Developing a truly positive mindset and gaining these benefits is a function of the thoughts you cultivate. You cannot control your mood , and you cannot always control the thoughts that pop into your head, but you can choose how you handle them.

When you choose to give in to the negativity, pessimism, and doom-and-gloom view of the world, you are not only submitting to a loss of control and potentially wallowing in unhappiness—you are missing out on an important opportunity for growth and development.

According to positive psychologist Barbara Fredrickson, negative thinking, and negative emotions have their place: they allow you to sharpen your focus on dangers, threats, and vulnerabilities.

This is vital for survival, although perhaps not as much as it was for our ancestors. Building a positive framework for your thoughts is not about being bubbly and annoyingly cheerful, but making an investment in yourself and your future.

According to Seligman , optimism can be cultivated by challenging the negative stories we create in our minds. The ABC Model, originally developed by Albert Ellis and later adapted by Martin Seligman, is an approach to help us think more optimistically.

This model can be used for yourself or with your clients. Often, this technique can be found in cognitive-behavioral therapy CBT as the approach results in restructuring beliefs through self-awareness.

This technique can be used in daily life situations — An obstacle in your way reflects Adversity. The way you think about Adversity turns into your Beliefs , which impact how you react Consequence. The Consequences are not inevitable since you can challenge the way you think about them Seligman, To be optimistic, you have to change what you believe about yourself and the situation you are encountering.

Positive beliefs result in a more positive consequence, which then leads to a more positive outlook. Aside from enhancing your skills and personal resources, there are many other benefits of cultivating a positive mindset, including better overall health, better ability to cope with stress , and greater well-being Cherry, A.

According to the experts at the Mayo Clinic, positive thinking can increase your lifespan, reduce rates of depression and levels of distress , give you greater resistance to the common cold, improve your overall psychological and physical well-being , improve your cardiovascular health and protect you from cardiovascular disease, and help you build coping skills to keep you afloat during challenging times No construct better captures the essence of a positive attitude in the workplace quite like psychological capital or PsyCap for short.

This multicomponent construct is made up of four psychological resources:. The concept quickly took off among positive organizational psychologists, and by there were already hundreds of citations of PsyCap in the literature.

The first meta-analysis of all the research on PsyCap was conducted in , and it outlined some of the many benefits of PsyCap in the workplace:. It seems pretty straightforward that positive attitudes like optimism and resilience lead to positive outcomes for the organization and for the employees!

Another study by a few of the giants in the field of positive psychology Sonja Lyubomirsky, Laura King, and Ed Diener, investigated the relationship between happiness and benefits to employees.

They showed that positive attitudes in the workplace also benefit the employee in addition to the organization:. So, a positive attitude can have great benefits for the organization as a whole and for all of its employees.

It turns out that a positive attitude can also result in benefits for leaders and their followers as well as spreading positivity throughout the organization. In their theory, a leader with a positive mindset is not only more likely to be actively engaged and to perform at a high level, he or she is also more able to influence followers toward a more positive mindset through role modeling and normative influence.

Further, trust in management was linked to positive leadership and performance. In other words, positive attitudes in a leader will draw followers and encourage motivation and engagement in subordinates. Lipman also notes that having a positive outlook and being resilient is vital in leadership positions because there is a lot of stress involved in managing and leading others.

This role is a tiring one, and being optimistic and resilient will help leaders stay sane and healthy in challenging contexts. Having a positive attitude is also a boon for those educating, interacting with, and caring for a disabled student, loved one, or patient.

The research found that teachers-in-training who participated in a one-semester course involving direct work with students who had Down syndrome greatly improved their knowledge of the syndrome as well as their attitudes toward those with Down syndrome.

All of these findings show that having a positive attitude towards those with a disability is not only the right thing to work toward, but it also has a significant positive influence on both those with disability and those around them.

Indeed, positivity and caring are ingrained in the field; just take a look at the five core nursing values:. These five values lay the foundation for a caring, positive mindset that is the hallmark of good nursing practice.

