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You have probably heard a thing or two about thebenefits of positive thinking.

Benefits of Thinking Positively

Being a positive thinker can have a number of important health benefits.

How to Think More Positively

So what can you do to become a more positive thinker?

A person holding up an image of a rainbow.

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A few common strategies involve learning how to identify negative thoughts and replacing these thoughts with more positive ones.

While it might take some time, eventually you may find that thinking positively starts to come more naturally.

Avoid Negative Self-Talk

Self-talk involves the things you mentally tell yourself.

If your self-talk centers onnegative thoughts, your self-esteem can suffer.

So what can you do to combat these negative self-talk patterns?

When you start thinking critical thoughts about yourself, take a moment to pause and assess.

Paying attention to your self-talk is a great place to start when trying to think more positively.

Even when you are facing challenges, it is important to remain open to laughter and fun.

Optimiststend to have a positive explanatory style.

If you attribute good things that happen to your skill and effort, then you are probably an optimist.

Pessimists, on the other hand, usually have a negative attributional style.

The same principles hold true for how you explain negative events.

This simple activity can help shift your focus to a more optimistic mindset.

Keep Practicing

There is no on-off switch for positive thinking.

Even if you are a natural-born optimist, thinking positively when faced with challenging situations can be difficult.

Like any goal, the key is to stick with it for the long term.

Finally, do not be afraid to enlist the help of friends and family.

Remember that to think positively, you better nurture yourself.

2010;7(11):18-22.