3 Great Positive Thinking Techniques

Positive thinking has been shown to have powerful effects on both mental health and physical well-being. Keeping that sunny perspective doesn’t always come easy, though. Life gets hectic and stressful, so sometimes, it’s all to easy to lose perspective. Looking on the brightside is hard when times are tough or when it feels like things will never get better.

That’s why it’s important to remember that maintaining a positive outlook does not mean seeing the world only through rose-colored glasses—it’s about keeping an optimistic but realistic outlook instead of dwelling on negativity. It means having a positive perspective on life more often than not.

Take a closer look at three great positive thinking techniques, strategies for maintaining a positive outlook, as well as the many health benefits of positive thinking.

Key Takeaways:

• Positive thinking can be cultivated through techniques like cognitive restructuring, gratitude journaling, and visualization, which help shift focus from negativity to optimism.
• These methods have notable health benefits, including increased resilience, stronger immunity, and better coping mechanisms during illness.
• Research shows that positive thinking can lead to a longer life by lowering stress, improving coping strategies, and encouraging healthier behaviors.
• Cultivating a positive mindset involves daily practices such as recognizing strengths, focusing on gratitude, and performing acts of kindness.

Great Positive Thinking Techniques

There are many ways to develop a more positive outlook. The following are our personal favorites.

Cognitive Restructuring

Cognitive restricting is a technique that involves identifying negative thoughts, challenging them, and replacing them with ones that are more positive or realistic. This strategy plays a central role in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and it can be a highly effective way to help people learn how to shift their mindset from pessimism to optimism.

As you practice this positive thinking technique, you’ll learn to become better at noticing the automatic negative thoughts that you have. Before these thoughts expand into something more, you can ask yourself if there is evidence to support them.

Next, you can begin to reframe them from a more helpful perspective.

For example, instead of thinking “I always mess up,” you might reframe that thought as, “I made a mistake, but now I’ve learned what not to do next time.”

By shifting your perspective, you’ll feel less stress and gradually build greater mental resilience the more you practice.

Gratitude Journaling

Gratitude journaling is a simple yet highly effective positive thinking technique. You can start by writing down the things you are grateful for, whether big or small. By doing this, you are training your brain to notice the good things in life instead of dwelling on life’s hardships.

The brain has a natural tendency to notice bad things. Negativity bias is a type of cognitive bias that causes unpleasant thoughts, emotions, or events to influence us more heavily than positive ones.

Gratitude journaling can help amplify the good. Research suggests that practicing gratitude can have a powerful effect on your happiness and well-being.

So start simply: get a notebook and write down three things you are grateful for each day. It can be anything, whether it was your morning cup of coffee or a phone call from a friend. As you continue to work on your daily gratitude affirmations, you’ll start to notice that your mind notices these good things more and more.

Visualization

Visualization involves imagining positive outcomes. It can be a great way to increase motivation and reduce anxiety, but it can also be an effective positive thinking technique.

It’s something athletes do to help improve their performance before a big game or event, but it’s also something you can do in everyday life. You can practice visualization by imagining yourself achieving the things you want to accomplish.

This can help give you the confidence you need to achieve your goals. It can boost self-efficacy, giving you the self-belief you need to take action.

Benefits of Positive Thinking

Research has found that using these positive thinking techniques can have a range of important benefits.

Increased Resilience

Positive thinking makes you more resilient to life’s stresses.

Being optimistic and engaging in positive self-talk can help you better weather the storms of life. Resilience is a key psychological characteristic that helps people carry on, bounce back, and even thrive in the face of adversity.

A 2004 study found that positive thinking helps contribute to better mental and physical wellness by improving coping abilities.

Stronger Immunity

Positive thinking can improve your resistance to the common cold. Improved immunity is one of the many ways that positive thinking affects your health.

In one study, researchers found that participants were more likely to have a stronger immune response during times when they were optimistic. When these same participants were feeling more pessimistic, their immune responses also declined.

While positive thinking might not be a health panacea, maintaining a bright outlook on life might just help you stave off some ailments such as the common cold.

Better Coping

Research also suggests that having a positive outlook also helps people better cope with serious illness. It boosts your ability to deal with health problems when they do arise.

One study found that people diagnosed with HIV who had been trained in eight positive thinking skills had a lower load of the virus, were more likely to take their medication, and were less likely to be depressed.

Increased Longevity

Positive thinking can even help you live longer. Research has also found that positive thinking can have an impact on longevity.

One study found that a positive outlook not only led to better health outcomes but also to a longer life. Researchers believe that positivity improves coping abilities, lowers stress, and increases healthy behaviors.

How to Think More Positively

Some people seem to be born optimists. However, there are also things that you can do to help cultivate a more positive outlook on life.

1. Recognize at least one positive thing each day.
2. Allow yourself to enjoy the moment and describe it to someone else.
3. Keep a gratitude journal where you note and describe that positive event.
4. List one of your personal strengths and describe how you utilize that talent.
5. Make a note of minor stresses and describe how you can think about them in a more positive way.
6. Set an achievable goal and make note of your progress.
7. Commit to performing a small act of kindness each day. Recognize other people’s acts of kindness as well.
8. Start practicing mindfulness by keeping your focus on the hear and now rather that ruminating about the past or future.

It may take some time and practice, but eventually seeing things from a more positive point of view will come more naturally. If you notice pessimistic thoughts creeping in, make an effort to intentionally shift your mindset and focus on some more positive thoughts.

Sources:

Kerry, N., Chhabra, R., & Clifton, J. D. W. (2023). Being thankful for what you have: A systematic review of evidence for the effect of gratitude on life satisfaction. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 16, 4799–4816. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S372432

Levy, B. R., & Bavishi, A. (2018). Survival advantage mechanism: Inflammation as a mediator of positive self-perceptions of aging on longevity. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 73(3), 409–412. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbw035

Moskowitz, J. T., Carrico, A. W., Duncan, L. G., Cohn, M. A., Cheung, E. O., Batchelder, A., Martinez, L., Segawa, E., Acree, M., & Folkman, S. (2017). Randomized controlled trial of a positive affect intervention for people newly diagnosed with HIV. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 85(5), 409–423. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000188

Segerstrom, S. C., & Sephton, S. E. (2010). Optimistic expectancies and cell-mediated immunity: the role of positive affect. Psychological Science, 21(3), 448–455. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610362061

Tugade, M. M., Fredrickson, B. L., & Barrett, L. F. (2004). Psychological resilience and positive emotional granularity: examining the benefits of positive emotions on coping and health. Journal of Personality, 72(6), 1161–1190. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2004.00294.x