Tag: #positive thinking

Kindness&Appreciation

by Ana-Alicia

There is a lot of negativity out there. We must learn to try to spread kindness, compassion, love, and appreciation as much as we can, in any little or big way. It doesn’t cost anything, but it is worth everything to spread kindness to yourself and others.

A little appreciation, compliment, or gesture goes a long way. How did you feel to receive kindness? How did you feel to give kindness? And don’t forget to give it towards yourself. Give yourself a little compliment and appreciation. Try not to be so hard on yourself. Forgive yourself for mistakes. You are human, remember to remind yourself of that.

Appreciate the things you have in life. We barely give appreciation of those things, and people. We put our attention on the negative. It will be nice to put your attention on the things you love. I was at a store, and realized I had access to all these things, fresh water, food etc,. It made me appreciate that I have access to things others may not have.

We won’t have everything. No one does. It is about appreciating what you have. There is something we have that others don’t, and may like in life. Focusing your attention on the positive things, and finding appreciation can do wanders for your mindset and outlook on life. We need to learn not to focus on having it all, but focus on having enough to live a fulfilling life.

Appreciate your life, and what you have in it. Be kind to yourself and others. I am sure you will feel a little more positive and upbeat doing these things.

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Positive Habits That Improved My Life

by Ana-Alicia

Hello! Happy Saturday! Time for a little positivity post. These posts are always needed.

I was inspired by a couple of Youtube bloggers. They discussed positive habits/things that improved their lives. It made me think of the things that improved my life. I thought this would be a nice topic for my next blog. It is always beneficial to focus on the positive things in our lives. I also thought this would get you thinking of the positive things that improved your life.

I will discuss a couple of positive things in my life that have been beneficial for my well-being physically, emotionally, mentally, and personally. You should always try to create habits that can bring positivity, happiness, and peace to your life. It is a chaotic world out there.

So here they are:

1.Waking up early- This may not work for everyone, especially night owls. I am an early bird. Doing this helps me get more things done. I like the peacefulness of not having so many people around when I go to places. It makes me more productive, and prepares me for the day ahead. During the work week. It gives me the time to relax before I go to work, and I can get ready at a slower pace. It also makes me more alert, and ready to go when I get to work. I am barely ever tired going to work anymore.

2.Practicing mindfulness- This should have probably been first, but I somehow thought of waking up early first. I am much more content now. I have picked up many healthy habits, because of this practice. I can relax more. I don’t stress as much. I am more accepting of myself, and my life. I am more aware, and understand myself, and my emotions. Overall, it has had a positive influence in my life.

3.Stepping away from distractions- How I use to love being online, social media all the time. Those were days I am glad I put past me. I still go on, but not as frequently. I may do 30 minutes on the weekdays, and sporadically go on, during the weekends. I like to take sometime away from it doing things like, reading, learning, taking walks outside, being inspired, writing, doing puzzles, word searches, meditating, or writing in my journal. It gives me a chance to be in the moment, and focus my energy on myself. I always enjoy doing this when I wake up, and before I go to bed. It brings much peace, and calm to not be trapped by my phone, or computer.

4.Productivity time- I always like taking time out of my day to do something productive. I usually like to write it down on my Calendar, because it gives me more motivation to get it done. I always have days, and times of whatever productive thing I want to do. It is a nice feeling to complete a goal, or task you had for yourself. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. It is nice to know I am not wasting my day. No matter how little, or big the goal is. It helps me focus on my personal development, and improving myself, and my life.

5.Journaling- It is just nice to get my thoughts out. It is therapeutic. It is also a nice way to reflect back, and see my journey as I go through life. It can helps me learn more about myself. What I improved on, what I achieved, and what I can work on.

6.Walk in nature/outside- Now that it is nicer. I can do this more often. There are a myriad of trails, and parks in my area, so it is nice to enjoy the outdoors. The nice fresh air, the sound of birds, and the water. The nice scenery. It helps me live in the moment, and appreciate the beauty of this earth. It also boost my mood, and my mental health. It calms my mind. It is also good for me physically.

All these things have been wonderful habits that have changed my life for the better. Now I would like you to think of positive habits that have improved your life? What has it done for you? How has it improved your life? If there isn’t any, it is time to build some positive habits that can change your life for the better.

 

Meditation Practices

by Ana-Alicia

Meditation practices help keep the mind calm. It helps keep us at peace. Many people think it is about avoiding thoughts, but it is more about embracing them, and not allowing the thoughts to consume you. Meditation helps the thoughts flow, instead of linger.

There are many different practices you can try. It is always great to have a handful of different ones you can try, since some work better than others depending on the situation. We are all different, so some may suit you more than others.

