Positive Thinking Strategies

When responding to a day's events, it is common for people to label things as either good or bad. A rainy day, for instance, can provide an individual with differing emotions, depending on a person's attitude toward wet weather. Richard Carlson, Ph.D., author of "Easier Than You Think...because life doesn't have to be so hard," states, "Our well-being depends on how we process our lives on the inside-on our thinking." With so much at stake, learning positive thinking strategies can do much to overcome the limitations of negativity.

Attitude

• Because how you greet each day greatly influences the type of day that will unfold, greet each day with enthusiasm. In "Six Attitudes for Winners," author Norman Vincent Peale shares the advice he received from his mother: "Make up your mind, right now, that the world is a-thrill with beauty and excitement." While it is true that both positive and negative events occur daily, Deepak Chopra, author of the book, "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of your Dreams," states, "Whatever you put your attention on will grow stronger in your life." A positive outlook has the potential to attract more positive life experiences.

Affirmations

• One way to retrain our minds to focus on the positive is to spend time every day writing out and saying positive affirmations, which are simply positive statements about life. Listing your beliefs about yourself, your job, relationships with others or with money will help you discover negative beliefs. To create an affirmation, take any negative idea and turn it into a positive one. For example, if you would like to lose weight, avoid thinking about how heavy you are or how much exercise you will have to do. Instead, write out and say, "I lose weight easily" or "I am fit and trim."

Visualization

• Visualizing involves using the imagination. In her book "Creative Visualization," author Shaki Gawain states, "Create a clear mental picture of the object or situation exactly as you want it." Spend time actively picturing yourself already having what you want and living out the reality you desire. For instance, if you would like a new job, see yourself in your new environment, happily performing the work you would like to be doing. Being mindful and grateful for any goals achieved (through visualization) will help you achieve the life of your dreams.

Behavior

• Our response to life's events and how we interact with others is always a choice. "Virtually everything that you do is the result of the picture that you place in your mind before you make the attempt," states Dr. Wayne Dyer in his book, "You'll See It When You Believe It." If it seems unnatural to avoid overreacting to stressful events, try counting to ten. The delay will give you time to regroup, to temper your response and to maintain a positive outlook.

Reinforce Learning

• It is very easy to revert to negative ways of thinking and behaving. Staying focused on the positive is an ongoing learning process. To aid in staying focused on the positive, show gratitude, pay attention to diet, exercise and study various healing modalities. Some people find that joining groups to discuss positive ideas also provides needed support.

Concrete Images

• Creating a treasure map may help spur positive thinking about certain life goals. For example, if a person wants to travel, creating a poster board representation of the goal may help maintain a positive attitude. Cutting out pictures from magazines or printing photos out from the Internet--and placing themselves in the action--can help people remain positive while working to make their dream a reality.