The power of positivity....
As human beings we cannot 'not think.' Our mind is always occupied by thoughts, whether we want to or not, and they influence our every action. The subconscious mind is constantly in motion, working to process data that presents itself in our daily lives. At this current time, I have no doubt that our subconscious mind has a lot of information to process and decompress! In these recent unprecedented times, many of our lives have been abruptly altered at the hands of COVID-19. It is because of this that wanted to share some of the concepts of having a positive mindset, in the hope to give you some strategies to help deal with negative situations. Positive thinking can lead to a lot of positive change in your life and can be good for both your physical and mental health. That said, I would love to begin this blog by sharing a few amazing stories of 'paying it forward' this week:
- We had a close friend randomly leave a very nice bottle of red wine on our doorstep with a lovely note saying to 'hang in there legends, better times ahead - until then drink the good wine!'
- We had one of our Change It Up members who is currently still employed, offer to help pay for anyone else that would like a virtual membership but may be struggling financially!
- We also had another member offer to pay her full membership instead of the 'virtual membership' - of course we said no but how amazing is that!!!
- Did anyone read about the man who withdrew $10,000 and gave out $100 notes to random strangers at Centrelink?
Isn't it refreshing to hear these stories in a time where we really need to work together in order to support each other. So what is a positive mindset?
" Positive thinking actually means approaching life’s challenges with a positive outlook. It does not necessarily mean avoiding or ignoring the bad things; instead, it involves making the most of the potentially bad situations, trying to see the best in other people, and viewing yourself and your abilities in a positive light.” (source https://positivepsychology.com/positive-mindset/)
So being positive is not necessarily ignoring the negatives, but rather concentrating your efforts into your positive thoughts and not dwelling on the negatives. Now this is why you may have seen some pretty crazy social media posts from Change It Up in the past few weeks..... We apologise for our terrible acting in advance but in the face of adversity (shutting our business down temporarily) we are trying to keep things light-hearted. We want to make you laugh! Here's a fun fact for you - did you know the study of laughter is called gelotology? A study by Berk and his colleagues found that laughter helps the brain regulate the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Whilst psychologically, dopamine triggers a feeling of pleasure. Furthermore, A good, hearty laugh can relieve physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after! I hope we were able to cause some neurochemical changes in your grey matter with some of our posts recently..... :)
So what can you do to have a positive mindset?
1. Learn to substitute every negative thought with a positive one.
Every time a negative thought crawls into your mind, replace it with a positive thought. Negative thoughts will always surface but try to counteract it with something positive!
2. See the positive side of every situation, even when you are surrounded by negativity.
This can be difficult, especially in the current climate. Adopt the adage 'if you seek it, you will find it.'
3. At least once a day, take the time to think of 5 things you are grateful for:
This will help give you some perspective and prioritise what's important.
4. Change the mental images you allow to enter your mind
How you see yourself and your surroundings make a huge difference to your thinking. Instead of dwelling on the negative, focus on the positive!
5. Surround yourself with positive people!
You may have to do that virtually right now....., :)
6. Contribute to the community
Helping others can give you a new outlook on the world!
7. Read positive and inspirational articles
We aren't watching any mainstream news at the moment - it's too negative! We're watching up-beat movies with the kids (like Happy Gilmore - classic!!) and I'm reading my trashy romance novels that I loooooove and make me feel good about myself.
(source https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/how-to-tap-into-the-power-of-positivity.html)
Are you feeling more positve yet? Just by speaking optimistically, it intrinsically lifts your mood! I'll finish by sharing some memes regarding isolation that I just love:
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I hope you saw the humour in these memes. I'll finish up here - stay safe and think positive!