A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and sparks extraordinary things – Wade Boggs
Today is International Day of Happiness, and this years theme is “Happier together”. As a result, this week I’ve been thinking about the role that happiness and positivity play in our lives.
When I was thinking about what I wanted to write about in this post I stumbled upon the above quote, by an athlete, that I’m afraid to say, I’d never heard of until today. However, the quote stuck with me, and I kept coming back to it.
Our outlook on life makes a huge impact on us an individuals and our personalities, it affects how we tackle the issues we face, how we interact with the people around us and how we feel about ourselves.
So what is a positive outlook?
Firstly, positivity isn’t about smiling constantly and putting on a brave face. When we talk about positivity we are talking about an individuals outlook on life, and their ability to see the good or the potential in a situation.
For example, have you ever been turned down for a job, or not gotten the grades that you hoped for? How did that make you feel? Were you able to see the potential of your new situation or to see a new path?
Positive people have many and varied traits but some include:
- Acceptance
- Gratitude
- Resilience
- Optimism
The interesting thing about the above traits is that they can all be classed as learned behaviours, we have the choice where we accept and move on, whether we show gratitude regardless of the situation and whether we pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off.
Now saying that, it can sometimes be extremely hard to feel optimistic or grateful, losing out on the last car parking space, a stumble that loses you a race or someone getting the job you wanted so badly. But, by developing the right thoughts we can move to a more positive way of thinking, and at the same time start working towards a greater level of happiness.
Spending time thinking about your feelings, and thinking about why you feel that way can also help give you more control over them. It allows you to acknowledge the negative and look for the possible positives.
Positive affirmations are a fantastic tool that can be used to challenge and address negative thoughts and to look at things from a more positive point of view.
They include things like:
- I am enough
- I am becoming happier and more successful every day
- I am a strong and independent person
- I am surrounded by friendship and love
- I am brave
Using positive affirmations
The great thing about positive affirmation is that you need no experience in meditation, in fact, all you need is a comfy spot and to take a minute to regroup and reset, whether that’s first thing in the morning, on your lunch break or when you get home from work.
- Pick you affirmation
- Find a quiet spot and make yourself comfortable
- As you breathe in say your affirmation out loud
- Repeat as you breathe out
- Repeat 10 times
As you start using affirmations you may only want to repeat them ten times, however, as you get more used to the process feel free to extend this and carry on until you feel calm, relaxed and refreshed.
Regularly using positive affirmations is a simple, quick and effective way to build a positive outlook on life, and a catalyst to extraordinary things.
For more information on how you can use positive affirmations or to find out more about our courses or 1:1 coaching contact me here.