We could all learn how to be more optimistic by taking a few pointers from this guy!
When you start working with the Law of Attraction, one of the first things you learn is that having a positive mental attitude is critical to having a happy life. Like attracts like so learning how to be more optimistic, by cultivating more optimistic thoughts, is the best way to shift any negative thought patterns you might have that are blocking your way to a brighter future. But how, exactly, are you supposed to just “be more optimistic”, you ask?
Good question, and of course, you know how much I love putting strategies together, so I have three strategies for you that will help you learn how to be more optimistic!
How to be more optimistic in 3 easy steps
Step 1: Change your language
Many of us have these ingrained speech patterns — which mirror our ingrained thought patterns — that are completely negative. For example, we say things like “I don’t want to be late” or “I hope there’s not a lot of traffic on the way” or “I just know this is going to go badly” or “I bet the bus will be full and I’ll have to stand all the way downtown to work again”. Taken on their own, these little negative thoughts don’t seem all that harmful, but add them all up over the day and they end up being a powerful force that drags your emotional set point down into pessimism.
So make it a point, for the next 24 hours, to speak only in positive and optimistic terms. This will help to reprogram your language defaults to a more positive level, which will also help keep your overall mental state more positive, too!
Step 2: Play the “What If?” game
This is an absolutely fantastic game that I came across on the Deliberate Receiving blog and I highly recommend you go check out the original article. For most of us, when we think about all the wonderful dreams and goals we have for ourselves, we also fall into the trap of negative, fearful thinking: “What if I don’t make it?” “What if I’m not good enough?” “What if it doesn’t work out?” And again, these negative internal thoughts running around our heads have the effect of dragging us down into a habit of pessimism. Learning how to be more optimistic is critical when faced with these types of negative questions because, as soon as you’ve asked the question in your mind, your mind automatically starts trying to bring that scenario into reality by spinning out more doom and gloom thoughts what would happen if you didn’t make it. And, because like attracts like, the more you focus on these thoughts the more likely you are to manifest them into your life the way you’ve imagined them.
Which brings us back to the “What If?” game. The whole point of the game is to learn how to be more optimistic by changing those questions around; to change our lives by teaching ourselves to ask the right kinds of questions. In other words, instead of asking “What if I don’t make it?” ask yourself “What if I succeed?” Try it! Think of all those dreams you have for yourself and ask “what if?”…
- “What if I’m a bestselling author?”
- “What if my paintings are shown in that wonderful new art gallery?”
- “What if I get offered the job?”
- “What if I buy the house in Fiji?”
I tried this game out with my own list of dreams and goals and – oh my gosh – I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I was. I was so jazzed by asking myself my “what if” questions, I was grinning madly as I typed and bouncing around in my chair! It made me sooo happy, which is exactly the kind of high vibrational energy that you want to be pumping out there when it comes to things you want to achieve.
As a side note here, the “What If?” game is also a great tool to use if you have a lot of resistance issues when using affirmations. If, no matter how hard you try, your affirmations still feel “fake” to you, then try the “What If?” game. The beauty of the game is that your mind is far less likely to balk at a question… you’re not affirming a fact, you’re just asking a question, so it’s less threatening to your inner critic. Once you’re comfortable with the game, it will be much easier to move forward with your affirmations!
Step 3: Ask for help
Finally, one of the best things you can do to help you learn how to be more optimistic is to ask for help from the ultimate source: the Universe itself. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by negative or pessimistic thoughts, take some time to yourself and just chill. Find a place where you can sit in the sun, close your eyes and just relax in the warmth, or find a quiet space where you can stretch out and unwind, like your couch or your bed. Just make sure it’s somewhere where you can feel relaxed and will not be interrupted for a few minutes.
Once you’ve settled in, take a minute or two to just calm your breathing and bring your awareness inward. Remind yourself that the Universe is on your side, that Universe loves you unconditionally and that it always gives you what you ask for. Remind yourself that you are an integral part of the Universe, that the power of the Universe is surrounds you at all time, working with you and through you to create everything that is. Then ask the Universe how to be more optimistic. Ask it for help in achieving your goals, and know that this help is given in the instant that you ask for it. The Universe has your back.
You should feel a sense of peace almost immediately if you approach this exercise with sincerity. Also, make it a point to regularly thank the Universe for all its help over the next few days (heck, why not thank it daily from here on in… like I said, the Universe is always there for you!).
Learning how to be more optimistic is something we all can do, and something that will help us all to change our lives for the better. Using these strategies will help us regain that optimism that is inherent in all of us, when we give ourselves the chance to use it. 🙂
photo credit: "KIUKO" via photopin cc
what a lovely article! Yes, we must thank the universe for all, everyday, I actually had read incessantly by a swami, as gratitude is part of the LOA “vibe-set”.
And let’s not forget making the most out if where you are. I just read this quote from a book I grew up with: I shall give life here my best, and I believe it will give its best to me in return. So we are given what we put into it. Great reminders!
What a lovely quote… I’m going to add it to my collection! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks, A.! Gratitude, or appreciation, is one of the fundamental cornerstones within the Law of Attraction. When we are vibrating the energy of appreciation, and making it a point to look for things in our life we can be grateful for, the Universe brings us more that we can appreciate and be grateful for! More importantly, it’s a much happier state to be in when you are appreciating all that you have in your life… it’s not much fun to spend your days feeling like there’s never enough or that nothing’s good enough. As always, choose the better feeling thoughts! 🙂
Hi Nathalie!
I was amazed one day when I paid attention to all of the negative thoughts and speech I was putting out. I thought, “Sheesh! No wonder things seem to be going the way they do. I’ve already doomed it before it happens!”
Sometimes, changing our thinking is all it takes to get the ball rolling. It’s the change of perspective that is the catalyst for real change. Other times, yeah, there are times when even the most positive of thoughts aren’t going to change what is–but at the very least, it helps us ride out those times with better ones on the way.
I’m a regular reader of Deliberate Receiving too. I think that’s how I discovered you and your awesome site! And the “What If” game is really a lot of fun when, again, one changes the perspective from “what if I don’t” to “Hey! What if I DO?” 🙂
I’m a firm believer in asking Great Spirit for help. And what often gets me is the answer: I’m the only one standing in my way.
Thanks for another great post. All the best to you!
Hello Ayla — so nice to see you again! 🙂 It really is a shock when we realize how often little negatives show up over the course of a day, isn’t it? It really does give you some perspective, though — if you had to deal with someone who constantly kept up that same stream of negativity, but you could hear it from them, you’d probably stop spending time with that person just out of sheer desperate self-preservation! Realizing that makes it easier to turn it around and clean up your own thought stream and self-talk.
I suspect that changing our thinking is always what it takes to get the ball rolling. That change in vibration is the critical component for change in the physical. In the situations where the positive thoughts don’t change what is, I’d say it’s that the thoughts may be deliberately changed, but there hasn’t been enough time for the energy associated with those thoughts to stabilize at the higher level yet. But it will come. And in the meantime, yes, the more positive outlook does help us to weather the bumps along the road.
Love love love Melody and her blog! She is all kinds of awesome. I had so much fun playing “what if”… I think I’m going to incorporate it into my regular routine. I just found it to be such a powerful energy shifter for me.
Cute dog, by the way! My youngest said he looked like a real life Bolt.
He is cute, isn’t he? I picked that picture because he just looks so happy it made me smile instantly. 🙂