Development of positive thinking. Tips and exercises

How to develop positive thinking in yourself

With the help of positive thinking alone you will not succeed in anything, but with it everything turns out faster and easier.

Many people in the modern world are aware of the great importance of positive thinking, since only a person’s positive thinking can give him the strength to withstand such difficult life conditions. Practice shows that positive people achieve success much more often than people with negative thinking. You probably want to join the successful people by developing the habit of looking at the world from a positive point of view. But you don't know how to develop positive thinking in yourself? Then the information below is of particular importance to you.

Many bestselling authors continually use obvious advice like: “Think positive thoughts and your life will transform,” “Surround yourself with positive people and they will infect you with optimism,” “Don’t do anything—you’re already an optimist,” and so on. These tips look so obvious that it is extremely difficult for the authors to object. This situation is reminiscent of helping a child who does not know how to wash clothes at the beginning of this difficult task, with the advice: “Turn on the washing machine.” But it's obvious! You won't be able to wash your clothes without turning on the washing machine! The difficulty is to explain to the child how to use this washing machine. The same rule applies to the process of developing positive thinking.

In order to achieve results, it is not enough to simply look at the world through rose-colored glasses, as this will be self-deception. You will ask why? Yes, because your self-hypnosis that life is wonderful will not correspond to your inner state of mind. Inside yourself, you will also be convinced that fate is playing a cruel joke on you, sending all life’s litigations to you. Therefore, before you convince yourself that everything around you is wonderful and amazing, you should first believe it.

In fact, developing positive thinking is a long process that takes a lot of effort from a person. Have you changed your mind about thinking positively? “Oh, no, I don’t have time for this!” - you say. Don't have time for your own life? Do you really want to spend your whole life looking for the reasons for your failures instead of changing the course of events? If the answer to the last question is “no,” then let’s look at the basic tips that you need to use to develop the psychology of a successful person.

Example:

The thought “I failed again, everything is as always...” immediately add: “But I gained invaluable experience that will allow me to avoid making similar mistakes in the future.”

The thought “I failed the job because I don’t understand anything about it...” should be compensated by the thought: “But I tried very hard - I spent my time and effort to do the job correctly, and only for this can I be praised.”

2. Analyze your past. Your past is probably rich in both bright and memorable events, as well as sad and sorrowful ones. Many people, without knowing it, constantly return to the past, drawing memories from there that influence their behavior in the present. This happens even if the person himself pretends that he has left his past in the past. The main difference between a person with positive thinking and a negatively thinking person is that the first takes positive memories from his past, which charge him with new strength and optimism, and the second takes negative memories of his failures, instilling fear in a person that they will again will repeat. What kind of positive thinking can we talk about if a person’s past is associated with negativity? Therefore, when you are visited by negative thoughts and the desire to complain about bad luck, remember the moments of your past, both your successes and failures. Praise yourself for your successes, because they are entirely your fault. In your failures, try to find their true cause, just don’t blame yourself - self-humiliation is alien to a positive perception of the world. View your failures in a positive light - perhaps they gave you additional knowledge and skills. There are often cases when one significant failure for a person leads to even greater success. Perhaps this is exactly your case.

3. Write down your goal. It will be interesting to know that most negative people do not have goals in life, or they are only in their heads, which in principle is tantamount to their absence. How does this affect your thinking? Yes, in the most direct way - when you don’t have a goal, you live your life chaotically, you go by touch. We are all born for certain purposes. Having achieved a goal, a person experiences the greatest joy and positivity, and subsequently, just the memory of success can give strength and make it easier to achieve other goals. When goals are achieved, a person has a clear incentive to praise himself, which directly affects his positive thinking.

If a person does not have a goal, he does not strive for anything, does not acquire new knowledge and skills, and does not improve himself. And so, at the first meeting with life’s circumstances, a person fails, and begins: “Well, this world is unfair to me,” “It’s not me, but other people who are to blame,” etc. Returning to point 1, a person is overcome by negative thoughts that produce negative thinking.

If you do not want to develop the mindset of a loser, you should work on your goals - highlight your main life priorities, based on an analysis of your own potential and other conditions, formulate specific, real, achievable goals, and then (this is important!) display these goals on paper . And don’t forget that to achieve success, you yourself must believe in the achievability of the goal.

4. Break your negative stereotypes. You probably know people who can complain about life for hours and constantly show their dissatisfaction with what is happening. At the same time, no matter what they talk about, an attempt is constantly made to give the story a negative connotation. But the most surprising thing is not that they are able to notice the negative even in the most positive, but that they consider such behavior normal... Have you decided to let positive thinking into your life? Then you should make a lot of efforts to eradicate such stereotypes. Remember, pessimists always believe that in any business they start they are doomed to failure. This is the most terrible stereotype of thinking, since thinking in this way a person drives himself into a narrow framework, beyond which he does not dare. Optimists are always open to everything new and are not afraid to accept the challenge of fate, even when at first glance the chances of success are scanty. While pessimists fear, optimists do.

The best way to combat stereotypes is to change your behavior and way of thinking. “I don’t know how to manage my money, so I’ll never have a lot of it” - with a similar phrase you are programming yourself for poverty. Change this thought to “I am very practical and regularly monitor my budget.” If you don't control your spending, it's time to start right with this phrase. Be sure to back up your words with actions. Without action, words become not conviction, but self-deception.

5. Use visualization. Visualization is a very popular tool used to better visualize one's goals and increase the likelihood of achieving them. The essence of visualization comes down to creating a clear, concrete image of what is desired in a person’s mind, to help the person imagine that his goal has already been achieved. Many people, without even realizing it, use visualization in everyday life. However, this visualization is often negative, destructive, associated with a person’s fears.