Nurses who embrace these core values and adopt a positive mindset toward themselves, their work, and their patients can help them find the meaning and fulfillment that likely prompted them to enter the field in the first place.

Having a positive mindset in health care not only acts as a facilitator of meaning and purpose in the lives of healthcare professionals but it also:. Luckily, there are evidence-backed ways for nurses to implement a more positive outlook, including:. Speaking of the importance of positivity in health care, the benefits can extend to the patients as well.

Cancer Treatment Centers of America expert Katherine Puckett agrees that positivity can be helpful for patients being treated for cancer, but clarifies that other emotions are perfectly acceptable as well.

It is okay to allow tears to flow—these can be a healthy release. This indicates that the most important factor regarding positivity in cancer recovery is that it is authentic. A successful author, speaker, and coach Brian Tracy n.

echoes some of these tips and adds a couple more:. For a more specific list of habits and actions you can take to develop a more positive mindset, try these 10 suggestions from Megan Wycklendt of Fulfillment Daily:.

Finally, these 11 techniques from Dr. Tchiki Davis can also help you adopt a more positive attitude:. To pass along the benefits of developing a positive mindset to students, you can encourage them to try the techniques listed above.

If you these techniques are too overwhelming or the scope is out of your control, try these 7 strategies that you will likely have the power to implement:. For more tips and suggestions from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, check out their excellent resource on instilling positive attitudes and perceptions about learning here.

There are many positive thinking exercises and games that can give you a boost. Some of the most popular ones are listed here, but feel free to search for more if none of them align with your interests—there are a lot to choose from out there!

Zdravko Lukovski from the Enlightenment Portal website has 10 exercises and activities that you can implement in your own life or encourage your clients to try in order to think more positively:.

Gather your team or family, friends, etc. When everyone has listed their responses to these behaviors, talk about them as a group to show that engaging in positive behaviors like these will attract clients, customers, and coworkers rather than repel them. This game comes from the Disney movie Pollyanna, in which the main character actively cultivates positive thinking.

Have one person bring up a negative event, like losing a job or breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend. This game will encourage you to find the silver lining and look for opportunities instead of wallowing in despair.

The egg-balancing game can be frustrating, but it can impart an important lesson in staying optimistic and open-minded. Give your player s a raw egg and a flat, somewhat textured tabletop use a tablecloth or placemat if you need to.

Tell them to find a way to balance the egg in an upright position on the table. Let them try for a while—they might actually be able to do it—but give them a small mound of salt to balance the egg in if they are struggling for too long. If you use the salt, remind them that this is an important thing to remember: sometimes things that seem impossible actually are possible when you think outside the box!

Have the players make a list of things that they feel make life worth living or, for younger children, things that make them smile. Once everyone has a list ready, send them off on a scavenger hunt to collect as many items on the list as possible.

As a bonus, it will also help you boost your creative thinking in addition to your positive thinking. To read more about these games, click here.

There are even more games and activities to help children develop a positive mindset. Big Life Journal has a great infographic that lists the ways you can help children develop a positive attitude. Another collection of activities that can help children and the whole family develop and maintain a positive mindset comes from Sharon Harding at the Rediscovered Families website:.

One effective technique is completing worksheets designed to help you develop a positive mindset. This worksheet lists 36 individual strengths, with room to add 4 more, that you can use to pick out which strengths you embody. You can choose as many as you like, but try to keep the list to those traits that you think are your biggest strengths.

Once you have your strengths identified, move on to the rest of the worksheet: learning about your strengths in specific areas, how you apply them now, and how you can use them more often. The second page concerns your relationships—romantic relationships, family relationships, and relationships with friends.

There are three questions to guide you here:. On the third page, you will answer the same questions but with your profession in mind instead of relationships. The fourth page repeats these questions but with a focus on personal fulfillment hobbies, interests, pleasurable activities.

