Home Positive Emotions What is Positive Mindset and 89 Ways to Achieve a Positive Mental Attitude

Last Updated on August 30, 2018

It is probably not a surprise to you that positivity is, inherently, at the center of positive psychology.

Positivity doesnt always refer to simply smiling and looking cheerful, howeverpositivity is more about ones overall perspective on life and their tendency to focus on all that is good in life.

In this piece, well cover the basics of positivity within positive psychology, identify some of the many benefits of approaching life from a positive point of view, and explore some tips and techniques for cultivating a positive mindset.

This piece is a long one, so settle in and get comfortable. Ready to get started? Then read on!

The Positive Psychology Toolkit

Become a Science-Based Practitioner!

The Positive Psychology toolkit is a science-based, online platform containing 200+ exercises, activities, interventions, questionnaires, assessments and scales.

You probably have an idea of what a positive mindset or positive attitude is already, but its always helpful to start with a definition.

This definition from Remez Sasson (n.d.) is a good general description:

Positive thinking is a mental and emotional attitude that focuses on the bright side of life and expects positive results.

Another, more comprehensive definition comes from Kendra Cherry at Very Well Mind (2017B):

[P]ositive thinking actually means approaching lifes challenges with a positive outlook. It does not necessarily mean avoiding or ignoring the bad things; instead, it involves making the most of the potentially bad situations, trying to see the best in other people, and viewing yourself and your abilities in a positive light.

We can extrapolate from these definitions and come up with a good description of positive mindset as the tendency to focus on the bright side, expect positive results, and approach challenges with a positive outlook. Having a positive mindset means making positive thinking a habit, continually searching for the silver lining and making the best out of any situation you find yourself in.

So, now we know what a positive mindset is, we can dive into the next important question: What does it look like?

There are many traits and characteristics associated with a positive mindset, including:

Not only are these characteristics of a positive mindset, they may also work in the other directionactively adopting optimism, acceptance, resilience, gratitude, mindfulness, and integrity in your life will help you develop and maintain a positive mindset.

If you found the list above still too vague, there are many more specific examples of a positive attitude in action.

For example, positive attitudes can include:

Now we know a little bit more about what a positive mindset looks like, we can turn to one of the biggest questions of all: Whats the deal with having a positive attitude?

What is it about having a positive mindset that is so important, so impactful, so life-changing?

Well, the traits and characteristics listed above give us a hint; if you comb through the literature, youll see a plethora of benefits linked to optimism, resilience, and mindfulness. Youll see that awareness and integrity are linked to better quality of life, and acceptance and gratitude can take you from the okay life to the good life.

Developing a truly positive mindset and gaining these benefits is a function of the thoughts you cultivate.

Dont worrythis piece isnt about the kind of positive thinking that is all positive, all the time. We dont claim that just thinking happy thoughts will bring you all the success you desire in life, and we certainly dont believe that optimism is warranted in every situation, every minute of the day.

Developing the right thoughts is not about being constantly happy or cheerful, and its not about ignoring anything negative or unpleasant in your life. Its about incorporating both the positive and negative into your perspective and choosing to still be generally optimistic.

Its about acknowledging that you will not always be happy and learning to accept bad moods and difficult emotions when they come.

Above all, its about increasing your control over your own attitude in the face of whatever comes your way. You cannot control your mood, and you cannot always control the thoughts that pop into your head, but you can choose how you handle them.

When you choose to give in to the negativity, pessimism, and doom-and-gloom view of the world, you are not only submitting to a loss of control and potentially wallowing in unhappinessyou are missing out on an important opportunity for growth and development.

According to positive psychologist Barbara Fredrickson, negative thinking, and negative emotions have their place: they allow you to sharpen your focus on dangers, threats, and vulnerabilities. This is vital for survival, although perhaps not as much as it was for our ancestors. On the other hand, positive thinking and positive emotions broaden and build our resources and skills, and open us up to possibilities (Fredrickson, 2004).

Building a positive framework for your thoughts is not about being bubbly and annoyingly cheerful, but making an investment in yourself and your future. Its okay to feel down or think pessimistically sometimes, but choosing to respond with optimism, resilience, and gratitude will benefit you far more in the long run.

Aside from enhancing your skills and personal resources, there are many other benefits of cultivating a positive mindset, including better overall health, better ability to cope with stress, and greater well-being (Cherry, 2017A). According to the experts at the Mayo Clinic, positive thinking can increase your lifespan, reduce rates of depression and levels of distress, give you greater resistance to the common cold, improve your overall psychological and physical well-being, improve your cardiovascular health and protect you from cardiovascular disease, and help you build coping skills to keep you afloat during challenging times (2017).

