What is a positive mindset? Does it really affect my daily life? Why does it even matter? If I ignore the negative… am I positive? 

According to Kendra Cherry at Very Well Mind, ¨Positive thinking actually means approaching life’s challenges with a positive outlook. It does not necessarily mean avoiding or ignoring the bad things.¨

Having a positive mindset these days seems to be a pretty difficult thing to do. There are so many negative factors occurring around us in the world today.  It is hard to step back and look at all the good things in your day when even the slightest bad situation happens.           

Experts note there are four ways that a negative mindset is hugely presented. This is through personalizing, catastrophizing, polarizing, and filtering. These are all ways we expect the worst, blame ourselves, and focus on the negative. Sometimes as people we don’t see the middle ground between negative and positive. 

A local Outpatient Mental Health Clinician stated, “In our evolution, in our DNA there’s a drive to always be looking out for danger. In our history, there’s a natural tendency to look for the negative, to pay attention to the negative, to be more skewed to what’s wrong, rather than what’s right and what’s good.¨

Along with being genetically wired to look for danger or what people see today as negative, there are many stress factors in the world we live in today. So you have to work extra hard to find the good. 

You are living through a pandemic and many things have changed since March. Parents work more, school is different, and for some reason even though this would seem stress free, getting to stay home and all. It’s not. And that’s okay. 

Finding ways to handle negative thoughts and stress are endless. 

According to Oakmont guidance counselor Mrs. Dubovick, a great way to handle stress is having quotes, pictures, and things that promote you being happy in your workplace. As a counselor she practices this herself.  ¨A woman in a baseball statue, women weren’t supposed to play baseball in the 1940s. I’ve  got a little book, 1000 ways to live in the moment¨

Catch yourself in these negative moments. Utilize the tools around you to bring you back to a positive mindset. Whether that’s quotes, pictures, food, a favorite drink, or just talking to a person who can bring you out of the funk. 

Ask yourself, is it even worth getting upset over. Will this even matter in a week or even a couple hours?

The most important thing  you can do is surround yourself with good people. Don’t let yourself be dragged down by others and don’t drag down others. 

Keeping a positive mindset has so many benefits besides being happy. Having this mindset helps in all ways mentally and physically. A local clinician stressed the importance of ‘valuing yourself.’  This often  leads to a positive view and attitude.

To start, the mental health benefits are a boost in self esteem and a new outlook on  life. It can push you in the direction of understanding that ¨not everything is perfect¨. You are going to have worse days than others. Experts conclude that if you understand life’s obstacles and imperfections you will lead a healthy life.

How could this possibly affect you  physically?

Experts say physical benefits of having a positive mindset go from embodying a greater resistance to the common cold and an increased life span. Better mental health improves physical health. Many understand the connection of spirit, mind and body. Sources state ¨Your body responds to the way you think, feel, and act¨.

Recently the media has been expressing a lot more negativity . It’s hard to just scroll through without seeing someone criticizing others for the way they think and what they believe in. This is one reason spreading positivity is a must. 

Having a positive mindset is something worth working towards. But know that for some people it’s a constant uphill battle and that is okay. Everyone will have off days and be in bad situations, it’s just how we handle them that counts.