You can find this worksheet here. Cultivating a regular practice of gratitude will help you to become more positive, and this worksheet will guide you in establishing your practice.

This could be a person, a job, a great meal with friends, or anything else that comes to mind. To help get you started, you can use one of the journaling prompts listed in the worksheet, including:. The next two pages provide you space to write up to four entries.

Click here to download this worksheet. Similar to the gratitude journal, a positive journal is an effective way to use journaling to improve your mindset.

The worksheet encourages you to make a point of recognizing positive experiences throughout your day, however big or small. At the end of each day, use the worksheet to record three positive things that happened.

Click here to read the instructions in more detail. The Protective Factors worksheet will get you thinking about all of the positive traits, attributes, and skills that contribute to your resilience and overall mental health.

Identifying these factors is essential to knowing when and how to use them. The instructions are to review each of the protective factors listed and marking where you are on the scale from weak to strong. These factors include:.

Once you have given thought to each protective factor, the next page poses some questions about them:. To download this worksheet and learn about your own protective factors, click here. This worksheet will help you to identify times in your life when things have gone well, when you got things right, and when you thrived.

Next, you will answer several questions about the positive events and accomplishments from this time period, including:. Once you have completed this worksheet, you will have a list of good things and accomplishments already behind you, and a list of good things you have to look forward to and work towards.

Click here to get started. Download 3 Free Emotional Intelligence Exercises PDF These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients understand and use emotions advantageously.

It lists six prompts for you to complete that will help you focus on the good things in your life:. To start thinking about all the things you have to be grateful for, click here.

This worksheet is focused on the therapeutic technique of behavioral activation—encouraging the patient to get more active, engage in positive activities, and gain the rewards inherent in these activities.

It instructs you to create a list of activities that you find personally rewarding and leaves space for you to do so. Next, it instructs you to rate the ease of each activity on a scale from 1 difficult to 10 easy and the reward you get from each activity on a scale from 1 not at all rewarding to 10 very rewarding.

Completing this worksheet will leave you with a list of activities that you can refer to whenever you need a quick boost, and help you learn about what you enjoy most. The Positive Experiences worksheet is a simple one in theory, but it can be difficult to actually complete.

The difficulty comes with an equivalent reward though; you can get a great boost in your mood, self-esteem, and self-confidence from completing it. The only instruction is to consider each of the positive traits listed and write briefly about times when you have displayed each of them.

This resource is actually a handout, but you can certainly make it interactive by taking notes or using check marks to indicate what you have tried, or what you would like to try. To read more about how each of these activities contributes to your wellbeing, download the handout here.

After reading the example statements, the worksheet encourages you to write down some coping thoughts or positive statements for difficult or distressing situations in your life.

You can write them directly on the worksheet, but it may be most helpful to copy them onto a note card and carry them with you. list of positive thinking affirmations:. If none of these appeal to you on a deep level, refer to their tips on developing your own personal affirmations:.

Lydia Sweatt from Success. com shares 13 great quotes on optimism and having a positive attitude. If something is not to your liking, change your liking. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.

Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself. They learn from mistakes and failures, and are not afraid to fail again.

Quotes can be fantastic motivators, but you probably agree that a rousing speech or inspiring video can be even more effective. I hope you will find that the time invested in reading this piece was worth the information you gleaned from it.

We have a lot of different emotions and thoughts, and we have such a wide variety for a reason. There are times when being a bit pessimistic can help us, and it is a good idea to let out the negative emotions you experience once in a while especially if the alternative is bottling them up.

Try a few of the techniques that seem most applicable and give yourself a break if it takes some time. How do you feel about the positivity movement? Are you naturally optimistic, pessimistic, or somewhere in between?

Do you have any thoughts about how to cultivate a positive mindset? Let us know in the comments section below! We hope you enjoyed reading this article. About the author Courtney Ackerman , MA, is a graduate of the positive organizational psychology and evaluation program at Claremont Graduate University.

