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.
