How do you get your mind to work for you?

The brain is a complex organ in the body and can work either for us or against us. Much of how we live our lives is governed entirely by the thoughts that we have in our brain, from socializing to what job we do, to where we live and what we wear, we listen to the thoughts that our brain sends us and act on them.

The problem is, have you ever stopped to wonder if your brain is working for you or against you? If the thoughts that you have in your head are going to do what is best for you or are you living a life of self-sabotage? Are you the kind of person who will take a compliment and dismiss it, and hear a negative comment and ruminate on it constantly?

It would appear that at times nobody is as good as us at belittling ourselves, putting ourselves down, and generally highlighting all that is wrong with us.

We always imagine that our brain has our best interests at heart and will never do anything to hurt us.

The problem is we have a lot of thoughts throughout the day, most of which tend to be negative. You would imagine as it is a significant part of us that it would only ever work for the best outcomes, but unfortunately, that is not always the case.

Our brains can have a negative influence on our lives and if we don’t keep track of what we are thinking then we can consistently make the wrong moves and end up in a situation that we don’t want to be in.

What we need is to have a brain that works for our best interests and not against us, it is possible, it requires following some simple steps, that once implemented can make all the difference

21 Ways how to train your mind to think positive

1. Find the positives among the negatives

What you think about is what you bring about. The thoughts that we have in our minds will eventually shape our reality, so if you are the sort of person who always looks for the bad in a situation and dwells on it, then sooner or later that is what is going to show up.

You need to start finding positives amongst the negatives in your life to start turning it around. If you constantly feel negative about your job, then you are going to get more negativity surrounding it.

Instead of looking at the negatives in it, look for the positives; do you like the people you work with? Is it well paid?

Is it close to home? Does it have a low level of stress? In every negative situation, a positive can be found if you look for it and once you start looking for the positives, you generally end up seeing more.

2. Surround yourself with positive minds

Like attracts like, so if you are constantly negative and constantly put yourself down, then this is what you are going to attract.

Surround yourself with positive minds and they will start to have a positive impact on you. You will be amazed at how different you feel when you cut out negative people from your life and replace them with positive ones. Positive energy will attract more of the same.

3. Tune out from negativity

If your constant default setting is negative, it could be because that is all that you surround yourself with. At times we are unaware of the sheer magnitude of negative thoughts that infiltrate our days.

It’s not just the people we work with, but TV and media can have a very negative effect on our minds.

Turn off the media, stop reading and watching the news, and take a break from social media and you will notice how different your mood will be.

4. Visualize yourself as more than you are

This can be tough for a lot of people because negatively seeing yourself can be ingrained from childhood.

You need to start visualizing yourself as a more confident, happier, more successful person to change. This mental shift is not going to be easy.

The best way to start is by being grateful for all that you have in your life……trust me this really does work.

If you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see, instead of focusing on all of the negatives, start being grateful for all that you do have; sight, hearing, the ability to move, working limbs, a healthy body, whatever it may be, once you start to feel gratitude for all that you have, you will begin to think about yourself more positively.

5. How would you talk to other people?

At times, we can find ourselves saying the most hurtful and untrue things to ourselves and when you find this happening, ask yourself, “Would I talk like that to someone else?”

The answer of course is no, not at all. We can berate ourselves and put ourselves down in a manner that we never would to someone else, so the question is “Why is it acceptable to do it to ourselves?” It’s not but we do it.

The next time you find yourself being self-critical and self-demeaning, imagine you are saying it to another person and how hurt they would be. If it’s not ok to talk down to another person, then it’s not ok to talk down to yourself.

6. Be kind to yourself

We like to think that we are kind and caring to other people, now is the time to start being kind and caring to ourselves. You will only start to change the way you think about yourself if you start to be kind to yourself

Take some time out to really look after yourself. Practice mindfulness and meditation and focus on the positives about yourself.

Don’t put yourself under too much pressure to be perfect and to get everything done, real life isn’t perfect.

Wallow in self-care from time to time, say no to other people and put yourself first. When you begin to make yourself a priority, you will begin to see more worth in yourself and you will begin to think better thoughts about yourself.

Remember, you are just as important as everyone else!

7. Start practising some positive affirmations

If you want to speed up change in how you think about yourself then start saying some positive affirmations every morning and evening.

Although saying something nice to yourself may seem a bit strange at first, you can say it in your head, if you don’t want to say it out loud….once you have started this practice, you will really start to notice a change in how you think very quickly.

Having kind thoughts will uplift you and make you feel happy, positive, and confident.

The more you say, the more you will find to say and the sooner your brain will start believing these new thoughts that you are telling it.

8. Challenge yourself

Do you constantly tell yourself that you can’t do something even before you have tried? Are you afraid to try something new, or fear that if you start you will fail?

All of these scenarios mean that you will miss out on much because of your fear of failure. The truth in life is that you need to challenge yourself to move forward and progress.

The act of challenging yourself means that you will change the thoughts that you have in your mind and will change your mind to more positive ways of thinking.

9. Make continual practice part of your daily routine

Your mind needs to be constantly used for you to have growth. The brain will continually learn throughout your life, there will never be a time when your brain doesn’t have the capabilities to grow and change.

Therefore it is in your best interests to practice positive thinking and new routines for your mind to work positively and productively.

