How to Actually Foster a Positive Mindset to Become the Best Version of Yourself!
Whether you’re overthinking about friendships, relationships, school courses or your job, there is no doubt that negative thought patterns are taking a toll on your mental health We at The Edge are all too familiar with life’s stressors, but we’re here to let you know a few healthy ways to break these habits, and foster a true positive mindset!
1. Recognize your negative thoughts
Negative thoughts can become habitual when looking at different situations that are important to you. If you are stressed about finding an internship, it’s easy to succumb to a negative mindset about the potential outcomes. We completely understand this habit, but we believe the first step in changing it is recognizing it.
Tip: Keep a thought journal for a week. Write down any recurring negative thoughts or limiting beliefs you find yourself encountering on a day to day basis. Notice the patterns and determine what areas of your life you seem to be struggling with.
2. Reframing your situation
Most negative thoughts in our daily lives have the capability to be looked at from a positive perspective. Of course, this isn’t our instinctive reaction to a negative outcome. However, training your brain to pause, comprehend and digest what has happened and see things through a positive lens is a rewarding habit to adopt.
Tip: Be delusional. Whatever negative thought or experience you encounter, come up with the most delusional (even if it sounds impossible, say it anyway) excuse for why it occurred. Fired from your job? It was to find a better opportunity. Got in a horrible fight with your friend? Now you have more room in your life for truer friendships… Or maybe, this will make your friendship even stronger! The possibilities are endless, and it’s time to adopt the mindset of, “If not this, then something greater.”
3. The Marilyn Monroe Effect
When walking down the street with one of her best friends, Norma Jean Mortenson was just your average young woman. However, within seconds, she enabled a sense of confidence, positivity and attraction that ultimately made her Marilyn Monroe: one of the most famous names in all of Hollywood. After she “turned on” this character, passerbyers would stop her and recognize her as one of the most confident celebrity figures. What Marilyn unlocked was not some sort of secret sauce. It was simply the idea that confidence is completely made up! It’s up to you to create a sense of confidence for yourself. Eventually, it will become your reality.
Tip: Find who your Marilyn is. Write down different traits you want to adopt yourself and include optimism. Trick yourself into becoming someone who practices the habit of positive thinking, and eventually it will become an unconscious habit of your own!
Which tip was your favorite? DM us @theedgemag on Instagram and let us know!