Stop the negative spiral: 4 tips for positive thoughts

For some, it is the current events surrounding war and climate change; for others, it is very personal issues that dominate their thoughts and make it very difficult for them to remain positive and look optimistically towards the future.

Even if you can't imagine it right now, you can practice thinking positively. With a few tips, you can work on your mindset and avoid getting lost in negative thought cycles, even in difficult times. (Of course, this doesn't apply to people with mental illnesses, such as depression. In that case, you should talk to your doctor about appropriate treatment options for you.)

4 tips to think positively and cultivate a healthy mindset 1. Identify the negative thoughts you want to change

Before we can change something, we first have to truly become aware of it. So listen carefully to what your negative thoughts are telling you. Is your inner critic constantly belittling you? Do you relive difficult situations from the past in your mind over and over again? Or do you always assume the worst and envision negative future scenarios that haven't even happened yet (and probably won't)?

It might help to write down such thoughts as soon as they pop up. This will help you see more clearly how often you're making things unnecessarily difficult for yourself.

2. Accept these thoughts as they are

The next important point: radical acceptance of the current state—and thus of your thoughts. We often want to get rid of negativity immediately and try to simply push it away. Unfortunately, that doesn't work. Instead, we must first accept and fully embrace failures, negative feelings, and destructive thoughts.

You can practice this with meditation, for example. In classic mindfulness meditation, you do exactly that: accept everything as it is. You learn to no longer see your thoughts as the ultimate truth, but rather as something your mind produces—based on what you feed it. And ultimately, that's in your own hands.

3. Change your perspective

Now try to change your perspective when you encounter a negative thought. Instead of thinking, "Damn, I totally messed up the presentation," try thinking, "The presentation didn't go so well. But now I know what to pay special attention to, so I can do better next time."

This takes practice and is anything but easy. But if you continually work on seeing opportunities as well as negative ones, you can train this type of positive thinking like a muscle. Repetition is key—you have to make it a habit and constantly remind yourself not to fall into destructive thought patterns.

4. Practice gratitude

A very good way to practice positive thinking in a concrete way is gratitude. If you like, you can keep a gratitude journal in which you record what you are currently grateful for each day. Perhaps it is enough to simply remind yourself of these aspects in the evening before going to bed. Gratitude is especially important during difficult times so that we don't lose sight of everything we have.

For someone currently going through a serious life crisis like a war or a major loss, this is understandably unhelpful. But if we're generally doing well, have a nice home, enough to eat, perhaps a partner, healthy children, pets, and a job, then it can be very helpful to focus on these things instead of concentrating on the negative things in the world or even in certain areas of our lives.

This way, you can cultivate a mindset of openness and positive thinking , where negative thoughts are allowed to arise from time to time, but they don't play the main role. It takes a while to internalize this, but with a little practice, it helps greatly in riding life's big and small waves. But: If you feel like you can't escape the negative thoughts on your own, as mentioned, it's best to talk to your doctor or a therapist about it.

mbl Brigitte

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