Examples of negative visualization can be encountered anywhere. So, for example, if there is heavy ice outside and you have an important urgent meeting, leaving the house, you will be afraid that you might slip and fall. Your mind paints a clear picture called “How I Fell.” And don’t be surprised if the first event after going outside is that you fall. However, despite the unconscious use of negative visualization, positive visualization will help you in the process of developing positive thinking. A person spends his energy throughout his life, only some spend it on destruction, while others spend it on creation. Visualization is an effective tool for focusing a person’s mental energy on achieving the desired result.

Most often, positive thinking is possessed by people whose all areas of life are in harmony with each other. With the power of our thoughts, we attract happiness and success, as well as the people necessary to achieve harmony. In order to be most likely to achieve success, sit in a comfortable place, close your eyes and imagine a clear image of achieving success. The pictures in your head should be clear. So, if your goal is career growth, imagine how you shake your hand, congratulate you on taking on a new position, and how a party is thrown in connection with your promotion. “So what, I’ll start visualizing career growth for myself and instantly achieve it?” - you ask. Of course not, if you sit with your hands folded. The use of visualization techniques does not relieve a person of the responsibility to perform the actions necessary for success. However, it is visualization that will help you take the necessary actions, since you will imagine the goal achieved, and all your further actions will be subordinated to this goal.

Positive thinking can completely change a person's life. You've probably noticed that successful businessmen are always in a good mood and optimistic. Only in rare moments can one notice a gloomy state of mind in such a person. As you understand, the secret of success lies precisely in positive thinking.

What is the essence of positive thinking

According to the views of modern psychology, the thought process can have two moods: positive or negative. The entire life of an individual depends on the nature of thoughts.

If a person thinks negatively, then this indicates a low level of his brain abilities. As a rule, the tendency to negative thinking is caused by the past experiences of the person himself and the people around him. We are talking about mistakes made and disappointments.

In the process of growing up, a person accumulates negative emotions and problems, which aggravates the situation. By the way, this state of affairs is especially typical for introverts. By the way, the art of positive thinking is available to everyone, regardless of whether you are an extrovert or an introvert.

The basis of negative thinking is the denial of information that is unpleasant for a person. Immersed in thoughts about them, the person strives to prevent such a situation from happening again. However, concentrating on negative experiences, a person notices even more what is unpleasant for him and loses the ability to notice the positive sides. As a result, the individual feels that his life is gray. And showing him that there are other possibilities is quite difficult. Negative thinking allows you to select facts that prove that life is very hard, and there is nothing interesting, pleasant, or joyful in it.

Since a person focuses on the negative, it seems to him that others are to blame for something. He strives to find those who constantly ruin his life. He is not interested in ways to improve his mood, since he sees only disadvantages in them. For this reason, he misses the chances that are given to him.

A person who thinks negatively can be described as follows:

there is attachment to the usual way of life;
looks for negative aspects in everything that is new and unfamiliar to him;
there is no desire to know;
tends to be nostalgic;
believes that a more difficult time will soon come, and we need to prepare for this period;
strives to identify pitfalls in the successes of other people and his own;
wants to have everything at once, without doing anything;
there are negative thoughts and actions towards the people who surround the person, an inability to cooperate;
does not know how to see the positive sides of life;
he always has compelling explanations for why life cannot be improved;
greedy.

A person who thinks negatively has no specific desires or plans. Everything he wants is about making his life easier.

Positive thinking is a higher level of development of thought processes, which is based on the fact that everything that surrounds us has positive aspects. An optimist thinks that failure is the next step towards victory. In a situation where a negative person gives up, an optimistic person has twice as much strength to get the desired result.

Positive thinking allows a person to get acquainted with new information and take advantage of emerging opportunities. He is engaged in self-development, and he does not have any fears. By focusing on the positive, he sees even failure as something useful for himself. As a rule, such a person is an extrovert.

A person who is characterized by positive thinking can be characterized as follows:

he seeks advantage in everything;
interested in gaining new knowledge and using additional opportunities;
the presence of a restless desire to improve one’s life;
he plans his time, records new ideas;
hardworking and can work hard to achieve a goal;
positive attitude towards people;
he watches with interest individuals who have achieved success and learns from them;
he wonders why what is planned and thought out to the smallest detail always comes true;
is calm about his achievements;
generosity in emotional and material terms (in moderation).

A person who is characterized by positive thinking finds it easy to do work, because he sees all the opportunities and strives to use them. Such people are usually called “lucky” or “darlings of fate.” In a sense, this is true. After all, a positive person is able to achieve a lot, and everything can be done without such negative aspects as worries, mental trauma, and serious losses.

A successful person makes new discoveries and achieves his goals.

The Power of Positive Thinking and the Benefits It Brings

Positive thinking is a great thing that can affect your mood, health, and circumstances. According to research results, positive thinking not only helps to improve a person’s emotional state, but also allows you to touch every area of your life. That is, by thinking positively, you can improve your financial situation, relationships with others, and much more.

As you know, positive thoughts have an extremely positive effect on a person’s health. Testimony from thousands of people suggests that positive thinking can improve physical well-being. A person does not react so strongly to stressful situations and easily recovers from a depressed state.

Health improves. There is an opinion that if you think positively about your well-being, you can get rid of various diseases, even if we are talking about serious diseases. It is difficult to understand how true this is. However, there are many stories that talk about miraculous healings of people who choose to think positively. Perhaps we are dealing with the placebo effect, that is, a person’s belief in recovery.

