POWER OF POSITIVITY

Hello people!

This post is about a subject I believe in the most. Something that’s been talked about and discussed the most, positive thinking. While this topic may be shrugged off easily, we have all at some point tried to implement affirmations in our lives but have often given up midway.

How to maintain a positive mindset, especially during challenging times?

I have always been reading about how positivity in life helps you stay happy and at peace even during difficult times, but I always thought this is easier said than done. The greater the challenge, the more positivity seems like wishful thinking.

Back then, my greatest challenge was adjusting to a new country, different environments, and people with unfamiliar faces. Moving to the United States had its pros and cons. But somehow, the cons outdid the pros. I felt lost amongst the unfamiliarity, my mood swings skyrocketed, and not to forget how much I used to cry just by thinking about my dear ones back home. Relatable, much?

You can read my story about moving abroad and the challenges that came along.

One day, I realized how to start focusing my energy on being optimistic in life and looking at the brighter side of things.

In this post, I will tell you how a positive attitude has impacted my life so far; however, I speak with my experiences, and it’s still a learning process for me.

I started this activity recently, and I feel more content writing down things I am grateful for. You need to nurture an attitude of gratitude. Even if you write the same things every day, noting them down makes you feel more thankful, especially when everything seems to be going against you.

Whenever I feel stressed or lost and can’t share it with anyone, I write myself an email; this makes all my worries get out of my mind.

When I read my history of doleful emails, I feel thankful to have overcome that phase & feel proud to have dealt with difficult situations.

BOOSTING GOOD ENDORPHINS MAKE YOU HAPPY :

I resumed working out after contemplating for a long time. And for everyone out there who has been wanting to exercise but has always procrastinated, you need to push yourself.

The benefits of working out are beyond just physical fitness. It toughens your mental attributes like willpower, focus and injects discipline in every aspect of your life.

Pick any form of exercise, and you will find it to be a stressbuster. You’ll end up feeling more confident, relaxed, and all pumped up & then there’s no going back.

Every morning I push myself to do some workout no matter how bored or lazy I feel. I change the intensity depending on my mood and try my best not to skip it. This practice of pushing myself every day for a good endorphin rush has contributed hugely to my daily life, and I cannot emphasize enough how much positivity it brings about in your life.

I would say that this habit of working out has extended the predefined mental barriers that my mind had initially put on my body and mind.

PILLARS OF STRENGTH:

My family and my friends are my pillars of strength. The entire reason for me to be blogging right now is them, my close friends, and my husband. I owe it to them because this would still have been just in thoughts if not for them.

You need to have positive and supportive people around you who uplift you, celebrate with you during your good times, and are there for you when you need them the most.

And that being said, you must remove every toxic person from your life. Especially if you’re an over-thinker and sentimentalist like me, this person will only end up disturbing your mental peace.

ALL THIS STRESS, LOOK AT THIS MESS:

Stress debilitates mindset! I get stressed for the most trivial reason, which I am gradually trying to overcome. So we all need to stop catastrophizing.

It is mostly just an irrational fear which tricks our mind into assuming the worst of the situation even before getting the results. I used to be so dead stressed during exams, presentations, interviews, etc., and I assume this is the case with everyone.

When I look back, I realized eventually, the fear is just in the mere thought of failure. This fear of failure simply kills our confidence, leads to overthinking, procrastination, and either ruins the result or delays it. Hence, it’s imperative to control our thoughts and especially the negative ones.

The scare is just in the thought. Being scary kills the confidence and only ruins the results. We need to control what we think.

In the most challenging situations, too, you will always have something to look forward to. Often, we end up stressing over trivial problems giving them undue importance and attention that are so silly and unreasonable.

Like I always lock the door and later end up stressing whether I have left the door unlocked. While traveling, I check my bag a zillion times, worrying if I have lost my passport! Sigh!! Is it just me going crazy, or do you have such dilemmas too?

Maintaining positivity is a daily challenge that requires patience and attention. Only once you start practicing will you truly realize the power we have over our minds. Do not focus your energy on hypothetical problems; instead, use it to find achievable solutions.

THE ART OF VISUALISATION:

When in extremely defying situations, clear your mind by hoping for better days, conjuring up sunnier thoughts, or taking a trip down the fond memory lane.

In 2014, I had returned to India for a holiday from the UK, where I was pursuing my Masters. But this holiday turned into a nightmare as I met with a severe accident and underwent major surgery.

I was so devastated after this; I used to stay up nights crying with pain, wondering why this had to happen with me and cursing my fate for turning my holiday into a tragedy. But then I realized sulking will not make my days any better, so I started thinking about how life will get better once I recover.

I tried to focus on the positive points during that time. Like spending time with my family was something I was longing for a while, and I was lucky enough that they were there next to me.

Even though I was in pain, I kept affirming myself about how the situation’s gravity could have been much worse. I took this as my silver lining, and that helped me. Time and just being positive helps to fasten the healing process.

Positive thinking using self-affirmations and giving it the much-needed time to recover helped me heal faster.

WITH FAITH COMES HOPE:

This is something that helps me overcome most of my problems. I put my faith in the almighty. I know for sure that he’s there to take care of all my burdens. This faith is what helps me find solace and move on peacefully, knowing that everything will eventually fall in place when the time is right.

SUPPRESSING NEGATIVE EMOTIONS & REFRAMING YOUR MIND:

Stop the negative self-talk; you are just giving more power to negativity this way! I believe a lot of negativity stems from social media. The hours we spend on it end up influencing us way too much.

Social media primarily paves the way to see everything through rose-colored glasses, which leaves you comparing your life with others. It can shatter the confidence and self-esteem of even the most successful people.

And while I know we cannot completely ignore social media, I always attempt to remind myself that just because someone’s social media presence is all hunky-dory, that doesn’t mean they are not going through any struggles.

If you check my Instagram, it’s filled with the happiest of happy pictures, but that doesn’t negate the fact that I have my struggles, which I may not want the people to know.

KEEPING A POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Remember to tell yourself that your value is not determined by what others perceive about you. Your positive energy will help you attain new opportunities.

Positivity isn’t about being happy all the time; you will have setbacks.

I believe it depends on how you react to every situation. I realized crying, sulking, or blaming fate is not going to get me anywhere. You need to either find a solution or learn to tackle the situation we face, so gather up the courage & train your thoughts.

The entire reason for me to write about all this is that it has helped me achieve a new perspective towards dealing with any problem or unforeseen circumstances, and I hope it helps you in some way.

I know all of this sounds pretty basic, but if you put all your emotional energy behind it and practice even a few of these steps, you will achieve some tremendous results.

If you have read this far, thank you. I’m happy that I could share my personal experiences with you. If you have anything similar, do share it with me. 🙂

I’d be happy to hear you out or even help you in implementing positive thoughts. Please share them in the comments section.