Positive Life: Turning Negative Thoughts into Positive Thoughts

Everyone has negative thoughts. It’s really hard not to with everything that goes on in the world and everything that we go through each day. Part of living a positive life is concentrating on the positive things instead of the negative ones. We choose what we think therefore we can control what we think and what we concentrate on more. I, personally, would rather be happy about something than angry about another thing. Yes, negative feelings can sometimes be good because they might make change in the world but they can also lead to hatred and destruction so we must try to be positive. Change can still be made through positive thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. 

Here are some ways that we can shift our focus and turn our negative thoughts into positive thoughts:

• See a good side to the negative thing. If you made some kind of mistake, think of how you have learned from it. If you forgot to bring your laptop to school, think of how you can now do some studying with your books instead of being distracted from the many distractions that a laptop offers. There are so many bad or difficult things that can have a good side to them if you just change the way you think about them. There are, however, some things for which it is tough to see a good side so you can use other ways to switch to positive thoughts for those ones.
• Think of a happy memory. If you are feeling sad, angry, worried, nervous, or frustrated, think of a happy memory to take your mind off of whatever is bothering you. Think of a funny memory that will make you laugh out loud or think of a very special memory that makes a smile spread across your face.
• Breathe. If you are having negative thoughts and feelings, stop for a moment and just breathe or if a specific activity is frustrating you, take a break. Do something that makes you happy or think of something that you are excited to do later on. This will help you relax more and start thinking more positive thoughts. You will have a clearer mind with which you will be able to tackle that frustrating task or change your negative thoughts.
• Think of what you are grateful for. Thinking of the things in your life that you are grateful for will put you in a much better mood and make you think more positive thoughts because you will realize how many good things you have in your life.

          -Kaylie