I will list some that may be helpful to try, the first couple I found online, or in books. The last two I created myself, along my journey of practicing. I have tried all these practices of course, and they all have been helpful one way, or the other.

  • Transcendental Meditation-This is a practice where you come to a state of no thoughts. You transcends your thoughts. It is the art of no thinking. If you do have thoughts, become aware, and allow the thoughts to flow out of you. Now people ask, how can you have no thoughts and just be? It is possible if you are persistent, and keep pushing through your thoughts. Eventually the thoughts will calm down, and fade. You will just be. It is quite peaceful when you are at that state, but pretty difficult to get there if you are a beginner, or don’t practice much. It can happen, but takes patience.
  • Waking Meditation-I say this one is one of the easiest. This one you don’t have to sit still. This practice is more active. This includes, Mindful eating, mindful brushing, mindful walking, mindful showering etc… This is about being mindful of the things you do through out the day. Things you normally don’t pay attention. You give more attention to. It is about focusing on the moment. Focusing on the feelings, sensations, reactions you have to doing that particular activity. You become aware of the things you never noticed while eating, brushing, cleaning, showering or walking. It brings a whole new experience to a normally mundane activity.
  • Mindfulness Meditation-Quite similar to the first one, but not as intense. You start by sitting. Focus on breaths. Breath in and out. The idea is to keep focusing on your breaths. If thoughts pop up. Focus your attention back on your breaths. This keeps you in the moment, and calms the mind. You can also focus on your senses around you(the sounds, the smells, the sensations of sitting, or on the body). I usually visualize myself on a beach, or in nature, while doing this as well. The point is to keep your mind in the present, and not have all your thoughts overwhelm you.
  • Visualization-I have spoken about this one in another post. This practice is more of a motivational factor to reach your goals, and dreams. You just visualize what you want. Imagine what you want to happen. Imagine how it feels to reach that dream. Imagine what you are doing, where you are, what positive changes it made, how it made your life after it happened. Be specific. Add dialogue, feelings, sensations. This is a good practice to get you on the path to where you want to be in life.
  • Negative to Positive Imagining– I really liked this practice when I tried it. First you sit, think of a worry, or problem. Then imagine the worst case scenario, which is always easiest for us. Then stop thinking, and notice the feelings, and sensation one has. Immerse yourself in those feelings, and what it does to the body. After that, you switch it up. You do the same thing, but think of a positive outcome(this is always harder). Then you dial that feeling up from 1 to 10. Doing this helps cultivate peace of mind. This practice should help you feel a bit more positive about the problem, or worry you have. It is quite an interesting practice to try.
  • Sensory Meditation-In this practice, you use your senses to guide you. This practice is about focusing your attention on any of the senses. Light incense, use body lotions/oils, play music/nature sounds,take a bath. Focus on the particular sense you are using for this practice.
  • Release Meditation-Bring forth the thing that is cultivating negative emotions, a worry, or problem. Inhale-immerse in it(the thoughts, emotions, sensations, reactions). This process help you understand, and accept the worry, or problem. Exhale-release the negative energy out of you. This process can be repeated as long as you need. Sometime the thoughts will keep lingering, until you are ready to move on.
  • Flowing River/Wave Exercise-This is visualizing your thoughts as waves, or as a river. Whenever you have worries, or lots of overwhelming thoughts. Imagine a river, or wave of an ocean. Become aware of what is bothering you, then throw it into the river, and let it flow. If you have lots of thoughts, imagine all the thoughts flowing through the river. Go through each thought one by one as they flow through the river, like when you see an object flowing through a river. Become aware, and let it flow. You can also imagine your thoughts as waves rising(become aware of the thought), and crashing(letting it go).

Now meditation takes concentration and patience. It isn’t for everyone. I have difficulty sitting still as well, but these are good practices to give a try if you like to practice meditation. It definitely has its benefits. I hope these are helpful to you guys.

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Positive Exercise

by Ana-Alicia

Time for some positive thinking! I know, this is hard sometimes, but it is a good exercise to try to bring more positive vibes into your life. How you think affects your experiences, and your environment, so it is best to try to be a bit more positive, so you can enjoy life a bit more.

We get stuck on the negative mostly. I sometimes do this, but it would be nice to think about the positive things in our lives. Try making a list to refer to every now and then. This can help put things in perspective, and keep you motivated on focusing on the positive things in life.

Here are some positive things you can look at and list:

  • Positive things about self
  • Positive things about your life
  • Positive experiences in your life, including past
  • Positive people in your life
  • Positive objects
  • Positive changes
  • Positive improvements you made, or can make

Lets take a little bit out of our day to appreciate, and show gratitude for the positive things in our lives. We give negativity too much power and attention. Lets give positivity some love.

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