Life doesn’t always pitch straight down the middle. Curveballs happen all the time. Change can rock our foundations, can send us flying straight into the nearest ditch of despair. It can be easy to find yourself falling into a loop of negative thinking when you fall short of a goal, fail a test, or experience an unexpected setback. That’s why it’s important to try and cultivate a positive mindset. Positive thinking on its own may not solve your problem but it can give you the motivation and strength of will to keep working toward a solution.
"If negative thoughts (stress, rumination, and brooding) can cause things like an ulcer, consider what positive things could create in your life," said Jennifer Moore, Rio Salado Faculty Chair for Psychology.
For this month’s Student Success blog, we’re looking at a few different ways you can move your thinking from the minus column over to the plus side.
Smile More
One of the simplest and most effective ways to boost your mood is to smile more. Studies have found that smiling can reduce heart rate and blood pressure while you’re in a stressful state. It’s important to note that the smile doesn’t even have to be sincere: a “fake” smile achieves the same effect. When we use our smiling muscles, it triggers a chemical reaction in our brain that releases hormones (including dopamine and serotonin) which help reduce stress and aggression.
Another benefit to smiling is that the positive feelings it engenders can be contagious. As a species, we tend to do a lot of “monkey see, monkey do” in social interactions, unconsciously mimicking the body language of people we are communicating with. Seeing a person smile could give you the sudden impulse to smile back, thus releasing a similar cocktail of neurotransmitters into your bloodstream.
Choose Active Over Passive
A key distinction between positive and negative thinking is how you feel about your own agency. Negative thoughts tend to be limiting and self-defeating. “I can’t do this,” ‘it’s impossible,” “there’s no way,” etc.. Positive thinking, by contrast, is active. It’s “I can,” “I will,” “I must.” Positive thinking is looking for solutions; it’s believing that you’ll come out of the other side stronger, that no matter how much you struggle there’s still hope.
Reframe a Bad Mental Picture
Experiencing a setback? Stuck in a rut? Sometimes the best way to boost your spirit is to reframe the negatives you’re facing in a positive light. This technique is called cognitive reframing and it involves shifting your mindset so you can see a situation, relationship, and/or other people through a different perspective. A simple way to reframe a bad situation is to seek out the silver lining in the dark cloud. Find the “upside,” the benefit that will come from enduring this situation. Looking at a problem as a challenge to hone your skills or test your mettle can help you see things in a more proactive light; instead of being subjected to something bad as a burden, you can see it as something that builds up character and experience.
Practicing reframing is also a good way to build up your problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Ask yourself when you’re working on projects if there’s a different way to look at what you’re doing. Trying to perceive things through the eyes of others, or to use a different philosophical lens (or “reality tunnels” as the late Robert Anton Wilson would put it) than what you’re used to can push you to pursue solutions and develop skills you normally wouldn’t resort to.
Affirm Yourself
When you start to feel down about yourself, pick yourself back up with a positive affirmation. Affirmations are expressions of positive feelings about yourself. You can say them aloud, repeat them in your head, record them, and/or write them down. Affirmations are simple to create: all you need is to think of a phrase (or several; it’s good to have multiple affirmations) that affirms something about yourself. “I am smart and capable. I am good in a crisis” or “I always bounce back, no matter the setback” or “People like me, I like me, what’s not to like” or “I’m cooler than The Fonz.” It can be anything so long as it is positive and about you. Think of it like a spell, a small incantation you keep casting on yourself, to enchant yourself about yourself. To remind you that you are worthy of love and respect, no matter how well or poorly things are going at the moment.
As an added bonus: studies have found that practicing daily affirmations and other forms of positive self-reflection can lead to a reduction in stress!
Triage
A little bit of stoicism can go a long way. Stoicism is the philosophy of accepting things as they are. When the stoic asks for oranges and life gives them lemon, they accept this unexpected development and make lemonade with great dignity. Part of maintaining a positive attitude is being able to adapt and roll with changes as they happen. This is where the art of triage comes into play. Much like emergency room doctors who treat patients based on who’s in the urgent condition, you need to focus on the most important things in your life that you have direct influence over. Worrying about things you cannot change at this time will run the risk of turning you bitter and upset; focus on something achievable and pressing. The sense of accomplishment you’ll get from crossing off one or two very important things off your list can lift your spirits.
Surround Yourself With Positive People
The company you keep can have a big impact on your disposition. If you surround yourself with negative and critical people, you may feel a shortening of your horizons. If you want to think positive, build a support network of people who will encourage you, who will energize you with their positivity. That doesn’t mean surround yourself with ‘yes men’; you want to be around people who push you and are honest with you, but who do it in a way that doesn’t demoralize you or discourage you from doing better.
Practice Gratitude
Part of maintaining a positive attitude is keeping things in perspective. A crisis won’t seem like the end of the world if you know “this too shall pass.” A great way to keep yourself centered and aware of the good things in your life is to keep a gratitude journal. They’re simple to do: just write down three things everyday that you’re grateful for. The trick is to not repeat yourself, to keep thinking of new things (big or small) that make life worth living. On those days where life seems fraught with tension and difficulties, pull out this journal and remind yourself about the good things.
Article by Austin Brietta
For more of our Student Success blogs, check out some of our past stories: