How to increase in positivity

You’ve probably heard the term ‘positive mental attitude’ a few times, but did you know that it is actually a bonafide concept that was developed back in 1937 as a part of the book Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill? In the book, the author puts huge emphasis on positive thinking as the bedrock of success, and successful people haven’t looked back, honing and refining a positive mental attitude to help them achieve their goals.

You’ve probably heard the term ‘positive mental attitude’ a few times, but did you know that it is actually a bonafide concept that was developed back in 1937 as a part of the book Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill? In the book, the author puts huge emphasis on positive thinking as the bedrock of success, and successful people haven’t looked back, honing and refining a positive mental attitude to help them achieve their goals.

1. Be Positive With Your Language

First tip on how to develop positive attitude is to consciously chose positive language. Are you the type of person who says things like, “Ican’t do it”, “It’s beyond me,” “I’ll never do that,” or “I won’tgo there” ? If so, it’s clear to say that your language is far too negative, and it demonstrates that you approach life with the wrong kind of attitude. Rather than attack life with gusto and realise your potential, you’re instead afraid of taking chances and letting yourself go.

To develop a positive mental attitude, you can start with your language. Rather than saying you can’t do this or that, start saying, “I WILL do this”, or “I CHOOSE to do this.” Say you want things, and say that you should do things.

2. Discard Anger and Judgement

Many of us love a good gossip. We like to talk about other people, and for some people it can be kinda fun to laugh at someone’s misfortune. But this just develops a negative mindset, and it stops us from moving forward. Rather than focusing on our own life, we’re instead jealous and bitter about someone else’s. But now it’s time to accept that these negative emotions – such as anger and bitterness – are not needed. It’s time to let them go and replace with them more positive emotions, such as happiness and empathy. Rather than wish someone ill luck, wish them well.

3. Embrace Life

Next tip on how to develop positive attitude is to simply embrace the present moment. Many times we don’t embrace life, nor do we seize the moment, because we get weighed down by trivialities and insecurities. We want to go the movies but if our friend cancels, rather than go by ourselves and look like a loner, we stay in, heat up a TV dinner and feel blue. And if we want to go out but can’t find a dress that looks right, we get frustrated and hide under our duvet. Better than going out and attracting attention for a dress that just doesn’t look right, right? … Right?

Wrong! These “obstacles” are not really obstacles at all. They’re trivialities that are stopping you from living your life. You need to start being bold and forget about what others think. Stop letting so-called obstacles hold you back and take control of your destiny and happiness.

4. Love Yourself

A positive mental attitude starts with loving yourself. If you hate yourself, life will be pretty miserable indeed. People who love themselves have an absolute ball. Now, we know that loving yourself is not exactly easy if you already hate yourself, but you have to develop the idea that you are beautiful, worthy and awesome. You’re unique and you deserve self-love just as much as anyone else. Once you realise this, your mindset will become so much more positive.

5. Be Grateful

Another tip on how to develop positive attitude is to be grateful. Every day we’re still alive is a blessing, and you should feel blessed each morning you wake up. By being grateful for everything you have in life – friends, a home, family, pets, a job etc – you will start to feel more positive. Remember, though, that you shouldn’t focus on the things you don’t have but would like to have, and instead be grateful for what you do have. Because what you have is a lot more than others have. Be rich in mind and you’ll be rich in spirit.

6. Keep Your Cool

Ever heard a driver get angry when they’re stuck in traffic? You’ve heard them cuss and swear, haven’t you? What about the time your partner’s football team lost and he almost kicked the television in? That’s anger, and that’s the result of the wrong kind of mindset. Sure, it’s easy to lose our cool when we’re queuing up outside the cinema in the pouring rain for an hour, but if you keep your cool and use waiting time to your advantage – you could fill out a puzzle, do some reading, etc – you’ll feel much better.

7. Hang Around With Positive People

Next useful tip on how to develop positive attitude is to hang around with positive people. There is literally nothing worse when we want to be more positive than hanging around friends who bring us down with their negative thinking. By hanging out with couples who argue constantly, or friends who believe that the world is going to end in 2020, you’ll start to feel miserable yourself. Because it’s human nature to mimic the folk we hang around with, it’s time that you started to find some shiny happy chums who believe that life is beautiful.

8. Learn New Things

Learning is fun. Learning opens our eyes to things, enlightens our mind and teaches us new concepts. When we learn something seriously amazing, we feel amazing. We feel filled with knowledge and wonder, and we feel blessed. Because knowledge really is power, arming yourself with lots of it will make you feel more powerful and wizened and you really will start to feel more positive. The next time a friend asks you a difficult question about history, rather than frown you’ll be able to shoot off the right answer. And thatwill make you feel great.

9. Look To The Future

Another great tip on how to develop positive attitude is to look to the future. People who have negative mindsets tend to dwell on the past. They think about the way things used to be, and they always ask the question: “What if …?”. To ensure that you’re no longer one of these past-living people, you need to hold a toast to the future and make a list of all the things you want to achieve. By thinking forward, and by imagining the kind of awesome life that awaits you, you will be motivated to work towards a series of goals. And this will imbue you with positivity.

10. Absorb Positive Information

If you switch on the news on any given day, you’ll likely be faced with earthquakes, poverty, war and disease. The world is not always a nice place, but to help you develop a positive mental attitude, you should focus on absorbing positive information only. This could mean that you listen to a positive CD in your car, or it could mean that you read a positive-thinking book. Swap the newspaper for a pep talk, and change your music-listening habits, and you’ll be surprised at the results. After all, anyone who spends their days listening to tearful songs like R.E.M’s ‘Everybody Hurts’ will find it difficult to get positive about anything …