Building Resilience Through Positive Thinking
Focusing on the positive aspects of any circumstance is known as positive thinking. It entails putting greater emphasis on a situation’s positive aspects than its drawbacks.
This does not entail disregarding the negative aspects. It implies that you accept the worst aspects of life while attempting to maximize the positive ones.
What is Resilience?
Resilience can simply be thought of as our ability to bounce back from life’s ups and downs. We can deal with stress, get through difficult experiences and navigate challenges well.
People with good resilience have the confidence to take on new challenges and view challenges as more surmountable. Resilience is closely interlinked with happiness and well-being.
The Function of Positive Thinking
Thinking positively enables you to take action and tackle problems more productively.
There are two distinct advantages to being able to move forward and concentrate on the positive:
- You keep yourself from being caught in a loop of self-doubt and blame. This merely undermines your self-assurance and reduces your likelihood of acting.
- Taking action makes challenges feel more manageable and feels nice. Making your issues seem more manageable increases your likelihood of perseverance and puts you in a positive feedback loop.
Can Positive Thinking Change Your Brain?
Your cortisol levels will drop, and your serotonin levels will rise due to thinking positively. These, in turn, can alter which genes in your brain are expressed.
We wouldn’t blame you if you took this with a grain of salt because it wasn’t thoroughly investigated. However, it is generally acknowledged that when London taxi drivers train and get familiar with the city’s routes, their brains really undergo a physical change. Therefore, it might not be surprising if regularly thinking positively alters your brain.
Building Resilience Through Positive Thinking
We must adopt a positive mindset if we want to increase our resilience. We can modify how we see and respond to difficulties by repeatedly making little changes.
— Adjust your frame. Fortunately, we have a choice in our attitude to every event and day. Reframing involves:
- Changing the way you think about a situation by looking for opportunities.
- Finding solutions to issues.
- Using more upbeat language.
For instance, try saying, “this is a difficult circumstance, but I have worked through obstacles before, and I can do this,” instead of “I can’t handle this.”
— Look for the good things and be thankful. Spend a moment appreciating the lovely day, the food on your plate, or the buddy that brought a smile to your face today. When you see that your thoughts are starting to spiral downward, take a moment to look for the good things in the circumstance or in your life. To teach your brain to be more appreciative each day, list three things for which you are grateful.
— Activate the stress reaction in your brain. According to research, our health and well-being are more impacted by how we perceive and handle stress than by the actual stress itself. Stress is a natural aspect of life and a sign that there is room for improvement or change. When you’re feeling stressed, consider concentrating on the stresses you can manage and think of one or two practical steps you can take to lessen them. You can encourage your brain to adopt a more upbeat and resilient outlook in this way.
— Give yourself a few relaxing routines. Doing more things that make you happy is one of the simplest strategies to increase happiness and develop resilience. Try a daily “10–2–10” routine that includes 10 minutes of exercise, 2 minutes of meditation, and 10 minutes of fresh air. Give a stranger your open door, or express heartfelt gratitude to a loved one or workmate.
— Surround yourself with positive and supportive people. This can make a difference when you’re trying to think more positively. Misery loves company, as they say, so instead, surround yourself with positive people who see the solution, not the problem.
Conclusion
Positive thinking does not mean ignoring the negative. It means approaching negative situations with hope and productivity.
Being optimistic is an acquired skill. This essentially means that anyone may learn it and enhance their own.
Positive thinking is beneficial in all facets of daily life. It enhances mental wellness and lessens negative thinking. All truly resilient persons have this coping mechanism.
