The word “positive thinking” is definitely overused online.
However, this doesn’t mean that a positive mental attitude is not important.
Positivity can have many advantages for our daily lives, improving our mental attitude and physical well-being.
Adopting this mindset approach helps build resilience, enabling us to better manage negative self-talk and stress.
In this article, let’s look at what it means to have a positive mental attitude.
What Is A Positive Mental Attitude?
“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay for a person to get discouraged. Keeping and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” – Lucille Ball.
A positive attitude in life is an optimistic disposition that is focused on the good things to find the silver lining rather than the negative thinking and negative emotions.
It is an attitude that allows you to recognize and acknowledge everything that is going your way, empowering yourself to achieve a better future and promote positive changes in everyday life.
A positive attitude isn’t just for yourself but it’s also being a beacon for your family, friends, and others.
It is something that all of us can exercise in order to achieve a more positive outlook in life.
Being a positive example for others helps them feel less alone when they’re struggling with hardship and self-doubt.
They’ll see you as their inspiring person to power them through, since you came out stronger from your situation.
A positive attitude doesn’t mean always seeing things go right or never experiencing fear or negative emotions.
It does, however, lead us to focus more on the brighter side of things instead of the bad ones and maintain a healthy optimism, gratitude for what we do have, and hopefulness toward future results.
Of course, you don’t have to be cheerful all the time or deny emotions that make you feel bad.
But to set a good example for the ones we love and respect, we may want to focus on the bright side more and look for that silver lining attitude whenever possible.
In life, we can cultivate an optimistic attitude from positive psychology practices, such as:
Optimism
Nurture a more optimistic outlook, trusting that challenges can lead to growth and that a bigger picture will unfold over time.
Kindness
A first step in fostering a positive attitude in life can be helping others like family, friends even some kindness toward strangers and expecting nothing in return.
Gratitude
The ability to develop the art of being grateful and truly recognize all the good things we have in life.
You can also use a gratitude journal with prompts, which helps foster self-awareness and personal growth.
Mindfulness
Positive psychology highlights how important mindfulness is in our daily lives—being fully present and aware of what’s happening to “the self.”
Self Talk
One key part of this is paying attention to our self-talk—the inner dialogue we have with ourselves, as well as the way we communicate with others.
Spending a little time each day practicing positive language can help reframe our thoughts, shifting toward a more optimistic outlook on life.
It’s all about using words that encourage happiness, gratitude, and a sense of possibility.
Advantages Of A Positive Mental Attitude
“No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.” – Helen Keller
Why is it a good idea to work on developing a positive attitude?
Some people might feel pessimistic by nature.
So is it worth the effort of making such a significant shift toward a positive thinking mental attitude in life?
Research would suggest there are many benefits to do so-
Greater happiness
One of the benefits is that a positive attitude is linked to greater happiness.
People who can focus on a positive outlook tend to feel more grateful and satisfied with their lives and achieve better personal and professional relationships.
An optimistic mindset allows the person to feel more confident in life, even when facing a difficult situation.
Better health
When people perceive an optimistic outlook they tend to have better physical and emotional health overall.
The other benefits seem to be that they are less prone to anxiety and depression.
On the physical side, their immune system works better, and they are less likely to develop some chronic conditions, like cardiovascular issues.
An optimistic mindset has been linked to reduced stress and healthier physiological processes, which can contribute to overall well-being.
Higher resilience
A positive mental attitude (PMA) can be connected with higher resilience by influencing how we perceive and respond to challenges.
When we approach difficulties with an optimistic outlook, we’re more likely to see setbacks as temporary and manageable rather than insurmountable.
This shift in perspective allows us to stay calm, problem-solve more effectively, and maintain motivation in tough situations.
Essentially, a hopeful mindset can help us recover faster from adversity, bounce back more easily, and build the mental strength needed to face future challenges.
More creativity and fun
Positivity tends to promote creativity, happiness, and fun. We have the ability and energy to open our minds to the bright side of new possibilities and ideas when we are feeling good emotions and focus on good things to happen.
It helps us recognize and focus on the good we have and the potentially great opportunities lying in store for our future.
How To Develop A Positive Mental Attitude
“Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.” – Benjamin Franklin
After all, there are so many problems out there. Isn’t it just realistic to keep the feelings of a negative attitude?
Recognize The Good
Now, try the opposite exercise if you find it easy to discover the wrong side of any situation. Whenever you feel caught in a spiral of negative thoughts or focused on a bad experience, try to identify something good about it as well.