Immunity is strengthened. Thoughts affect the immune system, which means they can either strengthen or weaken it. This conclusion was drawn by the researchers when they noticed that the immune response to the vaccine became less pronounced when areas of the brain associated with negative experiences were activated. There are many stories in which, due to despair and loss of hope, mortality increased in cities where epidemics developed. Also, each of us is familiar with examples from our family and friends who confirm that thanks to a positive attitude and optimistic attitude towards life, you can strengthen your immune system and become healthier.

Directing your attention. Positive thinking allows a person to concentrate on what he wants, and not on what is unpleasant to him. It is easier for him to make efforts to achieve what he wants. In addition, the effectiveness of its actions increases significantly. Positive thinking makes it possible to focus on the goal, and not on the possible unpleasant consequences of the decisions made.

Self-control. Positive thinking allows you to fight negative thoughts, false judgments and avoid stupid decisions. Maintaining a positive attitude will take some effort. This is a kind of exercise for our attention.

Attracting positive things. According to the law of attraction, like attracts like. Positive thinking allows you to attract the things and circumstances you need into your life. And if you think negatively, it will lead to the appearance of only negative aspects. It doesn't matter if you know what positive thinking or the law of attraction is.

In any case, if you think positively, then more positive things will appear in your life, and if your way of thinking is negative, then the result will be very disastrous. This conclusion can be drawn based on the experience of thousands of people, most of whom have no idea about the law of attraction. Of course, the point is that positive thinking allows you to take the right actions and get a positive result.

Expanding awareness and perception. Positive thinking allows a person to see everything that happens differently. For example, loss or failure is perceived by most people as something bad. By thinking positively, you will think that this event is another step towards your goal, it will allow you to become a stronger person, gain patience and faith. By focusing on the positive, you see the whole picture, not just part of it. You understand that life has a continuation, and nothing ends with failure, and constant negative thoughts about this will not bring anything pleasant.

Feeling good. The state of our health is determined by the nature of our thoughts. It is obvious that an optimist can endure even a serious illness without nervous shock. Such a person knows that thinking about illness only worsens his situation, so he strives to rejoice and tune in to the positive, and often this becomes his salvation. If an individual is accustomed to thinking about bad things, then it will not be difficult for him to worsen his condition, even if there is no special reason for this. Doctors often have to work with gloomy and emotionally exhausted people who are looking for non-existent, far-fetched sores in themselves. And the more they think about it, the higher the likelihood that such an illness will actually appear. However, you should not assume that positive thinking will make you ignore signs of a possible disease. On the contrary, an optimistic person pays attention to his body and its needs. But a positively minded individual will definitely not engage in making terrible diagnoses for himself without visiting a doctor.

Developing healthy self-esteem. Positive thinking allows a person to maintain healthy self-esteem and feel good about himself. Such a person will not speak negatively about himself, relatives and friends. An optimist forgives mistakes and shortcomings both to himself and to other people. He is not interested in thoughts that there is something wrong with him. He has no need to compare himself with others. The opinions of others are important to him and he treats them with respect. However, a positive-minded person understands that other people’s judgments are not decisive for him. He does not like excessive pride and a sense of superiority. He has a love for life, he wants to live with dignity, and he is sure that success and positive thinking are interconnected. At the same time, he adequately assesses his abilities.

Eliminate negative habits. Positive thinking may seem to suggest that a person sees only the good side of negative habits and does not notice their unpleasant consequences. Actually this is not true. An optimist strives to create for himself a way of life that will not cause any harm to the well-being of the person himself, those around him, the world, and nature. He wants his activities to be beneficial, so negative habits simply do not find a place in his life.

Less stress. Positive thinking allows a person to stop remembering unpleasant situations that happened in the past. Of course, the optimist thinks about them once or even several times, but he does this in order to learn lessons for himself. But he will not simply constantly dwell on unpleasant experiences, because this risks the fact that he can again get stuck in the negative. For a positive thinking person, what happened is in the past. This is especially true if the memories are not at all happy. Positive thinking helps increase a person's resistance to any stressful situation.

Improved relationships. Positive thinking teaches a person to keep his thoughts and emotions under control, thanks to which he becomes especially gentle and calm in communication. Disagreements and disputes will gradually fade away. An optimist knows how to accept other people's opinions with respect. He is able not to point out the mistakes of others, and if this is absolutely necessary, then he has the right words to communicate this as gently and tactfully as possible.

Longevity. Thanks to improved health, stronger immunity, positive habits, quality and deep relationships with loved ones, life expectancy can increase. Of course, testing this in practice is not so easy. But it is also impossible to deny that positive thinking can prolong a person’s life.

Increasing the level of motivation. A person's motivation can increase if he is rewarded or punished. The encouragement method is especially relevant for those who have mastered positive thinking. An optimist only needs to think about the positive changes that will follow from completing tasks and achieving goals, and he is already full of desire to act. The punishment method is more complex because it involves using a negative image to create motivation, which is highly undesirable if you are practicing positive thinking. However, for many this method remains relevant. It is important to understand that over time, a positive attitude will save you from problems with motivation, but until this happens, you can use both methods.

Easily overcome difficulties. Are you facing problems and obstacles? It's OK. Positive thinking will teach you over time that it is in contradictions and difficulties that the best opportunities lie. We are talking about improving skills, gaining experience, learning some lessons. Difficulty is no longer something that frightens you and makes you lose your enthusiasm and desire to act. Moreover, when you learn to overcome obstacles, you will experience special pleasure when you meet them again. After all, for you, a problem is an opportunity to demonstrate yourself, your abilities and skills.

