Ways to Change Your Thinking and Change Your Life
The nature of our thoughts determines the quality of our life whether it is sad, happy and contented. Happy, optimistic, positive thoughts, emotions, and feelings generate a zing in our system which makes the blood flow freely and heartbeat joyously.
Changing your mindset is no easy task, but having an open and positive mindset is a game changer. Your personal growth is what propels the choices you make for your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Just something as simple as changing your thinking can change your life.
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” ~ Norman Vincent Peale
Importance of Mindset Work
There’s great importance in spending time doing mindset work. Within this period, we begin to understand ourselves, and through that understanding, we become more compassionate and patient with ourselves.
Changing your thinking is not only to be more optimistic but giving your mind the breathing room, it needs to grow and expand. It’s about looking at everything that hasn’t worked for you and being open to other ways that might.
It is quite clear, therefore, that we must bring about a change in the way we think in order to create happiness and a sense of fulfilment in our life. A good thing about our brain is that it willingly adopts any changes that we bring about in our thinking patterns.
How to Change Your Thinking and Change Your Life
POSSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS
Affirmations are not always positive. They can be negative as well.
The truth is that most people are given to making negative affirmations. When you think repeatedly that you are not going to succeed in a particular project, it is a negative affirmation.
Affirmations, both negative and positive impact the neurological functioning of the brain.
Positive affirmations are like mantras. They have a sacred and spiritual force about them. Let us be clear about creating positive affirmations. They should not be normative or weak.
Thoughts such as I ‘should’, ‘ought to’ or’ abstain from’ are normative.
Affirmations should be forceful and determined such as ‘I can’, ‘I will’, or ‘I am going to’.
use something like:
"I am adventurous. I overcome fears by following my dreams."
"I am in charge of my life."
"I have the power to create change."
GRATITUDE
Most people take their joys and blessings for granted and start grumbling about what they do not have; or, when they are faced with problems and troubles. Just think of those who are less fortunate than you. Or, think of a situation that could have been worse than it is now. You are crying because have hurt your knee in an accident. What, if the leg itself had broken? See the filled half of the glass for satisfaction and the empty half with a resolve to fill it.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
SHOW UP
Not feeling the gym? Go anyway. Don’t feel like playing the guitar after making a commitment to practice every day? Do it and play.
The pay-out of showing up and committing goes a long way. It builds confidence, and with that growth, your mindset begins to change.
Of course, showing up may not always be fun but by meeting these small goals on your list allows you to tackle on the bigger ones that may seem far out of reach.
LEARN TO APPLY FULL STOP
We keep mulling over our misfortunes, the perceived wrongs committed to us by those who we have loved and stood by so sincerely. We never stop cursing ourselves for the mistakes that we think we have committed. What would have happened if I had done this or that? What would happen if I do this or that in the future?
This is not to suggest we should not learn from our past mistakes or plan our future intelligently. The only thing is we should stop thinking over and over once we have learned from our past and decided about our future.
THE PRESSENT MOMENT
Do not associate happiness with future events. I will be happy when things happen this way. It is like postponing your happiness to an unsure future. The better alternative is to try to postpone your sorrow to some future moment as much as you can. The time to be happy is to-day because yesterday has already passed and you cannot be sure that tomorrow will bring any happiness.
CANT CHANGE THE WORLD
It is impossible to change the world around you. So, stop fretting when people do not come up to your expectations. The best course is to change yourself or at least adjust with the people or situations you do not like.
ASK WHY
It’s really that simple. In order to change your thinking, you have to dig deeper into what it is that’s causing a reaction.
Why does it bother me that another person took the parking slot that I was waiting for?
Why do I feel uneasy when I dine at a restaurant alone?
Why do I feel happy after I purchase a new outfit?
We ask “why” to a lot of external factors, but very rarely we ask that about ourselves. It’s also a way to get to know yourself as if getting to know a friend.
As we begin to answer these questions, we realize that it’s not the external factors that bring happiness, sadness, guilt, or joy, and it’s more about understanding our own values.
Now, have a conversation with yourself and reflect on your answers when you do ask these “whys.”
STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Our mindset will only begin to change if we allow ourselves to be exposed to the possibilities of change. Stepping out of your comfort zone can be one of the hardest things you can do, but it all goes back to building your confidence.
Strive to learn something new every day – even if it makes you feel a bit uncomfortable at first.
LOOK AT THINGS FROM A DIFFERENT VIEW
Changing your thinking also means being open to other opinions, especially if it challenges your own. You’ll begin to realize that the more mindset work you dive into, the more you will be approaching new opinions and ideas from a grounding and calming place. Things that used to have you on your defence will slowly turn into a question of curiosity instead. When you begin to look at something different, that think you look at changes
MEDITATE
research shows that meditation can change the brain's structure. Others show that it can change brain functions. Meditation can produce a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This will train you to deal with any thoughts and emotions that pop up.
YOUR BODY IS YOUR TEMPLE
Keep the temple of your body neat, clean and well-ventilated. Do not dump garbage of dirty, negative thoughts and toxic junk food in it. It is really difficult to remain happy when you are sick physically or mentally.
There is a close relationship between the mind and the body. Take physical exercises regularly according to your constitutional needs. Eating clean and doing regular exercise works wonders for your hole being.
SLOW DOWN
Here’s the thing. You take the same route to work and leave your house at the same time. While on you are getting off the motorway, you stop by your favourite coffee shop to order your daily brew, then you’re out the door and heading straight to the office.
During this daily routine, have you ever noticed the colour of the corner building right before you get off the highway? Or have you noticed whether your barista is left-handed or right-handed?
Probably not, because most of the time we tend to live our lives on auto-pilot.
One way to change your mindset is slowing down. When you slow down, you begin to find yourself in the same tune and vibrations as the world around you. You begin to become aware of what resonates with you and what doesn’t. You start becoming present.
If you want to change your life, you must be present in the life you are currently living in. By being present, you begin to shift to a state of gratitude.
ELIMINATE THE EXCUSES AND CREATE SOLUTIONS
How often do we use the word “but?”
For instance, “I want to eat healthier but I’m so busy that I can’t meal prep,” “I want to buy a new car but I’m still paying off some of my debt,” “I would like to start my own business but I don’t have the time or finances for that.”
Now eliminate the “but” and imagine how you would feel if these external factors weren’t much of an issue.
This is a simple but powerful technique in changing your thinking. It’s all about tapping into those emotions and eliminating the roadblocks that we spend so much energy focusing on. Instead, begin shifting your focus from the but’s and toward the “how’s.”
The Bottom Line
There is nothing more powerful than your mind. You can make it work for you and help you transform your life — just give it time.
Changing your mindset is a work in progress and one that should be eye-opening as it is rewarding. It’s about getting to know yourself on a deeper level and creating a friendship with yourself along the way.
You change your life by changing your thoughts. If the thoughts you think are pure, your life will be pure.
There’s no one solution fits all, but it all comes down to taking that first step. Even if you do only one of the steps above and you find it makes a change, your life will begin to change.
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