that make you feel your best self.  Naturally they are the ones you want to spend most of your time with.

12 Practice Self-Care

I cannot stress this enough.  Although the importance of self-care is becoming more accepted and recognized it is still something that more people need to pay attention to.  We do not practice enough self-love or self-care.  How could we ever be truly happy if we don’t allow ourselves to feel good?  This is basic stuff, and yet we don’t seem to understand how important it is.

When you start to nourish yourself – mind, body and spirit, it is easier to see the good in things.  You feel loved and it shows.  Self-love can be simple things like setting boundaries or treating yourself now and then, but it can make the world of difference in your life.  Honestly, if we all loved ourselves more it could literally make the world of difference.

Start practicing self-love today, you can’t help but be more positive if you do!

I hope you enjoyed these positive thinking tips.  Sometimes we just need to look at things from a slightly different perspective.  What works for some may not work for others.  Try out some of my tips and see how they work for you!

Steph x

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