Of course, positive thinking has other benefits, but we have listed the most important ones. The most important thing you will gain from this practice is the opportunity to take steps towards your dreams and goals.

How to cope with chronic fatigue: a step-by-step algorithm

Set aside what you're doing for five minutes and think about whether you are experiencing the symptoms described below:

impairment of short-term memory and concentration;
a sore throat;
muscle and joint pain without signs of swelling;
feeling tired after sleep;
headache;
frequent infectious diseases;
dry mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth;
allergic reactions that did not exist before.

If you experience at least three of the nine symptoms, you most likely have chronic fatigue syndrome. In this article from the e-magazine "CEO" you will find six steps to overcome fatigue, recommended by American physician Jacob Teitelbaum.

How to develop a positive way of thinking

Focusing on negative thoughts is just a habit. You can get rid of it if you are willing to put in the effort. In just two weeks you can completely change your thinking and see the world from a different perspective. Just use these rules:

Don't fight the windmill.
Stop complaining about life, accept it as it is.
Learn to communicate with others, do not allow conflicts to arise.
Understand what your strengths are, think about how you can use them.
Follow a daily routine: get up early and go to bed on time, do exercises, eat well.
Choose a hobby for yourself and do it.
Don't get irritated over trifles.
Surround yourself with things that delight and inspire you.
Set goals for yourself and write down a step-by-step plan for achieving them.
Do good deeds.

In addition, you can talk to a psychologist, identify your fears and eliminate them.

Logistics interview: 3 tasks for logic, thinking and resourcefulness

Exercises to develop positive thinking

If you want to develop positive thinking, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with special exercises and perform them.

Exercise 1. “Looking for dignity.”

It is especially important to understand what strengths you have. Developing your strengths allows you to achieve success. To do this exercise, sit alone for ten minutes and write a list of ten of your strengths. The next day, repeat the practice and make ten more. Continue for two weeks. As a result, you will have a list of at least 140 of your best qualities.

At first, the task may seem impossible. However, get started, overcome the stupor and find your strengths daily.

Exercise 2. “Disadvantages can be useful.”

The same quality can be both your disadvantage and your advantage. For example, you are very careful. Perhaps someone will consider you a coward, while others will see it as a productive trait that protects you from unnecessary recklessness.

To master positive thinking, learn to find benefit even in your shortcomings. Reflect on the character traits that you are unhappy with and consider how they benefit you.

Exercise 3. “What good do you see?”

Thanks to this exercise, you will look completely differently at the people who surround you. If you are careful, you can see virtues even in the worst people. Think about a person who annoys you. Maybe we are talking about a neighbor who can’t finish his renovation and is constantly making noise. Look at him carefully. Surely, you will notice that he knows how to do a lot of things with his own hands, knows how to carry out repair work, which not everyone can do.

Remember the people who are unpleasant to you, and learn to find merit in them. Developing positive thinking is much easier if you don't have resentment or other negative feelings towards others. Learn to see the best in people.

Exercise 4. “Happiness Journal.”

Buy a beautiful notebook and divide it into the following parts: my successes, my dreams, my virtues, joyful events in my life, my gratitude. There is no need to deal only with the description of grandiose events. It could be a simple walk in the park, a small gift from your friend, or a vacation. Record everything that makes you happy: that you woke up earlier than usual today, the weather was good, etc. The psychology of positive thinking will gradually become entrenched in your mind if you constantly perform this exercise.

The lists should be updated regularly. Thanks to this, you will have a real journal of happiness, which will become a source of inspiration for you in moments when, for some reason, you are plunged into negative thoughts and emotions.

Exercise 5. “Always say yes.”

Don't use negative statements. The word “no” simply does not exist for you anymore. Thanks to this exercise, you will learn to listen to your interlocutors. Often, the ability to agree with the opinion of another person allows you to stop a dispute, conflict, and build friendly relationships with relatives and friends.

It seems to many that their own worldview does not change anything. But negative people rarely achieve success, but positive people are always happy, even if they haven’t succeeded yet, because they know that everything has its time.

Exercise 6. “My ideal day.”

Martin Seligman, an American psychologist and founder of positive psychology, proposed this technique. This technique is recommended to be used when you set your goals. Thanks to the technique, you will be able to focus on the positive, on what you are striving for, and not on what is unpleasant for you.

Describe your ideal day in as much detail as possible. Don't forget about your personal preferences and life values. For example, you can write what you would like:

Stay close to loved ones.
Pursue your favorite hobby.
Relax in nature.
Work on interesting projects.

You can write about what brings you pleasure. Each person will have their own points.

And then you have to bring all this to life. Try to spend your day perfectly and then analyze what you were able to do and what you weren’t able to do. Reflect on the emotions you felt. If something didn’t work out, then try to live the perfect day again. Repeat the exercise until you feel satisfied with how your day is going.

Exercise 7. “Five advantages.”

You can develop positive thinking quite quickly if you use this technique. Think about situations that cause anxious feelings, interfere with sleep and stay in a good mood. Analyze each of them and find positive aspects (at least five). For example, you were fired from your job. The advantages could be:

You now have time to relax.
You can do what you love or spend time with your family.
Your old job wasn't interesting to you, but now you have a chance to find a job that matches your talents and strengths.
You can engage in your professional development, analyze past mistakes and achieve success in a new place.
Since your income has decreased, you will learn to be more smart about spending your money.

Exercise 8. “A peace treaty with the past.”

