Rewire your Thoughts - Make 2020 Positive

“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”

- Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

The last decade has seen a huge rise in the publicity of positive thinking and a belief that what we think attracts those things into our lives. However, despite this, there are still many pessimists, who don’t have a belief that what we think can manifest into reality and in a climate of austerity, hardship and social unrest, it’s easy to understand why, especially when we have a media system that infiltrates our minds with all the negative happenings across the world. Whether you believe it or not, our mindset, our outlook and our attitude will have an affect on all aspects of our lives. Our relationships, our job and our health can all be impacted from our thoughts. Positive or negative, thoughts can have a domino effect on everything we do during the day, therefore we need to start being aware of our thoughts and bring them into our conscious mindset. Our thoughts have a huge impact on the final outcome of our life and choices and is reflected in everything we do. Hence highlighting the importance of having a balanced and positive outlook on life. You may be trying daily to think positive, but life can be hard, life does throw challenges our way, and yes, there are times we can feel defeated, low and scared. However, the important thing to ensure is not to become consumed with these feelings. They will come, we are human, however we need to be able to recognise them, allow ourselves to feel them, but have strategies in place to move forward and again create a positive outlook and rationale on the situation in hand.

Positive thinking is Power for your Soul

Indeed there are many negative things happening in our world, in our communities and in our day to day life, however focusing solely on hardships, breeds a culture of negative thinking and we need to turn this on its head. It is 100% true that positive thinkers are at an advantage for living than negative thinkers, however from a very young age we are conditioned to live in fear. (Our next blog will be looking at how we challenge the fear that we are conditioned to live with and become a victim of and how to move out of this cycle of fear induced living.) When we think positive, we feel positive – in principle it seems so easy, doesn't it?

So, what can I do to have a positive persona and out look?

This is actually a lot simpler than we may realise. Firstly, you need to accept that life isn’t always easy, in fact it can hard, scary and overwhelming, however we have been given this brilliant opportunity to actually live and we only get one shot. So, accept these emotions, understand where they have derived from, then work on how you can make a change. Do not become stagnant in negative thoughts. Secondly, do something daily to bring a positive outlook into your mind. This could simply be trying to find one thing that is beautiful on your way to work, for example the sun shining through the trees. You could read one positive quote a day, find one thing in your life to be grateful for, even as simple as having roof over your head – not everyone is that lucky. But remember, don’t beat yourself up for days where the negative thoughts seem to have won. By doing this, you are actually letting the negativity manifest. Every day, is a fresh start. Finally, avoid negative people. Take a moment to think about how easy it is to listen to those people who find issues and moan about situations they have been in or people they know. I am not disputing that as human beings, we all need a little offload now and again, however I am talking about serial moaners. We all know them. They can infest us with their negativity, therefore don’t indulge them. No need to be rude, but self preservation needs to be a priority. Have you ever seen the meme about one mouldy apple being placed with fresh apples? Well, the mouldy apple spreads its mould to the fresh, vibrant apples. Protect your thoughts, protect your well being and protect your mindset.

Start with a 5 day challenge, make positive thinking a priority. We, as humans are conditioned from a young age to live in fear, hence our brain being subconsciously wired to negative thought processes. The good news is that the brain is a malleable organ that you can re wire, but it takes work and time. You need to very mindful and conscious of how you are reacting and thinking, challenge any unwanted thoughts. Take back control of YOUR mind.