It goes without saying that cultivating and promoting optimism are core values at Nice News: Beyond brightening up your inbox, positivity plays a significant role in well-being. The benefits of positive thinking range from improved cardiovascular health to better coping skills and more. And in additional uplifting news, it’s 100% possible to foster an optimistic outlook, even for those who tend toward a “glass half-empty” way of thinking. By consistently practicing science-backed exercises and techniques, anyone can make positive thinking a habit and shift their perspective for the better.
Most of us have at some point been plagued by negative self-talk. Unfortunately, for many people, that critical inner monologue actually interferes with happiness on a daily basis. Per the Mayo Clinic, examples of negative self-talk include catastrophizing minor incidents, filtering out the good and focusing on the bad, and ruminating on things you should have done.
Thankfully, there are several practical ways to combat our inner critics. One of them is by imagining that the person saying or experiencing those negative thoughts is your best friend or family member, and responding to yourself the way you would to them.
“We’re talking about using the same kind and gentle language and approaches that we do with the other people we love in our lives with ourselves,” clinical psychologist Joy Harden Bradford explained to NPR. “Because we’re also people that we hopefully love, right?”