You've probably noticed that sometimes we spend a lot of time thinking about situations that happened in the past. Unfortunately, this process can consume your vital energy and precious time. Instead of creating the future, you worry about what is long past. Negative emotions associated with past times affect your life today. It should be remembered that an emotion always appears after some thought, so try to control your thinking. For this:

Forgive everyone who has ever offended you.
Focus on the present moment, feel joy in who you are and what you are doing now.

Exercise 9. Visualization.

Yes, there has been a lot of talk about visualization lately, and this technique is really effective. The work of the mind is carried out thanks to images. What exists in our imagination one way or another affects our feelings, thoughts, approach to business, and relationships with loved ones.

In the words of Einstein, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” If you have many positive pictures in your imagination, then many of them will begin to manifest themselves over time in your everyday life. First an idea arises, and then it is implemented.

Create a positive image of yourself and your life, because this way you will influence your consciousness, the quality of which will, over time, be reflected in how you behave, how you act, how you make choices.

Of course, only through regular, daily exercise can you achieve the desired result. As you can imagine, one day of positive thinking and visualization practice will not change anything. Visualization is not a magic wand that you just have to wave once and immediately realize everything you dreamed of.

Exercise 10. Meditation.

Meditation is a great way to calm your mind and focus on the positive. Through regular meditation practice, physical and spiritual health improves.

This method has many advantages, one of which allows you to develop positive thinking and attitude. In meditation, you can more easily eliminate negative emotions and thoughts. If you combine meditative practices with visualization and affirmations, the effect will increase significantly.

The owner of his consciousness knows how to see a positive and inspiring experience in every event, and easily gets rid of worries and other negative emotions associated with yesterday and today. A person who has mastered positive thinking is no longer a hostage to his past, he creates his own wonderful future.

Developing Positive Thinking

Here are five tips to help you develop a positive mindset. If you manage to implement them in your life, then it will be beneficial for you.

Tip 1. Avoid news.

This advice may seem a little strange. After all, many believe that a modern person must be aware of events taking place in the country and the world. However, psychologists say that a successful person does not follow the news, except when his activities are directly related to it.

If you have doubts, try not watching news reports for one week. Surely, you will notice that it has become much easier to think positively.

You will still learn about the necessary events from friends or acquaintances. Then what is the point of immersing yourself in the daily negativity coming from the news report?

Tip 2: Change your speech.

The words we speak are our materialized thoughts. The more positive your speech, the more pleasant events will happen to you.

Think about how you respond when you are asked the question “How are you?” Most likely, you say: “I’m fine,” “Slowly,” or something similar.

If your answer is more original, then at the subconscious level positive thinking will develop much faster. Try to avoid platitudes in your speech.

Tip 3: Key words for positive thinking.

What keywords are we talking about? We mean all phrases that are repeated regularly. For example, your friend may periodically repeat, “Well, you know, I don’t have everything like other people.” And you understand that he implies that not everything is in order in his life.

Or, for example, something didn’t work out for a person, and he immediately said: “I’m a loser!”, “I’m constantly getting worse!”

It is important to understand that such an attitude and similar phrases will not allow you to develop positive thinking. If something goes wrong, think about it differently: “I couldn’t do it now, but next time I can.”

Tip 4. Praise and thank.

Many people will think that such advice is not at all appropriate. Alas, few are accustomed to being grateful and praising others.

Still, it's worth a try. In order to develop positive thinking, take an example from a successful person. This will be great motivation for you.

Many prominent figures were very generous with praise and kind words to the people around them.

And the nature of gratitude is generally supernatural. If you learn to be grateful for everything in your life, then you won't have to wait long for positive changes. Benjamin Franklin, one of the most prominent Americans, attached special meaning to the concept of gratitude.

Tip 5. Avoid negative society.

Each of us is surrounded by people with whom it is very pleasant to communicate, and those with whom we are somehow forced to maintain relationships, but this does not bring any pleasure.

However, these individuals with whom we find it difficult to connect may not influence us in the best way. And shyness and decency do not allow us to simply ignore them.

However, if this is important to you, then try to take some measures to minimize your communication with people who are especially negative.

In everyday life, we often hear statements related to the filling of our thoughts: “what is inside is also outside,” “thought is material,” “negative thoughts attract similar events,” etc. It seems that there is an internal world and an external one, each exists on its own and is independent of each other. However, it is not.

Negative thinking helps to “attract” negative events, due to the fact that we simply do not notice the positive, but focus on the negative. Our life follows the scenario that our consciousness has formed. Psychology teaches that our thinking operates on the principle of a sieve, that is, the sieve is the principle of thinking, and it preserves what is closer to it. A high level of negativity provokes the inability to find a way out of a difficult situation, the creation of difficult relationships with others, and even many illnesses.

The answer to the question of how to learn to think positively will give you the opportunity to change your life. Psychology notes that people who think positively are more successful, happy and healthy. Troubles happen to them less often and they are less susceptible to stress.

Our inner world is a reflection of the outer world, taking into account upbringing, temperament, nationality, attitudes, etc., while the outer world is so multifaceted that it gives us events and experiences similar to our content.

Character traits

Positive thinking does not mean completely ignoring failures, negative events or experiences - after all, this is our experience, which will allow us not to make mistakes in the future.

Positive thinking means seeing problems in terms of opportunities, not obstacles.

If trouble happens to a negatively-minded person, he may give up and perceive the event as a pattern - “it’s always like this with me,” “I’m a loser,” etc. and abandon further struggle and search for a way out, he believes that success is an accident in his life. A person who thinks positively will also be upset, but will quickly come to his senses, perceive the event as an experience and move on. He knows that success does not come without failure. Such people are most often distinguished by friendliness, smiling, quick-wittedness and curiosity.