She is a researcher and evaluator of mental health programs for the State of California and her professional interests include survey research, wellbeing in the workplace, and compassion. How useful was this article to you? This may be why college students believe that they experience more negative events e.

In contrast, college students encouraged to practice gratitude by counting their blessings tend to be happier than their peers. If you find yourself in a comparison trap, try quitting your social media habit, or at least shifting how you think about the overly positive portrayals you find there.

In virtually any situation, it is possible to find some humor, and making an effort to do so can help you adopt a more positive mindset later on. I remember when my high school freshman son Andrew received a failing grade—a 58—in his first trimester of Spanish. Finding humor helps people cope with the small irritations of daily life, but it is particularly important in coping with serious life circumstances.

For example, people with fibromyalgia a debilitating and chronic condition marked by widespread bodily pain who relied on smiling and laughter to deal with small daily life stressors—such as a waiter spilling water on you— reported lower levels of psychological distress and fewer physical symptoms.

This ability to take things in stride reduces stress and its negative effects on physical and psychological well-being. So, the next time you are in a dark or trying situation, try humor.

Remind yourself that this situation will probably make for a good story later, and try to crack a joke about it. Allowing yourself to experience humor can take the edge off. Adopting this type of optimistic worldview has taken me time, energy, and effort, but it has really paid off.

This shift has helped me feel happier. Try to find someone who can help you cultivate this skill by being a role model. Remember that boyfriend of mine who miraculously changed the tire?

Catherine A. Sanderson, Ph. com , or follow her on Instagram at SandersonSpeaking. Become a subscribing member today.

SKIP TO: Header Log in Register Navigation Main Content Footer. Scroll To Top When I was in my early twenties, my boyfriend, Bart, and I were driving on a freeway near downtown Atlanta when we got a flat tire. The Positive Shift: Mastering Mindset to Improve Happiness, Health, and Longevity BenBella Books, , pages.

About the Author. Sanderson Catherine A. You May Also Enjoy Rethinking Optimism By Christine Carter May 4, Optimism for Me, Pessimism for We By Lisa Bennett April 22, Grounds for Optimism By Katie Goldsmith May 3, The Benefits of Optimism By Christine Carter April 7, Podcast: Fostering Optimism and Confidence 2 By Christine Carter and Rona Renner July 19, Podcast: Fostering Optimism and Confidence By Christine Carter and Rona Renner May 2, Get the science of a meaningful life delivered to your inbox.

Close Relationship Topics. Close Additional Content. Close Quick Links. Six Approaches to Becoming More Optimistic Today With the negativity in the world around us, we could each use a little more positivity and optimism in our lives.

Imagining the Future and Working to Achieve It Imagining a bright future and setting goals to make that future a reality is one way to increase your personal level of optimism. The following steps Lyubomirsky, may be a useful outline to follow: Ponder — Think about what you expect your life to be like 1, 5, and 10 years from now.

Imagine — Visualize a future for yourself in which everything has turned out the way you would have wanted. Record — Write down what your visualized future looks like. Include the long-term goals that you want to achieve. Set goals — Break these long-term goals into sub-goals. How will you create this future?

Identify barriers — Write down pessimistic thoughts that act as barriers to feeling optimistic about attaining these goals.

Reframe — Consider ways that you can reinterpret these pessimistic thoughts about the situation to make them more optimistic. Repeat — Continue to practice these steps so you can make optimism a habit.

Looking for the Good When we feel a lot of stress, it can seem like we have very little control over our lives. Savoring the Present Many of us do not live in the present, but instead dwell on what the future could look like.

Transport yourself — Make a list of some of your favorite happy memories. Choose one memory from the list. Sit down, take a deep breath, close your eyes, and begin to think about the memory. Try to picture the specific events, conversations, and people associated with this memory in your mind.

