Your thoughts have an important influence on your attitudes and behaviour.

We might think that happy people are always full of happy, positive thoughts all the time. But is that really true? It is common, for even the happiest people, to have negative thoughts at times. But a positive mindset and a positive attitude can help us stay positive about the situation. Try to keep a calm state of mind and adopt these positive thinking exercises the next time you find yourself with negative emotions. Believe in the power of positive thinking!

Our thoughts have an important influence on our attitudes and behaviour. Negative thoughts can lead to negative behaviour and a negative experience.

How we think affects how we perceive people, things and situations as well as what and how we choose to take certain actions.

Positive thinking isn’t just about using more positive words to feel good and forcing yourself to believe that everything is a positive experience.

It’s about we can control the negative thoughts in our mind and make conscious decisions to manage our emotions by checking our thought patterns.

Positive Thinking
Here are some inaccurate thought patterns that we could correct by making the effort to think differently:

1. Externalising - blaming others for how we feel

For example, "I am really irritated by what Jesslyn has just said!"

Correct this thinking pattern by rephrasing - "I am upset by Jesslyn's comments but blaming her will not help. I should reflect on what she had said and see if there are some truths in it. I can then take charge of the situation."

2. Mind reading - assuming we know the other person's thoughts.

For example, "I am so disturbed that Sian Heng ignored me. He must be angry with me."

Correct this thinking pattern by rephrasing - "I feel disturbed that Sian Heng ignored me and I can't read his mind. I may want to clarify with him why he did that."

3. Over-generalising - making sweeping judgements about someone based on one or two incidents.

For example, "I feel so frustrated that he is always holding back information from me!"

Correct this thinking pattern by rephrasing - "I may feel frustrated that I am not updated on the latest information, but I should try to cool down and clarify his actions with him."

Try it next time and you may find yourself becoming a more positive thinker over time. Share these positive thinking techniques with your family and friends to practise positive thinking together.