Positive thinking eliminates life in black and white. The basis of peace of mind is the understanding that today may be bad, but tomorrow everything will change for the better. Living in a “catastrophic” mode is fraught with illness and a shortened life span. Thinking positively means understanding that you should not take responsibility for all the events happening around you. It is important to force yourself to let go of a situation if its solution is not within your capabilities.

10 main rules

How to come to positive thinking and change your vision of the situation if initially you tend to see a lot of negative things? Don't give up on yourself. Our consciousness is able to form a new picture of life over time if you follow a few rules:

Conscious attitude towards positivity

Always tune yourself to positive emotions and thinking, do not allow negative thoughts to remain in your mind for a long time, if they arise, find time for internal dialogue, try to turn a minus into a plus. If you have something to praise yourself for, be sure to do it. Remember, thinking negatively means attracting such events.

Ban disappointments

If you encounter obstacles and failures along the way, take them as life experience, an opportunity to develop your weaknesses and think in terms of finding workarounds.

Your task is to achieve balance, to form a positive picture of the world, no matter what the cost, but disappointments will pull you back and prevent you from living happily.

Hang out with positive people

People just like you will help you answer the question “how to learn to think positively.” Try to surround yourself with those who try to see the positives in everything and don’t get caught up in failures. People who hold grudges, are vindictive, or don’t like life at all take a lot of energy and mental strength from you.

Believe in your personality

Under any circumstances, maintain faith in yourself and your capabilities.

Psychology recommends introducing something new into your life every day - for example, getting to work by a different route, or having lunch in a new place, etc. Study more the lives of those people who know what success is, its price, who went towards their goal despite obstacles, and learn from them.

Be purposeful

Success comes to those who clearly see their goals and are ready to move towards achieving them. Always make plans to achieve your goals and stick to them. Consider even small achievements - your mind will remember positive experiences, which will ultimately contribute to your confidence and positivity.

Remember that thought is material

Your understanding of the materiality of thoughts will help you develop the habit of thinking positively. Negativity can poison your existence and contribute to bad events in your life. Every day, think about what else you can do to get better at thinking positively.

Seeing the positive in the negative

Enjoy the simple

You should not tie your feeling of happiness and contentment with life to global things: for example, I will only be happy if I am rich, or if I become a star. Learn to enjoy something simple: good weather, a pleasant companion, a good movie, etc. Developing this habit is not difficult - remember how many people are deprived of what you have in abundance.

Constantly develop

Working on yourself brings a lot of positivity. Every day you will notice that you have become smarter, more successful, and therefore happier. Investing money and effort in your development is a guarantee of your self-confidence, which will allow you to fight negativity and change your life for the better.

Strive to live life to the fullest.

This means finding time, energy and money for as many areas of life as possible - family, personal life, friends, work, leisure, hobbies, travel - all this should be present in your life.

Make these rules the principles by which you will live from now on. Thanks to them, you can change and live in harmony.

Creating a favorable environment for positive thoughts

When looking for an answer to the question of how to start thinking positively, psychology recommends regularly using several techniques that aim to create “favorable soil” for positive thinking:

keep a diary in which you will note your achievements;
meditate;
visualize the desired results;
take care of your health;
track your bodily reactions: posture, facial expressions, gestures;
smile more often.

How will your thinking change?

To summarize, we summarize - positive thinking focuses the attention of the individual:

Not on problems, but on tasks and goals;
Not on what is missing, but on what you want;
Not on obstacles, but on opportunities;
Not on the minuses, but on the pluses;
Not on failures, but on successes.

This kind of thinking will allow you to make your life bright and happy, success accessible, yourself healthier, and your relationships with loved ones full of love. Even if you are just thinking about how to learn to think positively, then you are already halfway to success.

Novosibirsk State Technical University

Faculty of Humanitarian Education

Department of PiP

Essay

Positive perception of the world as freedom of choice

Completed by: Shelest A.V. P-72

Checked by: Kadetova E.B.

Novosibirsk, 2009

Introduction

Positive perception of the world in religion

The difference between positive thinking and affirmations and attitude

Getting rid of stressors

Autogenic training as a way to relieve psycho-emotional stress

Conclusion

Introduction

"Positive outlook and clear

goal definition-

the beginning of all human achievements!"

Napoleon Hill

Choice is not an illusion. And, thank God, that he gave us such a great opportunity - Choice. Freedom of choice - from ideals to building your own life.

On the one hand, it seems easy to perceive life from the point of view of an optimist, to perceive everything positively, but on the other hand, in our life, when there are so many problems and all sorts of troubles, it is quite difficult to do this. Let's start with the fact that all events in the world are neutral in themselves and not colored by any emotions. It is each person who gives them a negative or positive (or leaves a neutral) connotation.

For example, a person slipped and fell, if it’s in a comedy film, then it’s funny - a positive perception, if you fell - it hurts, a negative perception, or perhaps you passed by on the street and didn’t particularly pay attention to this incident - a neutral perception. That is, we ourselves, our brain, evaluate events. Moreover, more often than not, the brain does this as if without our participation - emotions spill out. And if you try to control your feelings, it is not easy, and it is not always possible, especially at the beginning. But if you try, you will definitely get results. Moreover, the most difficult thing is not only not to outwardly express negative emotions, but to really believe that everything is fine (or neutral).

