10 Ways to Take Control of Your Life
Posted in Motivation
At first glance, many would wonder what positive thinking and productivity have nothing to do with each other. However, it is easy to develop negative thinking patterns and become frustrated by challenges and feelings of being overwhelmed. This negative outlook creates a cycle that makes it difficult to manage challenges and move forward.
Positive thinking allows you to focus on your strengths and accomplishments, which increase satisfaction and motivation. This in turn helps you make progress, and spend less time feeling down and stuck.
The following tips provide practical suggestions to help you shift to positive thinking patterns:
1. Take care of yourself
It’s much easier to be positive when you are eating well, exercising, and getting enough rest.
2. Practice gratitude
Challenges don’t seem quite so bad when you are reminding yourself of the things that are right in your life. Taking time every day to appreciate the good things will make a huge difference.
3. Stop making assumptions
A fear of not being accepted often leads us to assume we know what others are thinking. If you have a fear that a friend or family member’s bad mood is due to something you did, or that your co-workers are secretly gossipping about you when you turn your back, speak up and ask them. Don’t waste time worrying about things you haven’t done.
4. Refrain from absolutes
Have you ever told someone ”You’re ALWAYS late!” or complained to a friend “You NEVER call me!”? Thinking and speaking in absolutes like ‘always’ and ‘never’ makes the situation seem worse than it is, and programs your brain into believing that certain people are incapable of delivering.
5. Eliminate the negative
Negative self-talk, whether internal or external, only serves to damage self-esteem. If you find yourself having negative thoughts, detach from them and don’t follow them.
6. Squash the “ANTs”
In his book “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life
7. Come on and get physical
There is lots of benefit in a good hug. Positive physical contact with friends, loved ones, and even pets, is an instant pick-me-up. One research study on this subject had a waitress touch some of her customers on the arm as she handed them their checks. She received higher tips from these customers than from the ones she didn’t touch. Just be careful to keep touch appropriate.
8. Get out more
By increasing social activity, you decrease loneliness. Surround yourself with healthy, happy people, and their positive energy will affect you in a positive way.
9. Volunteer
Everyone feels good after helping. You can volunteer your time, your money, or your resources. The more positive energy you put into the world, the more you will receive in return.
10. Take a break.
If you find negative thoughts dragging you down, interrupt the pattern and do something completely different. Sometimes the easiest response when you feel overloaded is to take a short break. Go for a walk. Listen to some music Find a quieter or a different space to work. If you’re experiencing major stress, it may be time for a vacation. Taking a break may seem counterintuitive to getting things done, but you need energy to stay positive and be productive.
Photo credit ThunderChild5
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Comments
I met Dr. Amen at a lecture he gave and then participated in his brain study of injured and uninjured brains. I learned a lot about the damage that can occur even from normal children’s bangs to the head - the kind that happen to most kids who engage in sports.
If you are interested in the brain and how it works, I highly recommend reading “”My Stroke of Insight”" by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. It’s on the NY Times Bestseller list and it’s a wonderful book. Dr. Taylor’s talk at TED dot com is also AMAZING! Oprah interviewed Dr. Taylor and you can check that out on Oprah.com. And Time Magazine named Dr. T one of the 100 Most Influential people in the world. Having read her book, I can see why all the attention.
Dr. Amen’s book is brain science and it’s great at that. Dr. Taylor is a Harvard Brain Scientist, but what she writes about is the science and much more. She really cracks the code to understand how our brains (right and left hemispheres) work and she explains how we can get into our right brain and be happier and more joyful. Aside from any of the science, My Stroke of Insight is also just a great story.
Thanks Ian,
It is a great idea to have a list of strategies to follow. I have often been swamped in all the above behavior and tried to talk myself out of it when I realize. However, I haven’t been terribly successful. I needed to see your message big time! I will keep a copy near my bed, on the refrigerator, in the bathroom & in the car to refer to any time, anywhere. I am sick of the feeling of being ‘not in control of my life’ or that ‘everyone wants a piece of me’. I frequently put the needs of others before my own, (which isn’t a bad thing per se) but not at the expense of my own. It is time to take back my life. I will persevere with this until my failures decrease and my successes increase. Thank you heaps.
Cheryl …Adelaide…Australia