Use the time that you’re stuck behind the wheel to listen to music or a program you enjoy. For example, instead of stressing about a traffic jam, recall how convenient it is to have a car. When something bad happens that’s out of your control, instead of getting upset, try to appreciate the good parts of the situation. So look for humor and spend time with people or things that make you laugh.
You’ll benefit more if the smile is genuine, though. In a study, people who smiled (or even fake-smiled) while doing a stressful task felt more positive afterward than those who wore a neutral expression. Once you have a handle on negative thinking, it’s time to play up the positive. You’re just including those that are good. Remember, you aren’t overlooking the facts. But with practice, you can train yourself to have a more positive outlook. Your negative thoughts won’t go away overnight. (You can still hold them accountable for their actions.) If it helps you to let go, you can give yourself and those around you grace. When you notice a negative thought, try to stop it and shift your focus to the positive. Do you see things as either good or bad, with no middle ground? In this mindset, if things aren’t perfect, they’re automatically bad. For example, your car won’t start in the morning, so you think the rest of your day is destined to be doomed.īlack-and-white thinking. This means you have one setback and then expect the worst to happen. Do you tend to take on the blame for something bad or disappointing that happens? For example, a friend declines an invitation from you, so you assume it’s because they don’t want to spend time with you. You leave feeling annoyed and frustrated, forgetting about the good time you had. Do you overlook the good things about a situation and get wrapped up in the negatives? For example, you enjoy a fun dinner out with friends, but the restaurant gets your bill wrong at the end of the night. Other studies have shown that positive thinking helps people manage illness and eases depression, regardless of whether they are naturally optimistic or pessimistic.īefore you put positive thinking into practice, look for any negative thoughts that may be running through your mind. In one experiment, adults who meditated daily on positive thoughts started feeling more upbeat emotions each day. It may help to see this positive thinking as a skill you can learn and benefit from, rather than a personality trait you either have or you don’t. That all sounds great, right? But what if you’re naturally more pessimistic, meaning that you tend to expect the worst? No worries.
But researchers took that into account, and the results still held. People with a positive outlook may be more likely to live a healthy lifestyle since they have a more hopeful view of the future. They also had less stress-related inflammation, which shows one possible link between their thoughts and health.
When people in one study were exposed to the flu and common cold, those with a positive outlook were less likely to get sick and reported fewer symptoms.ĭuring another study, women who were more optimistic were less likely to die from cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, and infection.Īnd in a study of people over the age of 50, those who had more positive thoughts about aging lived longer. Greater resistance to illness such as the common cold.But there is no downside to staying upbeat. It’s not always clear which comes first: the mindset or these benefits. Many studies have looked at the role of optimism and positive thinking in mental and physical health.
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