Try to remember how you felt while that memory was being made. Do not put any form of judgment or comparison on the experience; just focus on the thoughts and feelings associated with the memory. Celebrate good news — Whether it is your own good news or that of someone close to you, take time to celebrate together and enjoy the moment to the fullest.

Sometimes good news is accompanied by a bittersweet feeling, especially when a chapter of life is about to end. Relish both the joyful and sad feelings, as doing so will help you to savor the moment. Take a savoring walk — Set aside 20 minutes each day to go for a walk outside by yourself.

As you walk, try to notice as many positive things around you as you can. Acknowledge each positive thing in your mind, and identify what it is about that thing that makes it pleasurable to you.

Try walking different routes as often as possible, looking for new positive things. Reframing the Negative It is very easy to think negatively about the world around us. for how you can develop a reframing mindset: Close your eyes and picture something you have already enjoyed today.

Take a walk with a focus on enjoying nature and your surroundings. Explore your home. Notice and appreciate things in your home that are meaningful to you. Think of good people who enrich your life and list some of the ways they bless you.

Get a journal or notebook and write down at least two things that went well today. Make a habit of doing this every day. Think over your schedule each morning and anticipate the blessings in the day ahead. Review your day and see what benefits you can find in both common everyday experiences as well as in difficult experiences.

Call a friend and tell him or her about something you enjoyed today. Celebrate the joys and successes of those around you. Do not allow the irritations of the day to crowd out the positive parts.

Contemplating the Alternatives Sometimes when we feel like we are in a rut in life, it helps to realize what our life would be like without the positive moments that we so often take for granted. Identify a positive moment or event in your life.

What circumstances made this moment possible? What could have kept this moment from happening? What would your life be like if this special moment never happened?

What benefits have come into your life as a result of this moment happening? How has reflecting on this single positive event in your life changed your feelings and perspective on life? Being Grateful Dr. Here are a few ideas to help make gratitude a more consistent part of life: Gratitude letter — Think of someone you are grateful for but have not taken the time to properly thank.

This is beneficial whether you send the letter to the person or not, although delivering the letter in person to the recipient can be especially powerful in helping to increase your happiness level Lyubomirsky, Gratitude journal — Use a notebook, phone, or computer to record 5 things you are grateful for each week.

These could be people, places, objects, or experiences. Record why you are grateful for these 5 things. This can be as brief or as lengthy as you would like it to be Lyubomirsky, Looking at the bigger picture allows you to act calmly and work through any situation as the optimist did in the above example.

In fact, you can even go further and turn any negative situation into a positive one. By allowing the person to cut you off, you may have helped them get to work on time or meet a deadline. When negative events happen, put them into perspective.

See the big picture and do not get caught up in the details. Remember that the inevitable setbacks that you face are temporary, specific, and external. View a negative situation as a single event that is not connected to other potential events and that is often caused largely by external factors over which you can have little control.

Refuse to see an event as being in any way permanent, pervasive, or indicative of personal incompetence or inability. You may not be able to control events, but you can control the way you react to them. The earlier you learn this, the happier you will be in life.

When you are truly an optimist, you have the ability to be both objective and unemotional when caught up in the inevitable storms of daily life. You can continue to talk to yourself in a positive and optimistic way no matter what is happening in your life.

This allows you to keep your mind calm, clear, and completely under control despite the external circumstances. Because you are more relaxed and aware, you are much more capable of interpreting events more efficiently. So, when an optimist is met with a challenge or area of stress, they are much better equipped to stay positive and overcome it.

They are able to stay in complete control, act proactively, and not let external forces cloud their judgment. On the other hand, a pessimist may get caught up in their emotions, leading them to get angry, upset, and distracted.

This causes them to handle problems poorly, think irrationally, and make things harder than they really have to be by acting reactively instead of proactively. If you feel overwhelmed or like your blood is boiling, practice being calm in these situations. Although easier said than done, staying calm and thinking positively can change your life.

