Top five ways to increase positive mental attitude

In today’s new and unusual times, it’s very easy to become consumed with negative thoughts. I am a keen purveyor of a positive mental attitude (PMA), a “glass half full” person, so I am sharing my top five ways to increase a PMA.

Exercise

Training releases natural endorphins, which bring about feelings of euphoria. This is a wonderful and entirely natural way of boosting your positivity levels. Keeping active not only gives you a healthier body, but it’s great for your mind too, as the endorphins activate opioid receptors in the brain, which minimise pain and bring about pleasure.

Now, there are loads of free online classes to keep your fitness levels up. I recommend Nikki Clarke (instagram @nikkiclarkeonlinept) who offers four weekly free classes via Zoom and The Third Space (instagram @thirdspacelondon) who offer four or five free classes daily via instagram live. These online versions of classes are ideal if you suffer from gym anxiety, nobody has to see you jumping around your lounge in your leggings! If you want one to one bespoke PT lessons via video, Ben Norris personal trainer is your man.

Gratitude

Being thankful for all you have, rather than focusing on what you don’t have, can be a total gamechanger. Research from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley backs this up in their Science of Gratitude white paper.

Simple steps that I take include; saying thank you for the day, every morning, when I wake up and writing a daily list of ten things I have in my life to be grateful for. I look at this list and smile and say thank you for these wonderful things in my life. Here is mine for today, these things bring me joy, make me smile and increase my positivity no end.

The feeling of sunshine on my skin (albeit from my balcony as I don’t have a garden)
Trees, plants and flowers
My ever growing shoe collection
Indie music
My health and being able to run
Coffee (currently cafetière, but I look forward to a flat white)
The smell of freshly baked bread
Hugs from friends and family (only ones in my household at the moment)
The NHS and the inspirational work that their workers do
Smiles from strangers

Have a go, there are so many things to be happy and grateful for.

Eating well

Can you eat yourself happy? Psychology Today thinks so.

Ensuring that you have a good intake of fresh fruit and vegetables is a super way to increase your positivity. Junk food is a delicious quick fix but often leads to a slump after those sugar-highs; it also leaves you feeling hungry soon after eating. A decent, balanced diet makes you feel better physically, which improves your health mentally. With more time on our hands, now is the ideal time to start making meals from scratch and boosting your healthy eating. I love nutritionist Steve Grant’s website, which has a plethora of tasty recipes for you to make at home.

Paying it forward

Passing on the positivity is a double-point scoring bonus; you make someone else feel good, which in turn makes you feel good. We are seeing fewer people on a day to day basis during this lockdown, but I ensure that the people that I do see, I say hello to. Anyone I pass on the street (more than two metres away) I will say a good morning or good afternoon to. Anyone working in the supermarkets when I do my shopping, I will say thank you to. I always greet my bus driver and thank them when I leave. I’m also generous with both smiles and compliments, little things can go a long way to make someone’s day. Try it, I think you will agree.

Reading

What a great time to lose yourself in a book and increase your positive mental attitude. From feel-good novels to self-improvement manuals, despite the closure of the libraries, there is a myriad of great reading out there. My personal favourite books, which inspired me to have a more positive outlook on life are:

Let me know how you are staying happy and positive; we are all in this together.Thank you for reading this and please read our other business insights.

Kelly-Jae