The Power of Positive Thoughts
Neuroplasticity
Have you ever heard the term, neuroplasticity? If I were to oversimplify it, I would say that it means our brains have the ability to change. Now that may seem obvious because most of us spend 12-16 years of our lives in school absorbing new information. However, it isn’t just knowledge that shapes our brains, it’s experiences and memories too. We can train our brains to latch on to the information most relevant to our lives. Musicians for example will be able to pick apart a piece of music far easier than a non-musician because their brain has been wired to listen for patterns and notes that may not be immediately obvious. In the same way, our brains can let go of information that we are no longer using. Take a second language for example, there is a reason why the phrase exists, “Use it or lose it.” You could be fluent in another language as a child and find ten years later that you can’t even remember the simplest phrases due to disuse. So how does knowing we can influence our own brain affect our mental health?
Positive Thoughts
When you hear people talk about speaking truth to yourself in a mirror what do you think? Do you think “oh that's crazy, it will never work.” Well, there actually is some science behind positive thinking. If a person were to come up to you every single day for a year and compliment something about you, you would start to feel really good about yourself. So why wouldn’t this work if the person sending you those good vibes was yourself? It works with our negative thoughts, why not the positive thoughts? If we can eliminate the negative thoughts, and replace them with positive thoughts, our whole outlook will begin to change. Start replacing “I can’t” with “I can.”
Click Here to Learn More About Maintaining a Positive Mindset
I Have Worth
It is easier to say these things than believe them right? But saying something out loud is the first step to changing the way your brain processes. If a musician wants to learn a new piece of music, they will practice this music until it becomes second nature. We need to do this with our thoughts as well. Here are a few phrases that you can start with: I am worthy of being loved, I am loved by the creator of the universe and I am here for a reason, I have worth. Start with those three key truths and see how other aspects of your life change.
Written by Sharla Ball