Making regular entries in a gratitude journal helps you focus on the positive things that are occurring in your life. Feeling grateful makes you a happier, more optimistic person.

Research studies involving people keeping gratitude journals show they are more optimistic, feel better about their lives, exercise more, and make fewer visits to a doctor. Increase your positive thinking by making a habit of writing down three to five things you are grateful for each day.

You will become more self-aware and see your perspective change so that you are focusing on the positive aspects of your life instead of dwelling on the negative or things out of your control.

When you have important responsibilities to work and family, stress can tempt you to become overwhelmed by your long to-do list. You may reach the end of the day and wonder how you have gotten closer to your goals.

A pessimistic person tends to think more about the things they have not accomplished. They focus more on their mistakes as well. However, an optimistic person sees the value in each incremental step made toward a goal. They stay positive, maintain their self-esteem, and focus on what they have accomplished.

So, instead of stressing over what you have not completed on your to-do list, make a mental or written list each night of the things you did accomplish. Your attitude will become more positive, which will motivate you to accomplish more instead of feeling burdened.

It is important to take a break from your daily responsibilities and duties. Overworking yourself leads to poor physical and mental health and a negative attitude, making it harder for you to be optimistic.

Schedule regular time in your week to do things that refresh you. Having quiet solitude gives you time to reflect, destress, and gain perspective. Regular exercise improves your mood, lowers your stress level, reduces rates of depression and anxiety, and increases self-confidence.

Take a daily walk, join a local sports team, or work out three to five days a week. Devote time to a hobby, read uplifting books, or schedule time with close friends or family members. Giving yourself personal time on a regular basis leads to greater optimism and happiness.

Positive attitudes are contagious. Identify the people in your life that you look up to for their optimism and spend more time with them. Observe the things they say, what they do, and what they choose not to do or say.

You will notice patterns that you can adopt that will help you be more positive as well. A life coach can be a positive source of motivation. They can help you build the skills needed for greater self-confidence, self-awareness, and optimism. Equally important is to identify people who have a negative influence on you.

If you can avoid these individuals or cut off ties, do so. If you cannot, such as a coworker or family member, find ways to minimize their influence on you. You can also learn to advocate for yourself as you become more optimistic. Similar to minimizing your contact with negative people, get rid of things that bring you down as well.

For many people, this can include watching the news, spending time on social media, listening to music that is not uplifting or working in a negative environment. Notice how you feel when you do these and other things that are part of your daily or weekly routine. If you feel overburdened, negative, stressed, angry, deflated, self-conscious, or any other negative emotions, that is a clue to replace these activities with positive ones.

Stay positive by filling your environment with pleasant, uplifting, and nurturing things. Decorate your home, room, or office with cheerful colors, comfortable furniture, and plants.

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Request Appointment. Healthy Lifestyle Stress management. Sections Basics Stress basics Stress relief Relaxation techniques In-Depth Expert Answers Multimedia Resources News From Mayo Clinic What's New. Products and services. Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health.

By Mayo Clinic Staff. Thank you for subscribing! Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry. Show references Forte AJ, et al. The impact of optimism on cancer-related and postsurgical cancer pain: A systematic review. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

Rosenfeld AJ. The neuroscience of happiness and well-being. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. Kim ES, et al. Optimism and cause-specific mortality: A prospective cohort study.

American Journal of Epidemiology. Amonoo HL, et al. Is optimism a protective factor for cardiovascular disease? Current Cardiology Reports. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed Oct. Seaward BL. Essentials of Managing Stress.

Burlington, Mass. Cognitive restructuring: Reframing. Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. Olpin M, et al. Stress Management for Life. Cengage Learning;

Challenging situations and obstacles are a part of life. For example, if someone cancels plans, focus on how it frees up time for you to catch up on a TV show or other activity you enjoy.

Practicing gratitude has been shown to reduce stress, improve self-esteem, and foster resilience even in very difficult times. Think of people, moments, or things that bring you some kind of comfort or happiness and try to express your gratitude at least once a day.

