Every day, we have the choice to go through life with a cheerful, bubbly disposition, or frowning and spreading complaints. Yes, it is our choice. But as plausible as this may sound, most people do not seem to be aware of how true it is. Every day, we get to decide to go one way or the other. And not by chance, many of our decisions are based on this mental setting – and so are the results of many of the things that happen to us.
Are you a perfectionist? Are you scared of failure? Do you think you are on a continuous competition against others? If the answer is yes, then any effort to become a more positive or optimistic person is likely to fail since these behaviours and feelings could rightly be called “optimism killers”.
A positive outlook affects our overall health and longevity.
Before we get into the ways to develop and cultivate a positive attitude, it’s worth mentioning briefly the impact our mental settings and attitude have on our health. For this purpose, there have been studies that demonstrate a trend: health can be positively influenced by an optimistic life setting. Impressively, it has also been found that a positive outlook affects our overall health and longevity. But is optimism something that we can learn?
Be more optimistic: 7 ways to cultivate happiness
Of course, nobody can change a way of thinking or acting from one day to the other, but there are a few strategies that can train us to generally adopt a more optimistic attitude even in the face of adversity, and that can potentially change the direction of our thoughts. Check how you are doing in the following 7 areas:
1. Don’t let yourself be influenced by others
The moment you accept you have an incredible power to control your feelings and, to a certain extent, what happens to you, you will naturally become more optimistic. Why? Simply because you know that you are the captain, that you hold the helm, and that you take the boat in the direction you want.
No one is directing your life. You are on the driving sit and the only one responsible for it. Don’t allow others to put you under pressure with their advice or social constraints.
No one is directing your life. You are on the driving sit and the only one responsible for it. Click To Tweet2. Watch out for your thoughts
The way you talk to yourself has a profound effect on your approach to life and, clearly, on your happiness and overall satisfaction. Talk to yourself the same way you would talk to your best friend.
The way you talk to yourself has a profound effect on how you approach life Click To Tweet3. Practice gratitude
Train your brain to look for the good around you. With all the noise and movement we are constantly surrounded with, and with our basic emotional needs covered, it is common to start taking many significant things for granted: we forget the relevance our loved ones have on our life and how important it is to nurture those relationships; we forget how lucky we are to have a job and a regular income that allows us to make ends meet… and the list, of course, goes on.