Today, I decided to start what I hope will become a long habit: I am creating a gratitude list for the day. It’s easy to focus on the negative in our lives and forget just how good we have it sometimes, so I thought I’d share this new habit with you in the hope that some of you may join in and create your own.

How Can A Daily Gratitude List Help You To Become More Positive?

Before we even get around to creating a daily gratitude list, it helps to understand how it’ll help. On the most basic level, it helps to take your focus away from what’s bad in life, as the good things become a lot clearer. Sometimes it’s easy to see what’s good, but others times, not so much.

When you go to a basic level (e.g. health, food, warmth, electricity, shelter), you find that you probably do have it better than a large percentage of the world’s population.

On a deeper level, however, I also believe that this positive act – performed daily – will help to re-train your brain away from automatically thinking the negative, towards the positive side of life. This is what I’m hoping it’ll do for me.

How To Create Your Daily Gratitude List

You may be thinking you don’t have anything to be grateful for today, but you’re wrong. Yes, a gratitude list could contain big items like winning the lottery, but it can also be as basic as being grateful you ate a hot meal today, or that you have warm, comfortable clothes to wear. Anything goes: this is your personal list!

You can also write down the things you want in your life as if you already have them (which is a method taught in The Secret Movie.

Whatever you do, though, make sure you have at least five items. Maybe you’ll struggle at first, but I guarantee you do have five things to be grateful for! And write it down because it helps reinforce what you’re thinking, and gives you something to refer back to when you’re feeling low.

My Gratitude List For Today

I’m writing quite a long list today, only because I want to give you some good examples, and because I won’t be posting my gratitude lists publicly every day.

Today, I am grateful for…

1. The sunshine,
2. My dog for keeping me company,
3. My tasty lunch,
4. The feeling of fresh water when I’m thirsty,
5. My family,
6. Having someone to talk to about things that matter,
7. Socks,
8. My business,
9. Earning money,
10. Being able to write blog posts like this,
11. Coca cola,
12. That writing this list is making me smile,
13. Having people who read my words,
14. My home keeping me warm,
15. My plans to travel in future,
16. The fact that I have the ability to travel,
17. My favorite TV programs,
18. Red wine,
19. Books that help me to relax,
20. Being loved,
21. My health,
22. My long hair,
23. The changing seasons,
24. Silence,
25. The computer I’m typing on,
26. The internet,
27. My iPhone,
28. The fact that I’ve learned that I don’t need things like my iPhone to be happy (but I enjoy them anyway),
29. My glasses,
30. Electricity.

Your Gratitude List

Now you’ve seen my gratitude list you can see that anything counts! But it won’t count until you actually sit down and write one. It can be personal or, if you feel like sharing, why not post it in the comment section below?

Last week I spoke about the many links between stress and health in a physical sense. Now I want to talk about the emotional ways that stress can become a part of your life, just in case you needed convincing of the many ways you should learn how to think positive!

The Behaviour You Might Adopt

People act differently to how they normally would if they are under stress. For example, you might choose to do things that you know are bad for you just because you think they will make you feel better.

• Smoking,
• Drinking more alcohol or caffeine,
• Shopping more,
• Eat fatty junk food.

These things can all make us feel happier, but the feeling is normally short-lived. This is especially true when it’s closely followed by guilt at what we’ve just done, and this guilt in turn can make us feel more stressed – it really does become a vicious circle.

Difficulty Sleeping or Relaxing

The mental effects that stress has on our health means that we usually have a number of thoughts running through our mind. This can make it hard to relax at any time of the day, and even more so when it comes to when we are supposed to be sleeping.

Feeling stressed can mean that we will wake up during the night, or even find it impossible to sleep in the first place. And again this can become a vicious cycle, where a lack of sleep can leave us feeling moody and worse off than we were before.

Reduced Productivity

Linked to the point above, having thoughts constantly going round our mind can leave us unable to get things done that we need to do – especially if we haven’t been sleeping well!

Conclusion

These are just a few of the many emotional factors that link stress and health. One of the best ways to deal with them is simply to change the way you deal with stressful situations. Learning to break free from negative thinking can reduce the physical and emotional impacts of stress, and leave you happier even in tough times. If you want to learn how to go about this then subscribe to my blog for free updates!

Do you feel out of sync most of the time? If you nod in agreement in response to this question, then you should consider listening to a positive thinking CD. It’s a self-help technique to boost your attitude from negative to positive without having to spend thousands of dollars talking to a shrink.

1) The positive thinking CD will help you affirm yourself when you wake up the following day since your every sleeping moment has words of wisdom that gets embedded in your subconscious.

2) A change will be noticed especially in your lifestyle since good thoughts are fed to your mind as you sleep making you seek a change of eating habits and even the way you perceive difficulties that come your way like stress.

3) Your manner of perception is basically one of the strengths of the positive thinking CD. Through auditory stimulation you can have a clearer outlook on life. The relaxing and soothing music is key towards a calmer and more focused mind.