How can we perceive the failures and troubles that we encounter at every step? Failures must be treated as a lesson on the way to achieving a goal. The one who does nothing makes no mistakes. Napoleon Hill: “Failures teach us, not put obstacles in front of us... In every negative moment are the seeds of equally significant positive moments... Just one, but a good idea, supported by action, can turn failure into success. Your mistakes - it's not you".

At the end of the twentieth century, American psychologists had a hypothesis that the quality of a person’s life, and this includes income level, career achievements, and the creation of a strong family, is determined, first of all, by the level of intellectual development. But the research results did not confirm this hypothesis. It turned out that, in general, the length and quality of life are associated with such human traits as optimism and cheerfulness. And it is these qualities that determine the state of human health, because most of our diseases are of a psychosomatic nature, i.e. the state of health of our organs and systems directly depends on our nervous system, on our attitude towards diseases in general and our body in particular.

Modern science tells us as a fact that our world is nothing more than a projection or mirror image of your inner world. There is a principle in the universe that states that in order for something new to live, something must first die. Death and life are two opposite poles.

Helen Keller said that every time a door closes, a new door opens, but unfortunately we only have a limited amount of attention. So, if we give our full energy and attention to a closed door, we miss all the open doors around us. This attention is important in the creation of life. Most of us have an attention deficit when it comes to the things we want and deserve, and an attention deficit when it comes to the things we don't want.

It turns out it's a matter of disciplining that attention muscle and using it and using it to our advantage

Positive perception of the world in religion

Our contemporaries and those who lived much earlier than us wrote about positive thinking. Ways of life such as Christianity, Buddhism and Sufism teach a person to focus in life on something good, something positive.

The ability to think and speak positively is a lot of work. True, it’s interesting and exciting, but it’s hard work.

In June of this year, the head of one of the main Tibetan Buddhist schools - the Karma Kagyu school - the 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje arrived in Moscow. He called on the thousands of Russians who came to meet him in Moscow to carefully ensure that their thoughts, words and actions are always positive, and noted that this is the key to happiness.

“Buddhism is a guide, a method, to always maintain a very positive approach,” Trinley Thaye Dorje said.

According to him, the essence of the method is to maintain a positive view of existence itself, “to constantly maintain consciousness and carefully monitor what we think, say and do.”

“Usually, if a person does not have a positive outlook on his life, various confusions arise,” added the Karmapa.

It is because of inattention that a person is taken over by emotions that are by no means his “true nature.” The Dharma (the teachings of the Buddha) makes it possible to see this.

“Dharma helps change one’s attitude towards life from pessimistic to positive, and gives hope for joy in any situation,” noted the head of the Karma Kagyu.

To develop and maintain a positive attitude towards life, Trinley Thaye Dorje advised using the following approach: “Every situation is the best situation. Every person, every circumstance can be a teacher.” The Karmapa compared this to the concept of "baptism by fire" (baptism of fire).

When asked about mindfulness and mindfulness, the teacher called the latter “the key to a healthy and happy life.”

In the absence of mindfulness, a person, according to Buddhist teachings, begins to make mistakes. Even though these mistakes are small, they accumulate and can form a corresponding habit. Then, after some time, this accumulation “takes over us,” and at some point the error becomes very large.

According to him, if a person understands that he has made a mistake, he should not become depressed, but should “learn from mistakes and rejoice at the right thing that you are doing.”

“The main thing is to apply this method every day. And in the end it becomes a very good habit,” added the Karmapa.

“In this delightful but short life, we must try to calm down and live in harmony. And the best way to achieve this is to show boundless compassion and loving kindness,” the Karmapa is convinced.

Speaking about how to combine the suffering that takes place in the world and positive perception, the Karmapa emphasized that in Buddhism “we are not talking about total suffering”, and “not for everyone life is full of suffering and pain.” “If a person is extremely lazy and distracted and does not understand the nature of life, then teachings that talk about suffering as the nature of samsara (the chain of rebirth) become useful. But this does not mean that this method should be applied to everyone,” added Trinley Thaye Dorje.

According to him, a person can "perceive so many things physically and mentally" as a result of wishes. "Desire is something very powerful. Therefore, the dharma given by the Buddha emphasizes the importance of desires. If we consistently make positive wishes for ourselves and others, our experience of mind and matter changes for the better, both for ourselves and for others," explained Karmapa.

He is convinced that if over and over again a person wishes to “become kind, generous, wise,” then “in the end, these wishes take shape, habits change.”

What is the difference between positive thinking and affirmations and attitude?

Typically, positive beliefs (affirmations) and a positive attitude are associated with convincing yourself, managing your time effectively, and achieving your goals faster. These techniques are widely used in business and everyday life; they are easier to learn and use because a positive attitude and affirmations are associated with processes and actions.

Positive thinking is more appropriately defined as a way of life; this is already our position in life

According to recent research by English scientists, there are modifications of the gene that is responsible for transporting the hormone serotonin and affects a person’s commitment to perceiving positive or negative aspects of the world around him.

Those with a longer gene are usually optimists, while people with a short gene are prone to pessimism.

Recently, scientists have discovered that genes are energy-information formations that can change their structure due to changes in the energy-information flow of their owner. And if the task of a gene is to transfer the developments of previous generations to offspring, then it is quite logical that genes can change their shape and structure. From this we can draw an extremely pleasant conclusion - by changing habits and ways of thinking, a person not only improves his life, but also passes on these developments through genes to his children.

Getting rid of stressors

How can we get rid of stressors that prevent us from perceiving the world positively?

