{"id":131286,"date":"2024-04-05T08:45:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T12:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/?p=131286"},"modified":"2024-04-05T12:59:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T16:59:00","slug":"cultivate-a-positive-mindset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/05\/cultivate-a-positive-mindset\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultivate a Positive Mindset"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Leo Babauta<\/a><\/h4>\n

One of the best long-term things you can do for a happier life and better relationships is to cultivate a positive mindset.<\/p>\n

People with positive mindsets live longer, happier lives. They have lower rates of heart disease, cancer<\/a>. They live about 7.5 years longer, on average. That\u2019s huge.<\/p>\n

So developing a positive mindset can be one of the most impactful things you can do for yourself.<\/p>\n

And there are a ton of downstream effects: you are kinder to others when you\u2019re happier, so your relationships are better. You are more playful, more joyful, more likely to take positive actions and focus on meaningful goals.<\/p>\n

So how do we develop this positive mindset?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to share a handful of things I\u2019ve found to be important \u2026<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Notice your tendency toward negativity<\/strong>. We often don\u2019t realize that we have a bias towards a negative mindset. This is a blind spot for most of us. To uncover this blind spot, try to find places during the day when you have a negative mindset: complaining, criticizing, judging, catastrophizing, feeling helpless, feeling resentful, feeling victimized, feeling put upon or burdened, feeling bored or lonely. NONE of these feelings are wrong! They\u2019re just things to notice, and as we notice it, we will have the ability to create big shifts.<\/li>\n
  2. Notice the impact of negativity<\/strong>. Without judgment, get curious about how these moments of negativity impact your life. How does it affect your motivation? Your relationships? How much fun other people have around you?\u00a0<\/li>\n
  3. Accept your negative feelings<\/strong>. Start to take the stance that it\u2019s OK to feel whatever you feel. Tend to the negative feelings \u2014 how can you soothe them? How can you fully express them? For example, if you\u2019re angry, can you rage like a werewolf? If you\u2019re feeling put upon, can you yell in frustration into a pillow? Exaggerate your feelings, allowing them to course through your blood, and you\u2019ll let them through you instead of repressing them.<\/li>\n
  4. Find a new, positive stance to come from<\/strong>. Once you\u2019ve exhausted the energy of the negative emotion, you might notice that your heart and mind are more open. In this place, you can choose something new. What stance would you like to come from in these moments? Pick one and practice it: maybe you will look for something to love in the other person. Maybe you\u2019ll come from a stance of being of service to others, or compassionate, or giving unconditional love. This new stance takes practice.<\/li>\n
  5. See the gift<\/strong>. Whatever stance you choose, it can be a beautiful practice to see the gift in any moment, even ones that feel negative. When someone is upset with you and you feel defensive \u2026 what is the gift in this person\u2019s upsetness? When you are feeling tired and overwhelmed, what is the gift in such a moment of tenderness? When you have had a sad and lonely day, what gift can you find in your melancholy? There\u2019s always a gift to be found in every moment in this brief and precious life, if we have the courage to look.<\/li>\n
  6. Wonder practice<\/strong>. In the same way, we can practice awe and wonder in each moment. If we take on this practice, what we want to look for is seeing the wonder and beauty in each moment of life. Start with the easy stuff: going outside and seeing beautiful nature, or rejoicing in the light falling on our faces. Seeing laughter in a little kid, or love between two partners. Look for it everywhere! Even in the places we find more challenging: can we find wonder when people behave in ways we don\u2019t normally like, or when the world is chaotic, or when we\u2019re hurt? It\u2019s powerful to take on this practice.<\/li>\n
  7. Change your physicality<\/strong>. If you normally act like Eyore (from Winnie the Pooh) \u2014 slumped over and mopey \u2014 then your mindset will stay negative. That\u2019s OK! There\u2019s nothing wrong with feeling this way. But you might practice taking on a Tigger physicality \u2014 more positive, excited, joyful, playful. If you dance around, your mindset will follow. How can you bring a joyful, grateful, awe-filled physical attitude toward life?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This isn\u2019t meant to be a comprehensive guide to a positive mindset \u2026 but rather a place to start. Pick one of the ideas above that feels easy and helpful, and practice it!<\/p>\n

    See what starts to shift. One small shift at a time, this could change your entire life.<\/p>\n

    The post Cultivate a Positive Mindset<\/a> appeared first on zen habits<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Leo Babauta One of the best long-term things you can do for a happier life and better relationships is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,181,192],"tags":[179,182,193],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131286"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131287,"href":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131286\/revisions\/131287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yorbestlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}