Optimistic October is here

Welcome to Optimistic October, this month’s theme for our 12 months of healthiness campaign.

The focus for this month is about helping you to:

• try and think positive – when you think positive, good things happen
• try and be positive – look for the positives in life and the things for which you’re grateful. Appreciate what you have and try to be a ‘glass half full’ kind of person, instead of a ‘glass half empty’ kind of person
• try and stay positive – if you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it

7 practical tips to achieve a positive mindset

Having a positive mental attitude has many benefits, which can help you:

1. start the day with positive affirmation – how you start the morning often sets the tone for the rest of the day. You might feel silly, but talk to yourself in the mirror while you’re getting ready or brushing your teeth. Tell yourself ‘today will be a good day’ or ‘I’m going to be great today’. You might be surprised by how much your day improves.
2. focus on the good things, however small – remember, there’s no such thing as a perfect day. You’re bound to face obstacles and challenges throughout the day. Try and focus on the benefits, no matter how small or trivial they seem. For example, if you get stuck in traffic, think about how you now have time to listen to more of your favourite radio show or podcast. As you leave the office at the end of the day, think about the things you have achieved not the things you haven’t.
3. find humour in bad situations – allow yourself to experience humour in even the darkest or most trying situations. If you’re having a bad day, laughter provides good stress relief and can lift your spirits.
4. turn failures into lessons – you are not perfect. You’re going to make mistakes and fail in life, but that’s what makes us human. It’s what we learn from these experiences that makes us stronger and more resilient. It also helps us know how to deal with things better the next time a similar situation arises.
5. transform negative self-talk into positive self-talk – negative thoughts can creep into your mind and start to affect how you feel about yourself. Try and replace these negative thoughts with positive ones. For example, ‘I’m not very good at this’ becomes ‘With more practice, I’ll get better at this’.
6. focus on the present – so the exact moment you’re in, not this hour or this day. Forget what happened or was said five minutes ago or what might be said five minutes from now. Focus on this one, individual moment. Most sources of negativity stem from a memory of a recent event or the exaggerated imagination of a potential future event. Stay in the present moment.
7. find positive friends, mentors and colleagues – surround yourself with positive people. Their positive words, stories and outlook on life will rub off on you and affect the way you behave.

Why not give one or two of these a try. The more often you practice positive thinking, the greater the benefits. You’ve got nothing to lose!