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Article Series: Positive Thinking & Self Talk
I Want To Turn The Dial To Positive
3
Simple Ways To Be More Optimistic
If you’ve ever found yourself expecting the
worst without clear reasons why, you were probably the victim
of a negative-thinking habit. Rampant pessimism can be annoying
at the least and chronically destructive at worst. It can take
over your mood, mind-set, career, relationships - and life
in general – making it impossible to hope for anything good.
The good news is that pessimism for most people is nothing
more than a habit - a habit that can be broken with a little
conscious effort.
Below you’ll find 3 simple suggestions for turning pessimism
into optimism:
Challenge
the doom predictions
When your mind is ruled by a pessimistic outlook, you automatically
imagine the worst possible outcome and hold it as your expectation.
Even worse, you usually have no “evidence” to support your
belief that things will go wrong, you are just choosing to
think they will.
Turn this around by challenging any prediction for doom or
gloom that comes out of your mouth. The moment you catch yourself
thinking or saying something pessimistic, pause and ask yourself,
“Why do I think that’s true? How do I really know it’s true?
Am I willing to suspend judgment and wait and see what happens?”
The more you challenge these negative predictions, the more
you open to greater possibilities.
Choose
a better outcome
You can also take a more proactive role in choosing a better
outcome. Instead of just opening to greater possibilities,
CHOOSE the outcome you want! Just like your mind can say, “This
isn’t going to turn out well,” it can also say, “This is going
to be so great!”
Make a habit of always focusing on and choosing the BEST possible
outcome in every situation. Even if the absolute best outcome
doesn’t come to pass, you might still end up with something
nearly as good. (How will you know if you don’t even try?)
When you first begin to do this, you’ll probably feel a little
silly, and maybe even downright uncomfortable. However, keep
up with the practice and remember that an optimistic attitude
can become a habit too! If it helps, turn it into a game you
play to amuse yourself. Try to come up with the most outlandish,
hilarious outcome to every situation, and keep a record of
what happens when you do.
Focus
on the why
Your underlying beliefs are what often fuel your pessimism.
For example, if you hold the belief that you’ll never succeed
at your goals, you may find yourself thinking pessimistic thoughts
whenever you try to accomplish something. “This will never
work,” “I can’t do this, who am I kidding?” and so on.
Whenever you catch yourself thinking pessimistic thoughts
like these, narrow in on the “why.” Why do you think you’ll
never succeed at your goals? Why do you believe your plans
will never work?
Even better, ask yourself why they might work after all. Ask
yourself why you DO have what it takes to accomplish whatever
your heart desires.
If you make a genuine effort to ponder these questions, the
answers might surprise you – in a very good way!
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2008
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