To neutralize stressors, it is important to go beyond the problem and determine in which direction you should move - that is, instead of the “Run FROM...” strategy, use the “Move TO...” strategy. For example, instead of empty experiences like “Oh, why doesn’t she love me?” or “Why am I so unhappy?” the problem should be reformulated into the question “What should I do to make her love me?” or “What do I need from this life to make me feel happy?”

TYPES OF STRESSORS	WAYS TO OVERCOME
Stressors that are beyond our control	MUSCLE RELAXATION DEEP BREATHING VISUALIZATION REFRAMING Walks in the open air Tasty food
Stressors we can directly influence	FINDING SUITABLE RESOURCES SETTING ADEQUATE GOALS SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING (communication, etc.) SELF CONFIDENCE TRAINING TIME MANAGEMENT TRAINING Analysis of causes and conclusions for the future Training relevant qualities Advice and help from loved ones Perseverance

Stressors that cause stress only because of our interpretation.	REFRAMING POSITIVE THINKING SKILLS CHANGING INADEQUATE BELIEFS NEUTRALIZING UNWANTED THOUGHTS Development of optimistic views Indifference

Autogenic training as a way to relieve psycho-emotional stress

The origins of autogenic training go back to the practice of Indian yogis, who could, with the help of self-hypnosis, influence many mental and physiological processes of their body. It is now recognized that autogenic training (AT) is a fairly effective technique for correcting psycho-emotional stress (Lobzin V.S., Reshetnikov M.M., 1986; Svyadoshch A.M., 1997; Shcherbatykh Yu.V. 1998). AT is based on self-hypnosis, which can have a huge impact on mental and vegetative processes in the body, including those that are not amenable to voluntary conscious regulation. The mechanisms of the phenomena occurring in this case still remain unclear, and the James-Lange “peripheral theory of emotions” created at the beginning of the century still retains its significance for understanding the processes connecting our thoughts and our body. According to this hypothesis, each physiological state of the body corresponds to a certain state of consciousness, and the influence of these states is mirror mutually. From the seemingly paradoxical statement of W. James “we cry not because we feel bad, but we feel bad because we cry,” a fairly empirical conclusion that has been confirmed in practice follows. If a person is in a bad mood, sadness and grief, then it is very difficult for him to force himself to experience joy or at least peace through an effort of will. But if he puts a smile on his face and holds this expression for a couple of minutes, then his emotions will automatically change and shift in a positive direction.

Numerous studies have established that if, through an effort of will, firstly, you change the nature of excitation of the skeletal muscles, making it corresponding to another emotion, and, secondly, you change your thoughts, making the assumption that the desired emotion is already present in the body, then the likelihood of the desired emotion occurring emotions will increase sharply. An example of the first of the above-mentioned approaches to influencing one’s own body is the Jacobson method, and an example of the second method is the E. Coue method.

The method proposed by Jacobson is based on the idea that there is a close relationship between the brain and skeletal muscles, in which mental stress is immediately reflected in the form of increased muscle tone, and muscle tension increases emotional stress. According to Jacobson, the resulting vicious circle can only be broken from the “peripheral end,” that is, through special exercises aimed at completely relaxing the skeletal muscles. Based on this, the author developed a technique for voluntary muscle relaxation during affective states (fear, anxiety, embarrassment, etc.), which helped relieve emotional tension, and was also used to prevent the occurrence of -8-

Unlike the method of muscle relaxation, in which there is an indirect influence of muscles on a person’s consciousness, the Coue method, proposed more than a hundred years ago, involves a direct impact on a person’s mood and emotions through the conscious formation of appropriate mental images. To do this, a person must imagine that the beginnings of the desired emotion (calmness, joy, etc.) are already in the body and convince himself that the strength of these feelings is gradually increasing. In principle, it is enough to repeat the phrase “I feel good” several dozen times, accompanying these words with vivid and detailed ideas of how good you feel, so that your condition actually improves. Coue recommended doing similar exercises twice a day - in the morning (immediately after waking up) and in the evening (before falling asleep).

In the 30s of our century, J. Schultz, having integrated the experience of both Western and Eastern psychotherapy (in particular, the yogic system), created his own direction of self-hypnosis, calling it autogenic training. AT exercises according to Schultz are divided into two stages - initial and higher. The initial stage includes 6 exercises, thanks to which you can learn to voluntarily influence a number of body processes that are not normally subject to conscious control. The result of this stage of AT is the ability to cause a feeling of heaviness and warmth in the limbs, regulate the rhythm of cardiac activity and breathing, cause a feeling of warmth in the solar plexus and coolness in the forehead. At the highest stage of AT, patients learn to induce “special mental states” in themselves. Patients mastering the classic version of AT, at this stage, successively learn the ability to vividly imagine a color before their mind’s eye, then a given object, and, finally, imagine images of abstract concepts (“beauty”, “happiness”, “justice”, etc.). Finally, AT practitioners, while in a state of deep immersion, ask themselves questions like “What is the meaning of the work?”, receiving the answer in the form of visual images. Subsequently, the method of autogenic training was widely used by various psychotherapists and was significantly modified in accordance with applied tasks.

Conclusion

It is necessary to constantly develop positive thinking. A positive perception of reality means that we should direct our efforts to solving the problems facing us, rather than complaining about their existence. The winner bites into the problem, while the loser tries in every possible way to get around it, but constantly runs into it. There are only two types of problems: problems we can solve and problems we can't do anything about. Positive thinking presupposes the rejection of fruitless complaints about far-fetched and not yet existing difficulties. Moreover, it is unproductive to envy others - it is better to rejoice at their advancement and ask them for advice on how we can achieve success in our activities.