SPRING CLEAN YOUR MINDSET: 5 STEPS TO THINKING POSITIVELY

Spring has officially sprung in Sydney. The days are lighter and longer, the skies are bright and blue, and the air has taken on a sweeter smell. You cannot help but feel inspired to start to dust off the winter cobwebs and do a bit of a clean out. 

Over the past few weeks I have already felt drawn to embark on a mini physical cleanse. I am eating lighter, fresher and healthier, I have taken my morning exercise routine to a new level, and I am finding it easier to wean the winter comfort foods out of my diet.

As I have been working to become more conscious of what is going on in my body, I have also found myself becoming more aware of what is going on in my mind. Lately I have been catching myself indulging in some rather negative, toxic and uninspiring thought patterns. It is amazing how often these thoughts just run through your head on auto pilot without you even realising.

Becoming conscious of your thoughts can be challenging initially. The trick is to just observe them without getting caught up in the drama they are creating. Once you can step back and look at your thoughts objectively, it is incredibly enlightening and empowering.

Being aware of your thoughts enables to actually evaluate the thought. Ask yourself, is the thought serving you, making you feel good, and is it one you want to be thinking? If not, it is time to transform it. Since doing this process, I have been uncovering a hidden pile of outdated and simply yuck ways of thinking, that I am well and truly ready to get rid of.

So, I wanted to share with you 5 of the practices that I have been implementing to give my mind a well needed spring clean, and to begin to cultivate a more positive mindset.

Practice # 1: Think Intentionally
Each day when you wake up, before you start your day, set an intention. Set an intention of who you want to be for the day and what you want to experience. It may be something like;

Today, I intend to think positive loving thoughts about myself
Today, I intend to be calm and balanced at work
Today, I intend to nourish my body with the healthiest foods that I can
Today, I intend to be kind to every person I encounter
Today, I intend to be efficient and productive

Set the intention and then carry it with you through the day. Remind yourself of it regularly. Recite it over and over to yourself, or even write it on a piece of paper where you can see it often. An intention is a decision. It is a decision to be a certain type of person and to hold yourself to a certain standard. Without making a clear commitment to how you want to think, your mind will simply run itself and you will have no power over where your precious thought energy is going.

Practice # 2: Choose Compliments Over Judgements
One of my flaws, which I am not at all proud to admit, is that I can sometimes be quite a judgemental person. I have been catching myself lately when I do this, and I have been shocked at how nasty my thoughts towards others (and myself) can sometimes be.

While I was on the treadmill this morning at 6am, I decided it was time to start turning this around. So, as I power walked, I began to look around the gym at different people, and with every person I laid eyes on, I found something lovely to think about them. In my mind I paid each person a beautiful compliment, and I noticed anything positive about them that I could.

As I did this, I could not help but smile. I found that I was looking at people in a completely different way, and I suddenly felt as connected to these total strangers as I would to my best friend. By the end of my gym session my heart was full with that yummy loving feeling, and all I had done was simply choose to see something beautiful in another human being.

Practice#3: Magnetise Positivity

Lately in the morning and evenings I have been working with the concept of magnetising, and I have found it to be a really powerful process. It helps to raise your energy to a more positive level and it fills your mind with things that feel really good to you.

I often do this after a meditation or yoga session, but it can be done at any time. I sit with my eyes closed and I take a few deep breaths, and then I tune in to the energy inside of me. I imagine myself to be like a magnet and I begin to visualise myself drawing anything that is positive and loving towards me. Sometimes I may simply want to draw in more positive energy, or more happiness. Other times, it is more specific. Either way, all I do is imagine myself magnetising wonderful things towards me. I see myself attracting positive people, receiving loving energy from others or experiencing flow and effortlessness. 

Anytime I start to feel flat or down during the day, I set an intention to start magnetising positive experiences. Or if I am in a situation where I am facing some challenges, or I cannot find a solution to a problem, I see myself drawing towards me everything I need get it sorted. It always makes me feel better, and it is amazing how much things start to change around you as a result.

Practice #4: Revel in the Happiness of Others
When something awesome happens to a person you know, and they tell you all about it, how to do you respond? I am sure there are times that you are really happy for them, and perhaps other times you feel at a twang of jealousy that this great thing has happened to them, and not you. 

I am the type of person who is pretty much always happy for my friends and loved ones when amazing things come their way. However, one thing I have been practicing, which makes you feel even more awesome, is to actually revel in their happiness as if it was your own. Find out every juicy detail from them. Ask them to explain how they are feeling. Get in to their shoes and really connect with the fact that something wonderful has happened to them. 

This works for 2 reasons. Firstly, when you start to engage in the details of their happy experience, and connect with what they must be feeling, the positive vibes cannot help but rub off on you and make you feel good. Secondly, seeing you get what you think about, you will find that the more you focus on all the amazing things that are happening to other people, you will find they start happening to you too. Yes, our thoughts create our reality, so giving your attention to the magical happenings, joyous moments and wonderful experiences around you, will draw more of them in to your life.

Practice #5: Use Your Tool Box
Seeing we are all human, I have no doubt we will all occasionally fall off the conscious, positive thinking train and fall back in to your old habits. The trick to handle this is to have a tool box of strategies you can draw on to help you when you fall in to a negative thinking pit. Some of my favourite negativity soothers are;

• A long, slow yoga class
• Hot bath
• Anything on my Love List
• Walking outdoors
• Gratitude
• Exercise
• A great chat with a close girlfriend
• Watching a funny movie
• Journalling

As soon as you catch your mind heading down to crazy town, stop and make a choice to change it. Do whatever you need to do to break the pattern. Indulge in an activity that makes you feel good, or helps you work through the problem you are experiencing. Create your own tool box to help you move past negativity and create a beautiful positive mind.