The Power Of Positivity | Replacing Key Words

Having a positive outlook on life is something I highly recommend. Not only will it allow you to live your life to the fullest, but you’ll be focused on the good, which will attract the good. You’ll become more prosperous and your energy levels will even increase. 

But how do we change our pessimistic mind to be more optimistic? How do we accept that good things can happen even though terrible things might have tainted our mind set?

Well, it’s a pretty long answer, but for now let’s focus on some actionable steps we can take to shift our mindset.

Replacing key words in your dialogue is the first place I would start. Replace “I have to” with “I get to”. My Husband and I always bicker over who is going to change our toddler’s dirty nappy, honestly who wants to change a yucky nappy? And it really got me thinking, we are SO lucky to have a healthy, loving and happy toddler – I know so many people would give everything to have what we have. And ever since that moment I’ve been focused on turning that moment of “ughhhh, another poo?” to “Whoop, let’s go change your bum and have a cuddle!”.

In my mind I’ve changed my thought process of “I have to change his bum”, to, “I get to change his bum”. He is here, he is healthy, and I am going to make the most of every single second I get to spend with him. It’s completely changed my outlook on completing tasks I would normally grunt and complain about doing.

This philosophy is also a really great tool for motivation, I’ll use the gym as an example. Getting up at 5am isn’t my favourite past time and struggling halfway through the class because I am tired is also not on my top 5 favourite things about the gym. But something stuck out to me this week, my PT said to me, “How lucky are you to be able to move your body, to choose to come to this session, to be exhausted after it, you are so lucky”. And at the time I looked at her baffled. But once I was finished, I realised how incredibly lucky I am to be able to move my body and get to the gym, because there are people who cannot do that, even though they would love to.

It might seem like an extreme way to look at things in your life, but it’s also very humbling. It reminds me every day that the things I take for granted are things someone would give everything to do.

It’s a simple initiative, change “I have to” to “I get to”.