This can be thanking a co-worker for helping with a project, a loved one for washing the dishes, or your dog for the unconditional love they give you. Studies have found that laughter lowers stress, anxiety, and depression. It also improves coping skills, mood, and self-esteem. Be open to humor in all situations, especially the difficult ones, and give yourself permission to laugh.

It instantly lightens the mood and makes things seem a little less difficult. Negativity and positivity have been shown to be contagious. Have you noticed how someone in a bad mood can bring down almost everyone in a room? A positive person has the opposite effect on others.

Being around positive people has been shown to improve self-esteem and increase your chances of reaching goals. Surround yourself with people who will lift you up and help you see the bright side. We tend to be the hardest on ourselves and be our own worst critic. Over time, this can cause you to form a negative opinion of yourself that can be hard to shake.

Research shows that even a small shift in the way you talk to yourself can influence your ability to regulate your feelings, thoughts, and behavior under stress.

Take a good look at the different areas of your life and identify the ones in which you tend to be the most negative. Not sure? Ask a trusted friend or colleague.

A co-worker might notice that you tend to be negative at work. Your spouse may notice that you get especially negative while driving. Tackle one area at a time. Create a ritual in which you start off each day with something uplifting and positive.

Here are a few ideas:. Instead, channel that energy into getting support from others. The lowest points in our lives are often the ones that motivate us to move on and make positive changes. When going through such a time, try to see yourself as if you were a good friend in need of comfort and sound advice.

What would you say to her? Negative thinking and the many feelings that can accompany it, such as pessimism, stress, and an g er , can cause a number of physical symptoms and increase your risk of diseases and a shortened lifespan.

Stress and other negative emotions trigger several processes in our bodies, including stress hormone release, metabolism, and immune function. Long periods of stress increase inflammation in your body, which has also been implicated in a number or serious diseases.

You may benefit from medical help, such as positive psychology or therapy. Persistent negative thoughts can be caused by an underlying psychiatric condition that requires treatment. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Shifting your inner dialogue from negative to positive can boost your mental health and overall outlook on life. Meditation is the process of redirecting your thoughts to calm your mind. It may also improve your overall quality of life. This is what the research…. Research shows that being happier doesn't just make you feel better — it makes you healthier, too.

This article explains how being happy makes you…. Depression can make you less motivated to do things. A lack of motivation may be caused by depression, or it may be caused by something else.

Constantly dream of romance? Fixate on thoughts of your partner? Feel a need to always be in love? Learn why — and why this isn't an "addiction. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst. Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head.

These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information or expectations due to preconceived ideas of what may happen.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:. It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits.

One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body.

It's also thought that positive and optimistic people tend to live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and don't smoke or drink alcohol in excess. Not sure if your self-talk is positive or negative?

Some common forms of negative self-talk include:. You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it does take time and practice — you're creating a new habit, after all. Following are some ways to think and behave in a more positive and optimistic way:.

Here are some examples of negative self-talk and how you can apply a positive thinking twist to them:. If you tend to have a negative outlook, don't expect to become an optimist overnight.

But with practice, eventually your self-talk will contain less self-criticism and more self-acceptance. You may also become less critical of the world around you.

When your state of mind is generally optimistic, you're better able to handle everyday stress in a more constructive way. That ability may contribute to the widely observed health benefits of positive thinking. There is a problem with information submitted for this request.

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Request Appointment. Healthy Lifestyle Stress management. Sections Basics Stress basics Stress relief Relaxation techniques In-Depth Expert Answers Multimedia Resources News From Mayo Clinic What's New. Products and services. Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health.

By Mayo Clinic Staff. Thank you for subscribing! Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry. Show references Forte AJ, et al. The impact of optimism on cancer-related and postsurgical cancer pain: A systematic review. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

Rosenfeld AJ. The neuroscience of happiness and well-being. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. Kim ES, et al. Optimism and cause-specific mortality: A prospective cohort study. American Journal of Epidemiology. Amonoo HL, et al.

