12 Inspiring Ways to Cultivate a Positive Mindset

“Don’t ever underestimate the power of a positive mindset.” – Unknown –

Our lives are complex and consist of so many different aspects that we need to take care of on a daily basis. From family, finances, health, and planning for the future, things can feel heavy and difficult from time to time.

Through all this, we can easily get caught up with a range of negative emotions and thoughts of uncertainty that can cause pain, suffering, and sometimes even illness. That is why it’s so important to learn how to cultivate a positive mindset. 

What is a Positive Mindset?

A positive mindset can be defined as a mindset or mental quality that allows a person to have a more positive outlook on all aspects of life despite the circumstances. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that a person with a positive mindset will never have negative thoughts or be naive to what’s happening and remain positive all the time.

It just means that a person with a positive mindset thinks critically about different situations and sees them in a different light that allows them to see opportunities to turn things around for the better and be more accepting of the situation.

Let’s look at some of the reasons why having a positive mindset is so important.

Why is having a Positive Mindset so important?

1. Reduce Stress

When you’re always thinking negatively and assuming the worst case scenario in your head, it puts a lot of pressure on your mind to wither all the negative thoughts leading to increased stress and worrying. A positive mindset will significantly reduce unnecessary stress and keep you in a calm and composed state of mind.

2. Lower the chance of mental and physical illness

If you find yourself stuck in a cycle of negativity, it can lead to a lot of stress ultimately making you sick. Research suggests that long terms of stress can lead to illnesses both mental and physical. Hence it has become even more important to cultivate a positive mindset.

3. Improve focus and productivity

Who couldn’t use some improved focus and productivity right? A positive mindset can have a direct influence on your levels of focus and productivity. A negative mindset makes you stuck in your thoughts and holds you back from achieving your goals.

4. Boosts creativity

A positive mindset allows you to work from a place of joy and happiness. This can allow you to come up with better and more creative ideas. If you want to boost creativity, read my earlier post on 12 Genius ways to cultivate a creative mind.

5. Improve consistency

When you’re in a positive mindset more often than not, you can become more consistent in all the good things in life such as more quality work, more quality time with friends and family, and consistent work on health and fitness goals, etc.

Recognizing Negative Thinking

If you are currently struggling with negativity and don’t know how to turn it around, please take comfort in knowing that you have what it takes to turn things around. The first step in going from negative thinking to a positive mindset is recognizing your current thought process and identifying negative thinking. Below are some common examples to look out for.

• Tendency to focus on what could go wrong

• Resisting the unfamiliar without checking the facts

• Thinking you’re always the problem

• Blaming others

• Exaggerating situations

• Thinking you are always right

How to Cultivate a Positive Mindset

Now that you have a better understanding of the importance of a positive mindset and know how to recognize negative thinking patterns, let’s learn some inspiring ways to cultivate a positive mindset.

1. Identify the things that trigger negative thinking

Without awareness of the issue, there’s no way of changing it. The first thing you should do is make a list of things that you think negatively about in your day to day life. Take a month if you have to, to observe your thought patterns and find out these triggers. It could be about your finances, relationships, physical appearance, etc. 

2. Practice mindfulness

Another key practice to incorporate into your mindset practice is mindfulness. If you’re unaware of how things really are, your mind will deceive you into believing all sorts of nonsense. If you don’t know how to get started with mindfulness, you can learn how to in this post.

3. Listen to understand rather than to talk

A lot of the time, negativity and stress is a result of other people’s opinion about you or things associated with you. We all have to have these uncomfortable conversations with people from time to time. Change how you interact in these conversations, and listen to people to understand their point of view rather than to prove a point. Who knows, maybe the conversation could end up being a very productive one with real solutions and without hurting anyone’s feelings. 

4. Challenge your opinions and beliefs

We all have our own ways of doing things, our own beliefs of what’s right or wrong, etc. And all too often, you may find yourself or your beliefs challenged by others. Instead of immediately going on a defensive mode, take the time to think about the subject and challenge your view on it. Maybe there are other ways?

5. Trust the process

Moving from negativity to a positive mindset is a journey. You will have days when you feel extremely positive and other days when your feelings are on the other side of the spectrum. Learn to trust the process and know that with a long term commitment, you are more than capable of turning things around. 

6. Learn to see the good in people

I have a rule that I follow (you don’t have to). I give everyone I meet the benefit of the doubt. I choose to see them as good people until or unless they give me a reason not to. Instead of thinking people are against you, learn to see them just as you are, trying to make the best of their time here. 

7. Be kind to yourself

No one will and should love you more than yourself. No matter how things are right now, make a conscious decision to be kind to yourself. Maybe you haven’t been too proud of yourself lately. You can have constructive self-criticism to make sure you learn from your mistakes. When you’re done criticizing, always choose to show kindness and love to yourself. 

8. Practice Gratitude

One of the most powerful ways to cultivate a positive mindset is to be aware and grateful for the blessings you have in life. I like to incorporate this into my daily life by counting my blessings daily and thanking the universe for blessing me with them. It can be as simple as having a loving family, a home, a source of income, the freedom to learn and grow, etc. We really don’t know all our blessings until it’s taken away from us.

9. Practice conscious optimism

It’s easy to think positively when everything is going right. But when things don’t seem to be going our way, it’s easy to start thinking negatively. Whenever this happens, remind yourself to remain positive and try to find if there are any potential bright sides to it. In most cases, there are. 

10. Learn to see challenges as opportunities

Start viewing challenges from different perspectives and try looking at them from another (more optimistic) perspective. Maybe it’s an opportunity posed in the form of a challenge? A lot of the time, the most important things in our life come under the most difficult circumstances. Does it mean it’s bad? Of Course not, it only means that the reward is probably even bigger. 

11. Create a positive home

You spend a fair amount of your life at home, wherever you may call it. If we don’t take the time to make our home a positive place with people and things that radiate positivity, then we can’t really expect our minds to follow the same path. Make an effort to create a home that makes you feel safe, supported, and positive.

12. Surround yourself with Positivity

We are social creatures that cannot survive without each other. As much as I would like to think that all people are good people, it’s not the truth. There are some amazing human beings filled with love in this world, but there is also evil. You acquire a lot of qualities from the people you spend most of your time with. So be mindful of who you spend your time with and surround yourself with like minded individuals who are focused on learning, growth, and support each other.

What should you take away from all of this?

Cultivating a positive mindset is so important to live a happy, healthy, and successful life. Now that you know the importance, how to identify negative thoughts, and what to do to grow a positive mindset, I hope I have inspired you to take the most important step of all. Action!