Turn Your Frown Upside Down
Your state of physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing can all be ruined if your stress level is too high and you are not properly managing the stresses in your life. Believe it or not, changing your attitude can truly lower your stress level. If you have a persistently negative attitude, you can expect to have a consistently miserable existence. In order to lead a happy and fulfilled life, you have to believe in yourself and you have to improve your self-image. Here are three tips for getting turning your negative attitude into a positive one:
#1: Learn to be an Optimist
The fact that you have been a pessimist in the past doesn’t mean your have to be one in the present or in the future. You can learn to switch your glass from half empty to half full! It’s all about revamping your communication skills. You are currently in a state of confusion – you are mistaking confidence for arrogance. Stop minimizing your skills and talents when you are talking to others. Nobody like a Negative Nancy! Trust me – people like confident people. Confidence is like a magnet that will attract people to you in all areas of life. Starting right now – today – pay very close attention to the statements and comments you make when you are interacting with others. Being conscious of your behavior can help you to change it. Each time you catch yourself going in a negative and self-defeating direction, write down what happened in a journal. At the end of the day, go over each of the negative moments so that you can challenge them. Write down what you should have said instead of what you actually wound up saying. As the days go by, you will find that there will be less and less negative statements in your journal. This exercise helps to raise your self-awareness.
#2: Stop Putting Your Life on Hold
Many people feel unfulfilled and negative because they have unrequited dreams and aspirations. Stop letting your ambitions fall by the wayside – it’s time to go after your dreams with fervor! Make a list of at least ten of your goals – and don’t try to limit yourself at all – just come up with ten things that you truly would like to see realized in your life. Once you’ve come up with your list of ten goals, prioritize your list. Don’t start with the most “doable” goal on the list – put them in the order of importance to you, regardless of the challenges that a goal may present. Make yourself a recipe for success – map out the steps required to accomplish the first goal on the list, and take the first step as soon as you are finished writing! It’s time for you to believe in the power that you have within yourself, and nothing is out of reach! Just like “it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all;” it’s better to reach for the stars than to simply sit back and tell yourself it’s not worth trying to touch them. Life is a journey filled with twists and turns, so stop trying to walk the straight line.
#3: That Little Voice in Your Head
A self-deprecating negative internal dialogue can stop you dead in your tracks and cause you tremendous stress and inner turmoil. You may be under the misguided impression that you have no control whatsoever over the thoughts that run through your mind – but that’s not true! You are in control of yourself, and that includes your thought processes. You can master your own mind, and it can reduce your stress and change your life for the better. This exercise is similar to the first tip, except rather than challenging the negative things that you say out loud to others, you are going to be challenging the negative things that you say to yourself. Carry your journal around with you, and when a negative thought comes into your mind, jot it down. At the end of the day, review your negative internalizations, and challenge each one of them. Over time, you will start to catch yourself before you complete a negative thought, and you will be able to replace it with a positive one.