When I was in my early twenties, my boyfriend, Bart, and I were driving on a freeway near downtown Atlanta when we got a flat tire.

I immediately panicked—this was long before everyone had cell phones. As Bart pulled to the side of the road, I shared my numerous concerns. While I saw the flat tire as a major problem, my boyfriend saw it as a minor inconvenience. His more positive mindset kept him calm and allowed him to take appropriate action.

My more pessimistic outlook simply led me to suffer and feel helpless. This difference in how we perceive and respond to events and challenges in our lives matters for our happiness and health. When we have more optimistic mindsets, we are better able to buffer the effects of common daily life stressors and still feel happy.

And, as one study found, optimism is healthy for us: People ages 40 to 90 tended to live longer if they were more optimistic—even taking into account other factors, like their diet, smoking and alcohol use, depression, and health conditions. We can shift our attitude in a more optimistic direction, no matter our natural inclination, with time, energy, and effort.

Here are five research-based strategies for doing that. Stress is unavoidable. We all experience daily hassles—like long lines, irritating coworkers, and endless to-do lists.

Of course, some optimistic people seem to do this naturally. Lucky them! They go through life easily seeing the positive in irritations and bad events, which helps protect their mood.

People who practice self-compassion are less likely to blame themselves when bad things happen, which works in their favor: They are less anxious and depressed and overall feel happier and more optimistic about the future.

For example, first-year college students who have more self-compassion during this difficult life transition are more engaged and motivated in college life—perhaps because they feel better able to handle the challenges college presents and more connected to other people in their lives.

So, when bad things happen, cut yourself some slack. Forgive yourself, be kind to yourself, and treat yourself with care and compassion. People who criticize themselves for having negative thoughts and feelings have higher levels of depression and anxiety , and lower levels of psychological well-being and life satisfaction.

If you find yourself ruminating about a fight with a friend, a difficult situation at work, or the current state of American politics, try a new approach: Identify and stop resisting these negative thoughts and feelings.

Instead, they practice gratitude for what they have—a good way to increase optimism and well-being. While people vary considerably in how much they engage in social comparison, those of us with a more negative mindset find it hard to avoid, particularly on social media.

This may be why college students believe that they experience more negative events e. In contrast, college students encouraged to practice gratitude by counting their blessings tend to be happier than their peers. That ability may contribute to the widely observed health benefits of positive thinking.

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Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic Press.

This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Appointments at Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic offers appointments in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System locations. Request Appointment. Healthy Lifestyle Stress management.

Sections Basics Stress basics Stress relief Relaxation techniques In-Depth Expert Answers Multimedia Resources News From Mayo Clinic What's New. Products and services. Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health.

By Mayo Clinic Staff. Thank you for subscribing! Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry. Show references Forte AJ, et al.

The impact of optimism on cancer-related and postsurgical cancer pain: A systematic review. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

Rosenfeld AJ. The neuroscience of happiness and well-being. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. Kim ES, et al.

Optimism and cause-specific mortality: A prospective cohort study. American Journal of Epidemiology. Amonoo HL, et al. Is optimism a protective factor for cardiovascular disease? Current Cardiology Reports. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Department of Health and Human Services.

Accessed Oct. Seaward BL. Essentials of Managing Stress. Burlington, Mass. Cognitive restructuring: Reframing. Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. Olpin M, et al. Stress Management for Life. Cengage Learning; Downward-facing dog Ease stress to reduce eczema symptoms Ease stress to reduce your psoriasis flares Forgiveness Job burnout Learn to reduce stress through mindful living Manage stress to improve psoriatic arthritis symptoms Mountain pose New School Anxiety Resilience Seated spinal twist Standing forward bend Stress and high blood pressure Stress relief from laughter Stress relievers Support groups Tips for easing stress when you have Crohn's disease Warrior 1 Show more related content.

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