Positive thinking can allow you to take control over your circumstances, your relationships and ultimately lead to a happier, healthier you. Using negative language or thinking negatively is limiting and self-destructive.
Picture yourself walking along a high wire. If I were to tell you constantly to “don't trip on the wire” or “don’t fall” there would be more chance that you would lose your balance and fall, because you would be more focused on doing just that! Alternatively, if you were given encouragement and motivation and I said “focus on placing one foot in front of the other” or “just focus your attention on staying on the rope” wouldn’t that make you feel much better and more positive about completing the challenge?
Another example could be a job interview. If, before the interview, you had several disastrous possibilities pictured in your mind’s eye, you are likely to go into the interview with more anxiety and lower confidence levels, causing a lack of positive focus, which will prevent you from performing to the best of your ability.
So, don’t put yourself down. Always use positive language to put yourself in a positive frame of mind. Substitute ‘I can’t’ for ‘I can’.
If you have been thinking negatively for some time, it can be challenging to control your thoughts and think positively instead. This is not likely to happen overnight, but the more you practise positive thinking and relaxation, the more you will build up strength and resilience to those negative thoughts.
Using visualisation is a simple but effective technique that can be used to help you achieve your goals. Picturing a successful outcome, really seeing yourself within that picture and feeling the feelings, smelling the smells and hearing the sounds associated with this, will enable you to feel confident and positive.
Using relaxation techniques allows you to bring about ‘self-hypnosis’. A simple breathing technique such as inhaling for four seconds and exhaling for seven seconds will slow your heart rate down and induce relaxation. This will help to reduce anxiety and stress levels, whilst also aiding an improved quality of sleep.
So, what are you waiting for?
If you feel that you need help with changing your mindset, hypnotherapy could be for you. It can help by tapping into the subconscious mind to switch off negative thoughts, thinking patterns and behaviours and replace them with new, more positive ones.