< Go Back Ten tips to help you feel more positive and achieve greater results Posted: Sep 24, 2014 Tip 3 - Question your thoughts and challenge what you
believe.
The beliefs and
values that you hold today have been shaped over the years by all your experiences,
by your relationships with your family, friends and strangers and by everything
you've seen, heard, felt and done. And,
as many of your most deeply-rooted beliefs were formed while you were just a
child, they may not be as relevant or as useful to you now as they were when
you were younger and your world was a very different place.
That's not
to say that your beliefs and values never change. Every time a person does something differently
or experience something new their beliefs are challenged and tested. And, no
matter how strongly they hold them, beliefs are only ever beliefs. They are never set in stone and can always be
changed.
The way
people think about an event and react to a situation is directly influenced by
their beliefs. When something pleasant
happens most people find it easy to see the positives in the situation and
enjoy the experience. On the other hand,
when it's something unpleasant that happens it can often be difficult to see
anything but negatives in the situation. This is when it is good to remember the old saying that 'every cloud has
a silver lining' because, difficult though it may sometimes seem, there is
always something positive to be learnt or taken from every situation - good or
bad.
Looking for
the positives in everything means that when something goes wrong you view it as
positive feedback telling you that something you are doing or allowing to
happen isn't working the way it should and you need to change something. And, once you find and understand what the
positive feedback is, you are well on the way to identifying what is and isn't
working, what could be changed and what opportunities you are being presented
with.
By training
your mind to be positive and look for the lesson in every experience, good or
bad, you will be able to focus on solutions rather than problems and your whole
life will become more productive and more rewarding.
So, when
your thoughts are becoming negative or your beliefs are not helping you, pause
for a while to take stock and challenge them both. View the situation from a different angle, ask
yourself different questions, challenge your beliefs and, once you've found the
positives, take action and reap the rewards of your new-found positivity.