(Example- Sometimes, the hardest day of our lives can end up being the turning point, leading us to a better future.)
Consider a positive consequence, or somehow, it turned out in your favor in the long run.
If you think critically about yourself or another person, try to develop a couple of positive qualities or accomplishments. Do this consciously until you can, easily recognize the good just like the bad.
Appreciate What You Have
It’s easy to get bored with what we have and stop seeing the good relationships or situations that become routine.
Spend time to practice being grateful, focus and recognize everything nice about your life.
Create a positive daily ritual, set down a few minutes, three-five times a week to sit down and write all the things you are grateful for.
Use a gratitude journal to make it easier for you. You’ll even find some journals have writing prompts inside to help you along.
Say thanks to the people around you and make thankfulness a daily practice.
Do Good To Feel Good
Make kindness a bigger part of your life. We tend to be submerged in an atmosphere of negativity, especially online.
Find spaces to practice and create more good in the world around you, which is likely to have a huge shift in your mood and make it easier for you to see things in a positive light.
Do small acts of kindness, like paying for a coffee for a stranger or helping someone with a task.
Feel the difference it makes for you, a simple gesture becomes a ripple effect for others around you, family, friends, and strangers.
Consider Positive Outcomes
Often, our mind jumps to the worst conclusions. We expect things to go as wrong as they possibly can.
Instead, as your first step, develop some healthy and optimistic alternative scenarios and focus on potential positive outcomes instead.
What else might happen? Even if you can’t easily believe it at first, it will help you avoid getting stuck with a stress on a negative spin scenario instead.
Lifestyle Changes for a Positive Mental Attitude
For example, some lifestyle changes can help nurture a positive mental attitude.
Here are a few supported by studies.
Exercise and physical activity
Physical activity can boost your positive mindset.
You don’t need to get on a hardcore exercise program either.
Getting into practice with a simple walk every day can be enough to feel better with a positive attitude and projecting happiness outward to the world.
Enough sleep
It can be tough to stay positive when all you can think about is going back to bed cause of brain overload and exhaustion.
Having a regular sleep schedule and getting around 8 hours every night is a huge contributor to our overall mood and mental health.
Being sleep deprived makes people irritable, have more stress, and be more negative, and enough sleep tends to have the opposite effect.
Vitamins and nutrients
To function well, stay happy, and have gratitude, we need to give our body everything it needs for optimal health, including a positive mindset.
Constant irritability may also be a sign of an unbalanced diet, as it’s so easy to do with a fast-paced lifestyle and any shift work, job roles.
Ensure you support yourself by getting all the elements you need for a healthy diet and checking if you need to boost your fruit and vegetable intake for optimal physical and mental health.
Meditate
Meditation is a powerful way of calming your mind and gaining more control over your emotional states.
Spend some personal time, like 10-15 minutes a day.
Practicing meditation can give your well-being a solid energy boost and help you feel the serenity, and lower those stress levels.
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” – Martin Luther King.
It’s not easy to keep a positive mindset every moment when the world seems to have such big issues. But it’s worth building one anyway.
A positive mindset will not blind you to reality or the negatives, but it will help you see more positives and contribute to more happiness and overall health in your everyday life.
Having a positive mindset can help us overcome a difficult situation in a more constructive way, build better relationships, achieve better outcomes at work and in our personal life.
It creates better results and magnetizes abundant opportunities and possibilities, achieving more happiness in life.
Give it a try— you’ve got nothing to lose, except a smile on your face, right?
Catalino, L. I., Algoe, S. B., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2014). Prioritizing positivity: an effective approach to pursuing happiness?. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 14(6), 1155–1161. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038029
Conversano, C., Rotondo, A., Lensi, E., Della Vista, O., Arpone, F., & Reda, M. A. (2010). Optimism and its impact on mental and physical well-being. Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH, 6, 25–29. https://doi.org/10.2174/1745017901006010025
Mayo Clinic. (2020). Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950
Sansone, R. A., & Sansone, L. A. (2010). Gratitude and well being: the benefits of appreciation. Psychiatry (Edgmont (Pa. : Township)), 7(11), 18–22.
Disclaimer: Our web pages and blog posts provide general information for general purposes only and not to be used for any medical, legal or alternative health advice for any type of physical, mental health or financial concerns.Always speak to your practitioner before embarking on any new alternative treatments. If you have concerns about any medical matters, you should always consult your healthcare provider without delay.We thank you for taking full responsibility for your own health and wellbeing in life. ☺
