Practices to Develop Positive Attitude..

While we are on the topic of positive self talk.. thought I would share this with you!

Practices to Develop a Positive Attitude

Each of these practices are just a variation of positive thinking and a positive attitude, but from slightly different angles. They give you an opportunity to practice your skills throughout the day — and the more you practice, the better you’ll get, and the more benefits you’ll see.

1. Squash negative thoughts. After I learned to monitor my positive and negative thoughts, I started to envision a negative thought as a bug … and then I’d squash it! “I can’t do this!” SQUASH! Then I’d replace that negative thought with a positive one: “I CAN do this!”
2. Mantras. Anticipate your difficult situations and think of a positive mantra for that situation. Then, when things get tough, repeat the mantra over and over. For example, when I want to develop patience and learn to be in the moment, I just repeat advice from Thich Nhat Hanh: “Smile, breathe and go slowly.” It works!
3. See the good in any situation. You’ve heard the phrase, “Every cloud has a silver lining” … and that’s pretty true. Try to see the positive side to any situation, and you’ll enjoy it more, and you’ll feel better. Even tough situations have good sides: When something is difficult, see it as a challenge, as a way to learn and grow and get better and stronger. When there is a loss, see it as a reminder of what is important to you, of a way to cherish what has been lost, as a way to move on to something new, as a way to learn and grow.
4. Enjoy small pleasures. Every activity has small things that can be pleasurable if you pay attention to them and learn to enjoy them. A difficult day at the office can also be a time for you and others to come together — enjoy those moments with others. Running can be fun for its physical pleasure, for the beauty of the nature around you, for the peaceful time of meditation. Cleaning house can also be a time for meditation, and the pleasure of a clean room or laundered bedsheets cannot be overstated. Notice the small things and take pleasure in them, and any activity can be positive.
5. See the good in yourself. This is very important, because if you are negative about yourself, that affects whether you believe you can do something. If you think you’re an undisciplined person, you’ll have sloppy habits. If you think you’re lazy, you won’t work hard. If you think you’re dumb, you won’t try to learn. Instead, think positive thoughts about yourself. Try to see your strengths, see the good things you’ve done, see the silver lining in anything about yourself.
6. See the good in others. Similarly, every person has good in them — and if you look for their strengths and the good things they’ve done, you will be more positive in dealing with other people. This will result in people treating you better, and you’ll feel better as well.
7. Positive imaging. This is a tried-and-true method that has been tested on athletes — and has worked well for all kinds of non-athletes too. Visualize your success, or a positive image of yourself or any situation or activity. Visualize it in great detail, and allow yourself to feel positive things about this image. Then make the image come true.
8. Anticipate fun. Go into a situation or activity thinking it’ll be horrible, and it will be. Instead, go into that situation or activity thinking that you’ll have fun, that it’ll be a new challenge, that you’ll learn and grow from it … and it will be much more likely to be true. Compliments of Leo Babauta!