These self-help products would not work at all if you do not do your share of the bargain. These CDs guide you to lessen your worries but you need to do your part of the pie too. An example would be if you have ten things to do, start with the easiest since it’s faster to finish then progress on the more difficult ones.

By using a positive thinking CD you can free your mind from worries so use this to your advantage.

Positive hypnosis is one method that many people have had success with when it cames to changing their negative thinking around. Hypnosis was traditionally unavailable to a wide range of people, but there are now more and more ways you can use it to your advantage – including through self-hypnosis.

Studies have shown that the large majority of patients being treated using hypnosis have seen a number of positive changes in their life. I do not know exactly how hypnosis works in a scientific sense, but I can tell you that after using it I felt more relaxed and in a much better position to deal with problems.

How Relaxation Comes from Hypnosis

When I listen to self-hypnosis audio I find that the way the speaker says the words, and repeats certain positive phrases and thoughts, really makes a difference to how I can relax. If I have been stressed about a situation in my life or looking negatively at it, I find that hypnosis is often the only way I can start to relax.

This relaxation also comes with a new sense of perspective. I have also heard of a similar effect from meditation. It

allows you to stop being so involved in your thoughts and what you think is going wrong in your life. You get outside of yourself a little, and usually realise that things are not as bad as they seem.

Achieving Goals Through Hypnosis

I use positive hypnosis as a way of meeting certain goals in my life. For example, I often listen to confidence-boosting audio or those that can help me worry less about what others think. Hypnosis is also used by many for more concrete goals such a losing weight. Whatever the goal, hypnosis can bring about many positive changes.

How Does It Work?

Hypnosis works by interacting with the subconscious of your brain. And when it comes to thinking positively, it is often our subconscious that’s the problem. Our conscious mind knows that we may not be thinking logically, or that we could just choose to smile – but our subconscious is holding us back. Therefore it takes regular hypnosis to help change our thinking from the very core.

I have used hypnosis downloads for many different types of hypnosis, and they have the biggest and most affordable collection online. They are great for beginners and I would recommend the following:

Watch ‘What is hypnosis?’ video

We always hear the phrase ‘universal law of attraction’ and most often than not associate it with love but do we actually know what it is and how this universal law can make us happier people? Here is what the law of attraction is all about, and how it can improve your life.

The main premise of the universal law of attraction is that we pull towards us the things that we give our attention to, be it positive or negative. This means that we choose whatever we want to be, whatever we want to do, and we can have all the things we want to of we choose to. It is all a matter of choice. If we want to be happy, we can be happy in the same way that if choose to be sad, we can be sad.

You can use the universal law of attraction to improve yourself and your life. There are three simple steps on how to use this universal law to be what you want to be or get what you want:

1. know what you desire;
2. focus and ask; and
3. grab the opportunity when it presents itself to you.

photo credit: lepiaf.geo

If we want to attract good vibes, then we have to think positively. What we think is what we are if we follow the principle of this law. It is common to feel bad when we are disappointed or frustrated, but we can always choose to stay positive despite negative circumstances surrounding us. We just have to believe in ourselves and think positively. Everything will just be fine.

Don’t worry about the negative aspects, instead start thinking positively today. Use a guide if you are finding it hard.

One of the things that many of us will search for throughout our lives is something called ‘real happiness‘ – but does this even exist at all? It seems that we spend so long trying to attain it, that many of us claim that it just isn’t possible – always ending up unhappy.

The problem for most of us is that we don’t truly understand what happiness is. There is also a difference between what might cause us happiness in the short term, such as eating nice food, and what might cause us happiness in the long term, such as keeping to a healthy diet and being happy with the way we look.

photo credit: h.koppdelaney

The truth is that many of us don’t plan for what kind of happiness is going to lead to our real happiness in the long term. We think it will be instant to achieve, when the truth is that it isn’t. This is why positive thinking is so important, as it teaches us that things are going the right way even though they might not feel like that 100% pf the time. And when you think positively about things in your life, it gives you a greater chance of having the guts to go for what you want, even if it’s scary and may cause us a short-term feeling of unhappiness or fear.

There is also disagreement as to what happiness means at all. Many of us believe that true happiness is perfect happiness – but there is no such thing! Nobody is happy from the moment they wake to the moment they fall asleep again. And that’s a good thing! After all, how would we appreciate the good moments if we didn’t also have them mixed in with the bad? Often, true happiness simply means recognising your life’s purpose and going for it. Ultimately you will be happier because of it.

Happiness also doesn’t come from material possessions. Sometimes we think we’ll be happy if we have the money to buy what we need – but again this is only a temporary happiness. They can help improve our life, but ultimately there are thousands of people who have achieved happiness without material possessions to help them do so.

So, next time you are upset and wondering whether real happiness is out of your reach, remember that it isn’t. All it means is recognising a long term purpose in your life and having the courage to know you won’t be happy 100% of the time.

Yoga, stress and positivity are all closely linked in your journey to getting rid of negative thoughts. Stress affects everyone from time to time, even more so if you’re struggling to think positively. This is why starting a new technique, such as yoga, really can help to save you some energy.

