I would have to say I’m a glass-half-full kind of person. I’ve always disliked being this way (obviously). Whilst many of my friends would seemingly not have a care in the world, there I was generally fed up about something or thinking the worst. It just came naturally to me. Maybe you’re the same – you get wrapped up in negative thinking and before you know it you’re fixated on these thoughts before you realise an hour has gone by…
Having a negative mindset puts a grey filter over everything. Nothing seems exciting, and everything is potentially annoying. A negative mindset drains your energy, drains your time and steals the potential happiness you could be experiencing.
It sucks.
It wasn’t until I started to take care of myself better that I could tackle the negative mindset I found myself experiencing so often. Changing a negative mindset is difficult. It took me years to learn how to pull myself out of a bad headspace.
But I know it’s possible.
If you find yourself fed up, not looking forward to anything and just generally feeling as if everything is bad, this post might be for you.
These are the habits I use to change a negative mindset when I sense that feeling coming on.
1. Stop yourself from complaining
Complaining is addictive. How often do you find yourself complaining about things? I used to be a big complainer. What’s worse, I would do it more often when I was around other complainers. Sometimes it’s good to get things off your chest, but you have to be careful you don’t end up complaining all the time.
When you find yourself with a negative mindset, complaining comes naturally.
However, is it helping you?
Whenever I feel that negative mindset coming on, I ask myself; is complaining going to help?
The answer is always a big fat no.
Complaining only makes things worse. It never solves or helps anything. When you complain you’re only reinforcing that negative mindset, creating a habit and a routine in the process.
When I feel frustrated, I catch myself before I start complaining. Instead, I try to stop myself and think about how helpful it is going to be or if it’s just going to make me feel worse.
Is it always easy? No, not at all. Which is why it takes practice.
2. Are you focused on the right things?
One of the most important habits I use for changing a negative mindset is to take a pause and ask myself if I’m focusing on the right things. For example, are there things going on in the world that are affecting me? Chances are, there probably is something.
If it’s something I can control, I’ll try and think of a way to sort it out.
If it’s something I can’t control, I’ll remind myself that I can’t do anything about it.
There is so much chaos in the world, so much to think about, so much to worry about. There are disasters and wars, and the news is shouting at you constantly. It’s no wonder we find ourselves experiencing a negative mindset.
We’re overstimulated. Everything starts to seem a little…heavy.
Sometimes you have to take a mindful pause and ask yourself if you’re focusing on the things at are actually important to you.
One of the most helpful habits I have ever had is focusing on what I can control in my own life. It strips out all the noise and helps me to remember what’s truly important.
For example;
- My family
- My health
- My hobbies
- My friends
Everything else is just noise. It doesn’t need to have space in my head. Furthermore, I don’t have space for much of it.
With too much input, you begin to feel overwhelmed, even if you don’t realise that all the noise of the world is affecting you on some level.
3. Change your routine up
When you do the same things over and over again, life can sometimes begin to seem mundane, especially if you work 9-5 and don’t enjoy your job. Whilst I like my habits, it’s sometimes helpful to mix things up.
Breaking a routine gets you out of your head.
Whilst you can’t just leave your job (unless you change it) you can break the mould one evening or at the weekend to expose yourself to something completely new to you.
- Go and visit a show
- Join an exercise class
- Visit a place of natural beauty for the day
- Learn and instrument
Whatever it is, the point is to do something you thought you would never do. Get out of your comfort zone. When you’re a kid, the world seems like a huge place with endless possibilities. As you get older, your vision of it can shrink.
Get some of that wonder back by learning or doing something new.
Changing a negative mindset is difficult when you do the same routines over and over again.
Heck, you could even paint your room a different colour. Just do something.
One thing that helps me out of a negative mindset is writing. Once upon a time, writing was brand new to me. I never thought I’d see myself as a writer. However, it soon turned into a passion of mine.
Get out of your familiar routine and watch how different you feel.
If you want to create a new routine, you can download your free daily routine planner here.
4. Go from victim to in control
Sometimes it feels like you’re a victim of the world as if everything is happening to you. You feel as if nothing good happens to you and you’re simply at the will of everything around you.
I’ve felt that way many times.
But having this perspective only keeps you in a negative mindset. You actually have more control over the way you feel than you think.
The world is happening to everyone. All of us have our own things going on, even when other people seem more happy than us.
One habit that helps me change a negative mindset is deciding how I want to feel about something.
Rather than having my emotional strings pulled by the world, I can choose if I want to deem something good or bad. This sounds too simple, but I find it to be true.
If it’s raining outside, I can choose if I want to think it’s a bad day. Or, I can decide that it’s okay that it’s raining because the sun will return eventually.
By doing this, you’re reminding yourself there is good to be seen in everything. You get to be in control before you start to feel negative.
This helps me to regulate my emotions, rather than something outside of me dictating them at will.
Conclusion: breaking out the cycle
Changing a negative mindset meant changing my habits. One step at a time. It’s a journey, not something you’ll be able to do overnight but hopefully, these tips will help you along the way.
Start creating better habits today.
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