7 Ways to Increase Positive Thinking

By Kari

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I read a positive thinking quote the other day that really stuck with me. It said, ” Staying positive doesn’t mean you have to be happy all the time. It means that even on hard days you know that there are better ones coming.”

This quote really spoke to me. So often people think that practicing positive thinking means that they are not allowed to feel or work through other emotions. They mistakenly believe that positive thinking means constant happiness or perfection.

Positive thinking for me is more about intentionally choosing optimism over a pessimistic/negative attitude. Yes, I still get negative thoughts and yes, I still have days and even weeks that are hard as hell. But I purposely choose to look on the bright side and take in those positive emotions as often as I possibly can.

Here are 7 Ways to Help You Increase Positive Thinking

Tips to Become a Positive Thinker

Accept That Change Starts With Your Thoughts

For years I truly underestimated the power of my thoughts and my ability to bring the changes I desired to fruition.

And it’s more than just thinking it. You have to believe in the change you seek. You have to visualize it in your thoughts and see it as clearly as if it has already happened.

Thought ignites everything. Thought creates reality.

Positive Thinking Tips

Stop Operating In Competition Mode

We’ve all been there before. We find ourselves competing for attention, competing for a promotion, competing for business…competing for THE BIG WIN!

But what I’ve come to understand is that we have to get out of this competitive mindset and into a mindset of creation in order to experience our highest level of success.

When you’re in constant competition, it shuts out your creative flow. You start operating from a state of PERCEIVED LACK. I say perceived lack because I believe in the principle of abundance. I believe there is enough happiness, positivity, wealth, love and creativity available in this world for everyone. But you have to switch modes to access it.

So stop competing. Start creating. If you can work on doing this, your positive possibilities are endless.

Tips to Increase Positive Thinking

Accept That Positivity Attracts Positivity

Pushing out negative energy will attract more negative energy. Here’s an example: One day you find yourself “waking up on the wrong side of the bed”. You’ve overslept and somehow completely disarmed your handy alarm clock.

You end up having to rush to get dressed for work. So you end up throwing on the fastest work clothes that do not require ironing–and of course, you hate what you are wearing. But there’s no time to deal with that.

You rush out the door and into your car, cursing yourself for running behind schedule. Five minutes up the road, you hit a traffic jam. That tiny slither of hope that you had about possibly getting to work only 5 minutes late evaporates right there.

You finally get to work (20 minutes late), and you “perceive” your manager to have an attitude with you for most of the day because you came in late. This affects your morale, you are less productive, and all you can think about is getting home for the evening.

The end if the day finally comes. You head out to your car thinking this day could not have been any worse, only to find you have a flat tire–because you unknowingly got a nail stuck in your tire earlier. Perfect. Just freaking perfect, right?

I can’t tell you how many times this story (or some similar version of it) happened to me. I can’t tell you how many times I was pissed off beyond measurement and overflowing with negative thoughts and colorful words about situations.

But once I started practicing the art of positive thinking, I learned how to stop negativity before it had a chance to spread. You see, negative energy feeds on negative energy. When something bad happens and you push out negative energy, it’s typically negative energy that you get back in return.

Thankfully, the same works for positive thoughts. The more positivity you push out, the more positivity that will return to you. Positive energy attracts positive energy.

How to Increase Positive Thinking

Make Gratitude a Daily Habit

It’s been said that the fastest way to get more of the good things that you want is to show gratitude for what you already have. This, my dear, is called having an attitude of gratitude.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m sometimes guilty of not fully appreciating my life. It’s very easy to lose sight of all the good things that we already have going on for ourselves, especially when we are pursuing new and bigger things.

But taking a moment each day to reflect on one or two things that you are extremely grateful for in your life, will help you in attracting more good stuff. You can even keep a gratitude journal.

7 Tips to Increase Positivity

Learn To Keep Your Circle Positive

Your circle refers to your life, and what goes around comes around is a concept of Karma–the cyclical process of cause and effect. So your environment, the people you choose to surround yourself with, your words, your thoughts, and your deeds affect your circle…your Karma…your life.

Working on your overall well-being will help you to keep your circle positive. Work on loving yourself more, and even loving others more (but not to your own detriment).

Don’t be afraid to let go what is obstructing you from flourishing. Promote your own well-being and allow your circle to flourish.

Increase Positive Thinking

Learn How To Push Past Your Upper Limit

The Upper Limit is this unseen threshold that most of us hit when we start thinking that things are going “too good to be true”. Your Upper Limit is the point at which your mind decides, “okay, that’s enough positive energy for the day…you can’t possibly be this happy.”

When we hit our Upper Limit, we begin manifesting thoughts and ideas that make us feel bad for feeling good. We commence in behaviors that completely halt our positive trajectories.

For most of us, it’s a behavior that has been around since we were children–a behavior that we learned because of our environments and the people we were around.

The good news is that it can be reversed. Once we become aware of our Upper Limit, we can fight against…push through it.

Being happy and positive for extended periods of time without self-sabotaging is possible, but you have to want it. Furthermore, YOU HAVE TO ALLOW IT.

Positive Thinking Tips

Allow Yourself To See The Opportunities

Each day that we wake is a day full of new opportunities and new adventures. But sometimes, we allow life’s happenings to fog our vision, and we end up missing out on opportunities for happiness, success, love, prosperity, and daily greatness.

So how do we combat this issue? We have to actively and purposely CHOOSE to see the forest through the trees. We have to exercise our ability to see beyond trials and tribulations; beyond occasional disappointments and unexpected failures.

Each day is filled with opportunity. It’s all around you, dropping hints, and sometimes blatantly in your face waiting for you to recognize it and take action.

What positive opportunities are knocking at your door?

Positive Thinking and Motivation

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About the author
Kari
Kari is the content curator and founder of Gorgeous Mindset. She lives in South Carolina with her husband and two sons. She's believes in the power of making small mindset shifts to create big life changes. Her most recent published works include the The High Vibes Manifestation Journal, The Daily Gratitude Journal, and Mastering the Mindset of Self-Love.

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