You’re afraid that this might never go.
Negative thinking has become a part of you.
Reading inspirational material or being in a positive company has only helped in the short term. And, you need something that lasts.
The thing is, for how long can you depend on an inspiration outside?
You have to tap the source within.
Let me tell you about 5 habits that will enable you to always live your life with a positive mindset.
So, here’s how to think positive all the time without forcing it and 100% naturally.
5 habits on how to think positive all the time
#1. Make regular exercise a part of your life
If you are serious about becoming a positive thinker, you must stop shying away from physical workouts right now.
Because you cannot help but feel good after a workout. The body releases happy hormones called Endorphins every time you exercise. So, exercising is literally like taking your daily supplement of happiness.
Not just this, regular physical activity can also boost your dopamine and serotonin levels – the other happy hormones.
These are ‘feel good’, stress, and pain-relieving hormones. A regular dose of these in your system is an assurance that you become a naturally positive thinker. Not just that, they also organically stimulate the healing of the body and mind.
Choose moderately challenging workouts to gain optimum and long-lasting results. If you choose Yoga, you get the added benefit of activating your para-sympathetic, also called the ‘rest and repair’ nervous system at a much deeper level.
#2. Eat Sattvic food (food with positive energy)
As a child I was always taught ‘what we eat is what we become’. And I wondered how.
It was only when I got deeper into Ayurveda and Yoga, I understood how.
In Yoga & Ayurveda, all food is divided into having three qualities –
Tamas – Food that makes you dull, indolent, and numbs your senses. Ex: Meats, stale food, undercooked, overcooked, alcohol
Rajas – Food that stimulates your senses. Ex: Too much spice, too much oil, Processed, Coffee, Tea, etc.
Sattva – Food that keeps you energetic and light. Ex: Fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, legumes, clarified butter, etc.
This is a very basic definition of the whole thing, but you get the idea.
Clearly, the food you take can change your reception and perception of things, and eventually how you act.
Consult a Yoga teacher or an Ayurveda practitioner on what changes you can make in your diet so as to cut down the negative input and boost the positive.
#3. Follow your body clock
Have you ever noticed how fresh and energetic you feel the whole day after an early morning wake-up and how lazy you feel on the day you get up too late? If not, now will be a good time to do this little experiment with yourself.
We all have rhythms of ‘being’, called the Circadian Rhythms or body clocks. According to modern medicine, a lot of internal and external factors affect our body clock.
But as per yogic science, the body clock primarily responds to daylight, i., the rising and setting of the sun.
So, as per yoga, if you maintain your daily activities around the cycle of the sun, you will not only gain optimum physical health but an enhanced mental state as well.
Waking up with the sunlight, eating before sunset (ideally) or 60-90 minutes after it, and sleeping within 3-4 hours of sunset. Not sleeping while it is dark disturbs the Circadian Rhythm, and to an extent sleeping with lights on.
Also, you may not feel it but when the sun comes up, your internal energy system also comes alive with it. So, Yoga practitioners like to be awake before the sun rises so they can use that energy consciously.
For a normal person, just following the good old ‘Early to bed and early to rise’ day after day, will set you in the way of positive thinking.
#4. Use affirmations – written or verbal
Even the most optimistic of us all, tend to focus on the negative in life sometimes and not notice so much good that is happening around us. Even when we notice it, another negative thought is just around the corner.
Negative thought patterns wipe out positivity as you step out in the world and have no control over external stimuli.
Affirmations work really effectively in such scenarios. They serve as the perfect daily reminder of that forgotten or ignored good in your life and also keep you in a positive mind frame always.
Before going to bed, write one good thing that happened to you that day. Write it on a Post-it and stick it on a collage board near your bed or simply utter it a few times just before you go to sleep. You don’t have to limit yourself to one thing, there can be as many as you want.
When you wake up, your affirmations should again be the first thing that you see or utter. It headstarts your day not just with a positive thought, but with a sweet memory and the possibility of good things for the day ahead.
#5. Breathe right (that’s right)
It may happen that you may be doing everything right but will keep feeling negative. You know why?
Improper breathing. Yes, Sir.
Both our nostrils connect to the brain and to the two main subtle energy channels in our body. If either of the nostrils is blocked or working in a sub-standard manner than the other, it will reflect in thinking and personality.
In people with the right nostril blocked or working sub-par, negative thinking is a common trait.
By practicing Yogic techniques like:
Yogic Breathing
Sutra Neti
Anulom Vilom Pranayama
Bhastrika, etc, you can improve the functioning of both nostrils and get rid of acute negative thinking.
Note: Please follow these practices under the guidance of a registered practitioner only.
Keep it real!
The most valuable advice to remember in the end is this world is of a dual nature. Positive and negative thinking are two sides of the same coin, and if you feel negative sometimes, that is totally natural and acceptable.
Do not let people tell you how you should feel, but be very observant of your own states of mind. When you feel negative, acknowledge the feeling without getting disturbed about it. Do not let it become a permanent feature in your choice of emotions.
Because believe it or not, eventually all of us choose which way to let our minds go. A negative thought can be a temporary item in your life, but not a permanent fixture.
So, get up, get going, and employ any or all of these techniques to become a naturally positive thinker. And do me a favor while you do that, do not force yourself to it.
Do not try to be positive even when you need your power of discernment to look at the dark side of things and make the best decision.
Embrace your shadow and work through it. You already know how to think positive all the time!