Do you feel sometimes that the whole world is against you?
That’s the power of thought.
How to encourage your brain to switch into positive thinking?
Give yourself a mind candy.
The power of thinking
Let’s experiment a little to recall how our brain works.
Imagine a big, fresh, and bright yellow lemon.
Take it into your hand and squeeze it. Run your fingers over the lemon’s skin. Can you feel its bumpy texture under your fingertips?
Now put the lemon on the cutting board and cut it in half. Can you smell its refreshing citrus scent?
Take half of your lemon and squeeze a few drops of juice on your tongue and taste it. Is it sour? Does it pinch and sting your tongue? Does it make you wrinkle your face, squint your eyes, and press your lips together?
Bring half of the lemon close to your nose and smell it well.
Did you find yourself salivating at the thought of seeing, smelling, and tasting a lemon? Did you scrunch up your face and swallow the saliva?
The power of your thinking is huge!
Discover also how to use the power of smell to your benefit.
How positive thinking impacts your stress levels?
I hope this short experiment made you fully aware that the power of positive thinking is not just a buzz word. Our brain’s reaction to the real thing is exactly the same as to the thought of a thing. Now, that seems a bit like a magic trick, doesn’t it?
So, how can you use this information to reduce your stress and anxiety level? Can you get rid of the tension and put yourself into a more relaxed mode? The answer is: yes!
With some practice you can trick your brain into or rather encourage the more positive mindset, feel better about yourself and help relaxing your body.
It is important to mention and remember that we are all different. We think and react in similar way, but our mode of getting there may vary significantly. So don’t punish yourself for not being able to become less tense or anxious on demand. It doesn’t work that way.
It’s okay if you struggle to stay positive!
How to give yourself a mind candy?
When you feel stressed, restless or a bit under the weather, it’s important to encourage some positive thinking. It will calm down your agitation, and give you space and clarity of thought.
Give yourself a mind candy – a positive thought and feeling. Help your brain to shift focus from the overwhelming chaos into a safe space. Create your safe space within yourself, any time, and any place.
When you do this, you will notice that your body and mind react to positive thoughts and feelings by releasing tension and getting into a relaxation mode. Your stress hormone level will decrease in a natural way, and you will able to nourish your body and mind.
Benefits of positive thinking
- Calming down
- Sense of space in your mind
- Clarity of thought
- Release of tension
- Relaxation
- Ability to re-focus
Follow these steps to encourage positive thinking
- Find a peaceful and quiet place, where you can spend 5-10 minutes without being disturbed.
- Set a gentle timer in your phone if you’re time is limited.
- Sit comfortably on a chair or a floor, wherever you like.
- Take a few deep and slow breaths. Breathing in through the nose, and breathing out through your mouth.
- You can close your eyes if you like to.
- Now give yourself a mind candy – magic thought treat that can do wonders. Nothing complex and planned. Actually, quite the opposite – any positive though, feeling that pops to your head. The simpler the better.
- When your time is up, or you feel you have relaxed enough to get back to your day, before you get up, take a few deep breathes again. Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
- Appreciate the time and effort you decided to spend to encourage your mind to focus on positive thinking.
You can repeat this exercise whenever you feel restless or stressed. You can even practice it every day, or a few times a day. With time it will become much easier to initiate and hold on to a positive thought and feeling.
It will help you stay relaxed and positive.
How to find your Mind Candy?
Ask yourself a few simple questions that will trigger the positive thought chain. This will help you find your mind candies. You can memorize or write them down for use in a time of need.
You can use this list of questions during an exercise to help you trigger the mind candy.
- What is the happiest and relaxing thought that comes to your mind?
- What makes you smile instantly when you think about it?
- Bring a sense of relaxation and happiness to your mind.
- What makes you happy?
- Is it a person?
- A place, maybe a smell or a view?
- Is it a melody, taste, or temperature?
- Can you feel your muscles relaxing and tension in your body going away?
- Bring that thought to your mind, and let yourself indulge in it for a few minutes.
- Explore it with all senses. See it, smell it, feel it, hear it, taste it.
How do you cope with negative feelings and encourage positive thinking? Do you have your own Mind Candy? Share it with us in the comment below!