10. Focus on one thing at a time

If you are trying to focus on too many tasks or thoughts at one time then you will find that you become overwhelmed and will have trouble completing a task.

You will be far more likely to complete a task well if you focus on one thing at a time.

Put your time and effort into one thing and do it well, and you will discover you will feel far better about yourself and will be more positive towards your abilities than if you try to multi-task and end up failing in some capacity, which will mean that you will be more likely to think negatively about yourself and your abilities.

11. Use the power of meditation

Meditation is an excellent way in which you can retrain your brain to work for you more positively. The power of mediation has been known for thousands of years as a way to calm an overactive mind and to cut out our default mode network that constantly chatters in your mind.

When you meditate it reduces stress and anxiety in the body, cuts down on unwanted negative thoughts and helps to train the mind to switch off.

It helps to calm the nervous system and produces a calmer, more positive overall effect on the mind and body.

12. Try new things

If you want to have different results in your life you need to be doing things differently. This is true for your thoughts and your actions.

Trying something new is an excellent way to stretch your mind and produce more positive thoughts at the same time. Think how great you feel when you try something and you find that you are good at it, it’s then you know that you will feel good.

13. Learn to be mindful

Mindfulness is another very powerful and effective tool that you can use as a way to train your mind to work for you now.

When you practice mindfulness, you start to focus on the moment that you are living in, not projecting into the future or regressing into the past.

Any unhelpful or negative thoughts from your past can’t be dwelled upon when you are practising mindfulness and in the same way, you can’t project negative thoughts into the future.

If you are serious about changing the thoughts that you have to make your mind start working for you then add the practice of mindfulness to your daily routine.

14. Discover how to harness your imagination

Amazing things happen in life when you use your imagination. Your mind is so good at believing what you tell it, so tell it something fabulous. Use your imagination to have an amazing life. Instead of always using your imagination to envisage bad stuff happening, use it to imagine everything that you want.

It is up to you to decide what you want from your life, you can imagine anything that you want. The thing that most people don’t realise is that most of the things that are in their lives, they brought there with their imagination, so put it to positive use.

15. Recharge your batteries with rest and recovery

Nothing will ever work properly when it is almost empty and that includes people. For you to be productive you need to make sure that you rest and recharge your batteries.

Your mind will become stressed and anxious when you need to rest, so make sure that you allocate plenty of self-care into your weekly routine for your mind to recharge and recover.

16. Have a digital detox

Do you seem to spend hours connected to a digital device? Mobile phones have become something of an addiction to many people and this has led to an increase in stress and anxiety and dissatisfaction with life.

It’s no wonder of course when you look on Instagram and see people leading what seem to be perfect lives, with amazing homes, perfect bodies, dream holidays and harmonious relationships, everyday life for most can seem pretty dull and lacking.

Of course, these lives are anything but perfect, they are smoke and mirror lives to make money but they can still leave you with a feeling of longing and can alter how you perceive your own life.

It is essential to disconnect from the digital world and spend time, in reality, to put your life into perspective and stay emotionally sane.

17. Make your desired actions a habit

Start setting some positive actions in your life and make them habits. Exercise, eating well, a good sleep routine, meditation and positive thinking are all ways in which you can keep a lid on the amount of stress in your life.

These actions need to be made into habits, that will continue to be of benefit to you.

Once they become a part of your routine, you will really begin to notice how they can transform your life around.

18. Take up Yoga for the mind-body connection

If you want your mind to work positively then you have to set positive routines in your day to keep it fit and healthy.

In the same way that daily exercise will keep you physically fit, introducing the practice of yoga will help you mentally.

Yoga works to slow your breathing and control the thoughts that you have. A daily yoga routine will work wonders for your emotional state of mind.

19. Use breathing techniques to calm your mind

If you don’t have time to do a yoga routine daily, even a simple breathing exercise will do wonders for your mental state.

If you find that you are getting overwhelmed or are suffering from some stress and anxiety, then practising some tried and tested breathing techniques will help to calm your mind and body.

You can practice them anytime and anywhere and will get almost instant results from them.

20. Maintain a gratitude diary

When you are grateful for all that you have in your life you will feel good. Regardless of whether you want or need other things, being grateful for what you have here and now will lift your spirits and make you feel emotionally much stronger and healthier.

We can all take for granted the wonderful things that we have in life and instead focus on lack, this state of being will never bring us happiness and will affect our mental well-being.

Start a gratitude journal if you want to train your mind to work in more positive ways for yourself.

21. Do something you love every day

There is untold happiness when you do something that you love. Having hobbies and pastimes that make you happy is one of the simplest ways to improve your mental and emotional well-being.

If you think back to when you were a child and the hours that you spent doing something that you loved and how happy it made you, you will realise how important it is. You need to make sure that you allocate time to your life for hobbies and interests and spend time doing something that you love.

Final Thoughts

Discovering how to train your mind to work for you now is essential if you want to be in charge of how you think and feel, and for the results that you get in your life.

You won’t eradicate negative thoughts from your life overnight. Some of the worst ones will have been with you a long time so it will take time and effort to remove them.

Just remember that it can be done. If you find that you are having trouble working this through on your own, then coaching can give you the tools and support that you need to really start making a change in your mindset.

Nothing in life is impossible, and with the right mindset, everything is possible.

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