Why You Should Avoid Stress

Stress is known to be damaging to our health if we experience it for long periods of time. They can make us less immune to certain illness, and can even cause conditions such as a high blood pressure and more. Not only this, but your journey towards positive thinking will be clouded and will become that much harder.

Yoga – Stress Elimination Techniques

Yoga is a great way of relieving stress. And you don’t have to be an expert to use it! In fact, I went online and found a number of different breathing exercises. One of the simplest to help calm yourself down is to breathe out for double the amount of time you breathe in.

For example, if you breathe in for four seconds, breathe out for eight. Don’t get distracted by counting, instead do it to music to keep a regular beat. I used this and tested my blood pressure before and after, and it had significantly lowered! Which is one physical result of using yoga to beat stress.

It’s also beneficial to use stretches and other yoga techniques. Once you do, you’ll find that they can help to take your mind of what’s going on in your life, allowing you to get a better handle on things and start to think more positively again.

Conclusion

As long as you practice yoga regularly, you’ll find that your stress levels are dramatically lowered and that your health improves as a result. Again, you don’t need to be an expert. Do whatever you feel comfortable with and you’ll surely reap the rewards.

There are many different ways that you might be thinking negatively – and it all comes down to negative self-talk. This is the language you use for your thoughts each and every day. If you want to stop negative thinking then you should try to recognise the ways in which you are talking negatively to yourself and try to avoid them.

Filtering

This is a kind of negative thinking which means that, in any given situation, you will quickly filter out all of the positive aspects and focus only on its negative points. This could mean that you could do everything right and make one small mistake in one day, and all you will focus on when you think about that day is the small mistake you made. As you can see, this kind of thinking can be detrimental to your happiness.

Polarizing

This means that you look at things as black or white. This means that everything either seems good or it seems bad and there is nothing in the middle. This can make things hard as you expect things to work out perfectly. If they don’t you consider yourself a failure.

Personalizing

This is the kind of negative thinking that causes you to blame yourself when something bad happens. Sometimes logic will dictate that this isn’t true, but you just won’t be able to realise. This can happen in any number of situations and really cause you to feel bad for no reason.

Catastrophizing

This means that you will expect the worst. In any event, you will imagine the worst-case scenario. This can have a debilitating effect on your life, causing you to avoid situations just so that you can avoid the worst from ever happening!

Conclusion

As you can see, these kinds of negative thinking usually do no good. This is why you should try several techniques to stop negative thinking, which will all be provided in this blog. Doing so can really turn your life around – just start implementing these easy techniques or reading a positive thinking motivational book and you will be on your way!

It should come as no surprise to you that there are so many benefits of positive thinking! Not only can it really improve your life and make you happy, but it’s also great for your health! Here are five of the top benefits of learning how to stay positive:

1) Avoid Depression:

This one may seem pretty obvious, but positive thinking is a great way to stay happy and to avoid getting depressed. This is possible even if you have been prone to depression in the past. No matter what we may think, positive thinking is a choice and we can make that choice to be happy.

2) Live Longer:

That’s right, positive thinking can increase your life span! Our happiness has a huge role in our health, and we will be less susceptible to a whole range of health problems just by learning to think more positively.

3) Improved Immune System:

Due to the fact that our body is less stressed and we are constantly more relaxed, it is in a better position to fight of illness. This means we are a lot less likely to come down with problems such as the common cold – only making us even more happy!

4) Coping Better With Stress

This is the main reason why we’ll see a dramatic increase in our health once we start to think more positively. Though it may seem as though stress is a psychological problem, learning to cope better with stress leaves our bodies a lot less stressed and more able to cope with any problems – physical and psychological – that come our way.

And these are just a few of the benefits of positive thinking! Just subscribe to our blog to learn about how to think more positively every day, or try reading some positive thinking program eBooks to get started on your journey.

Staying positive is something easier said than done. However, there are ways that will help us to think positively despite our tendencies to gravitate to negative thinking. One of the best ways to stay positive is to use affirmation cards that reflect our wishes and desires. Here’s how to use them to think positively and be happier in the process.

First, you need to write your affirmation statements in index cards. It is important that you write your affirmation in the first person point of view that is “I” or “My”. Your statements should be clear and connotes positivism. Avoid using “not” “never” or words that connote negativism. For instance, instead of “I will not eat more than I can”, you can restate it as “I will eat what is enough for me”.

Next, choose words that you can easily visualize. The power of imagery is what your subconscious can easily recognize. Conjure words that are easily recognizable by your subconscious and therefore strengthen the behavior you desire.

photo credit: bettyx1138

Remember to use the present tense in writing your affirmative statements. Using the present tense is more powerful than the future tense in invoking your subconscious to get down to work right away.

When you have written your affirmative statements in the index cards, you now have your affirmation cards that you must place everywhere you can easily read them often. For instance, you can post them in your dresser, in your bathroom mirror, in the fridge. Read them aloud as often as possible and smile. You will soon see the magical effects that these cards bring to your life.