Listen to “Train Your Mind for Happiness”.
Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality. – Earl Nightingale
There are times in our lives when it’s normal to feel sad, and we shouldn’t try to talk ourselves out of it. For example, if you’ve just lost a loved one, are going through a breakup, have lost your job, or have suffered another adverse life event, feeling sad is healthy and natural. However, If you’ve been unhappy for a long time and don’t know why, or you think you may be battling depression, you should consider seeking help.
For many of us, happiness is a habit that we can cultivate. Your brain is the organ that learns to be happy, and your mental states can become your mental traits.
Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to form new neural pathways and interconnections between different parts of our nervous system. This happens after injury and in response to our environment, thoughts and emotions.
As with building muscle, the more we work out specific neural pathways, the stronger they become. Unfortunately, for most of us, we have unwittingly used this technique to program negative emotions, but we can do the same for patience, love, passion and joy.
Robust pathways eventually become our favoured psychological highways. We can then generate more happiness, calm and kindness in our life through practising these emotions.
Start Reprogramming your Mind Towards Positivity Today!
There are so many powerful ways that you could start reprogramming your mind; here are some tips to help you begin:
1. Neutralise Your Self-Talk
Your negativity could be holding you back. If you always think that the worst will happen, then it’s time to stop. If you don’t reprogram that negative state of mind, you’ll remain in a negative state.
Negative thinking leads to destructive behaviours and dampens happy experiences, but the pattern can be broken by neutralising the narrative in your head.
Begin listening to how you talk to yourself and others. Do you focus on the negative and assume the worst? Are you constantly tearing yourself down? Do you think in terms of always or never?
Every time you catch yourself thinking a negative thought, say the words silently or out loud, “Cancel-Cancel”, and then consciously shift it into a positive thought instead.
2. Discover Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a state where your mind and body are both present in the moment. It is a mental state that enables you to become aware of what is happening around you and find peace and solace as you calmly resonate with the moment.
Remember, your thoughts are just that, thoughts. They are not necessarily a reflection of reality. You can’t control what pops into your head, but you can control how long it stays there. You don’t have to let the same negative dialogue run around in your head all day, every day.
When we identify with the stories in our minds, we imagine them as facts, as parts of ourselves, rather than as fleeting moments that will pass on their own, just like spring breezes or clouds in the sky. This is where meditation helps. Meditation allows you to talk to your soul, to feel it and get to know it. Through meditation, you can establish a connection between your mind, body, soul and the universe and uncover the happiness you seek.
3. Self-Compassion
We all want to be loved and accepted; it’s human nature. It only really becomes a problem when you start to put everyone else’s needs before your own and sacrifice bits of yourself to keep everyone else happy.
Being your own best friend means you need to turn that compassion inward and be kind to yourself. It’s doubtful that you would ever treat your best friend with the level of negativity that you aim at yourself, so try to give yourself a break. Stop beating yourself up over a past that you cannot change.
Once you’ve given yourself a break, you need to drop all the other outside expectations about what your life should be. For example, from society, family, friends, magazines, television, etc.
Work out what will really, truly make you happy. Then, once you know that, make that your goal.
If you choose to concentrate on the good each day, you will fill yourself with calm, joy and confidence. It is not only good for you but also good for the people you know and love.
