"Positive people don't just have a good day, they make it a good day"

Today is the International Day of Positive Thinking...

What I like about such a day is that it increases awareness about the concept, allows us to self-reflect about our own mindset & the rewards positive thinking might bring to our lives.

It might sound like a very soft term and a bit fluffy so let me clarify how I interpret this concept.

What does positive thinking mean and what does it not mean?

Trying to adopt a positive thinking mindset for sure DOES NOT mean that every single day, we see the world through rose-colored glasses and run around cheerfully and don't have any sense of realism. People who know me well also know that that type of positive thinking would not work for me and would conflict with my rather challenging and 'striving for perfection' way of working.

However, over the years I have discovered for myself that negativity rarely serves a purpose and if we can activate our 'positive thinking' muscle on a daily basis ('The Power of Habit' also applies here), life can look a bit different.

To me, positive thinking thus DOES mean

• embracing an attitude of wanting to see positive things beyond the negative things;
• always trying to search for favorable outcomes in situations;
• focusing on what is under our control and letting go of what we cannot control.

The evidence-based impact of positive thinking & positive emotions

It is actually not so fluffy as there is quite some academic evidence on the positive effect of positive emotions on creativity, learning new things, developing new skills, innovation, ... . I notice myself, while coaching and training people in our programs, that I am always on the lookout for people that express some type of that positive mindset as that leads to creative outcomes. Professor Barbara Fredrickson is an American researcher I have been following and who is one of the most well-cited researchers on positive emotions. She launched the Broaden & Build theory which explains the value of positive emotions: positive emotions broaden your sense of possibilities and open up your mind to more options, which then allows you to build new skills that can provide value in other areas of your life (and this is where the longer term benefit comes in). In other words, the skills you build last much longer than the emotions it all started with. Researchers then also often refer to the 'upward spiral': you are positive -> you develop new skills -> you see small successes -> you become more positive -> and so on... .

My take on the positive effects of positive emotions:

• Positive emotions increase the cognitive flexibility and the capacity for divergent thinking: both of them are essential for creative ideas and innovation
• Positive emotions increase the motivation and lower the fear of failure: people are therefore prepared to take some more risks and search for innovative solutions
• Positive emotions enlarge the memory retention and recall, both of which are very important in a learning proces.

How do I train my 'positive thinking' muscle?

There is very positive news: Positive thinking is something that can be taught and practised. We can all train our brain to adopt a more positive mindset. Of course, like with many things in life, for some of us it will be easier than for others. The extra positive thing: we can take our time as it will never be a skill we fully acquire, we can only try to get better at it!

Some methods/tricks I am applying to train my PT muscle:

• Visualizing & (some) daydreaming: envisioning a pleasant/wishful situation or outcome e.g. via a moodboard can be quite helpful. A bit of daydreaming to visualize can be powerful (e.g. read more here: A Psychologist Teaches You How To Tame Your ‘Overthinking’ ( forbes.com ) )
• Metacognition (thinking about your thoughts) and then reframing negative thoughts into positive thoughts: generating more awareness for your thoughts and each time deliberately think: is there also a silver lining to this situation can train the muscle. It all comes down to making a habit out of this.
• Journaling: it has been shown that writing down on a daily basis what you are grateful for can really boost your mindset (e.g. my former colleague Leen Adams has published a nice book that can help with that)
• Deliberate usage of words: there is an art in using words in a good way such that they trigger positive thinking. E.g. I need to/I must go to an event can also become -> I get to go to an event.
• Depersonalize events: everyone is fighting battles we know nothing about, so we cannot take reactions or comments personally. There needs to be some type of buffer towards negative thoughts.
• Go into nature: studies have shown that going into nature whether it's for hiking, running, biking, .... really lifts people's spirits. Running does the job for me.
• Smile a lot, authentically: recently someone gave me the great remark to let nobody or nothing take away that smile (ever) and always try as much as possible to bring a smile to someone’s face...random acts of kindness are also key to that!

While training the muscle, we realize that some days it will go well, other days not so well but if you zoom out and you look months, years further down the line: you will notice a difference.

Today is a good day to make it a good day :-)?

#internationaldayofpositivethinking #personaldevelopment #creativity