Youve probably heard of all these generic benefits before, so well get more specific and explore the benefits of a positive mindset in several different contexts:

No construct better captures the essence of a positive attitude in the workplace quite like psychological capital (or PsyCap for short). This multicomponent construct is made up of four psychological resources:

PsyCap was first conceptualized as positive psychological capital by renowned management and leadership researchers Luthans and Youssef in 2004. The concept quickly took off among positive organizational psychologists, and by 2011 there were already hundreds of citations of PsyCap in the literature.

The first meta-analysis of all the research on PsyCap was conducted in 2011, and it outlined some of the many benefits of PsyCap in the workplace:

It seems pretty straightforward that positive attitudes like optimism and resilience lead to positive outcomes for the organization and for the employees!

Another study by a few of the giants in the field of positive psychology (Sonja Lyubomirsky, Laura King, and Ed Diener, 2005) investigated the relationship between happiness and benefits to employees. They showed that positive attitudes in the workplace also benefit the employee in addition to the organization:

So, a positive attitude can have great benefits for the organization as a whole and for all of its employees. It turns out that positive attitude can also result in benefits for leaders and their followers (as well as spreading positivity throughout the organization).

As important as a positive mindset is for the rank-and-file, its easy to see why it is vital for those in a position of leadership.

Researchers Hannah, Woolfolk, and Lord (2009) outlined a framework for positive leadership that rests on the idea that leaders with a positive self-concept (a positive idea of who they are and a habit of thinking positively about themselves) are more able to bring the right stuff to their leadership role. In their theory, a leader with a positive mindset is not only more likely to be actively engaged and to perform at a high level, he or she is also more able to influence followers toward a more positive mindset through role modeling and normative influence.

A study completed around the same time provides support for the relationship between leader and follower positivity; trust in management influenced positive PsyCap, which had a big impact on performance for leaders and followers (Clapp-Smith, Vogegesang, & Avey, 2008). Further, trust in management was linked to positive leadership and performance. While trust in management isnt necessarily indicative of a positive mindset in both leader and follower, it is certainly a likely outcome of a generally positive attitude in the workplace.

Forbes writer Victor Lipman (2017) puts findings like these in simpler terms:

Its always easier to follow someone with a positive outlook.

In other words, positive attitudes in a leader will draw followers and encourage motivation and engagement in subordinates. Lipman also notes that having a positive outlook and being resilient is vital in leadership positions because there is a lot of stress involved in managing and leading others. Leaders must always be on and spend much of their time performing as a strong, confident leader and perhaps even a public face. This role is a tiring one, and being optimistic and resilient will help leaders stay sane and healthy in challenging contexts.

Having a positive attitude is also a boon for those educating, interacting with, and caring for a disabled student, loved one, or patient.

A positive attitude toward disability facilitates disabled students education and helps them assimilate into postsecondary education (Rao, 2004). This makes it even more troubling to learn that, according to a 2012 study on UK primary schools, only 38% of them had a Disability Equality Scheme in place and only 30% had included a plan to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people (Beckett & Buckner). Further, 76% of schools reported that their staff had not received any training in the promotion of positive attitudes towards students with disabilities.

With so many resources available for promoting positive attitudes toward disability, there is ample opportunity to rectify this lack; for example, research by The Childrens Society in the UK identified several ways to promote positivity:

A 2009 study also established that formal instruction in disability awareness combined with hands-on fieldwork experiences with people who have a disability can have a significant impact on the positive attitudes toward those with disability (Campbell, Gilmore, & Cuskelly). The research found that teachers-in-training who participated in a one-semester course involving direct work with students who had Down syndrome greatly improved their knowledge of the syndrome as well as their attitudes toward those with Down syndrome.

All of these findings show that having a positive attitude towards those with a disability is not only the right thing to work toward, but it also has a significant positive influence on both those with disability and those around them. Unsurprisingly, its also important for nurses and other health professionals to cultivate a positive attitude towards their patients with a disabilitysomething that nurses sometimes struggle with (Tervo & Palmer, 2004).

On the subject of nursing and healthcare, this is another context where having a positive mindset (towards oneself and ones patientsdisabled or otherwise) can have a positive impact.

In fact, having a positive attitude is so important for nursing, expert Jean Watson describes nursing as the Caring Science (2009). Indeed, positivity and caring are ingrained in the field; just take a look at the five core nursing values:

These five values lay the foundation for a caring, positive mindset that is the hallmark of good nursing practice. Nurses who embrace these core values and adopt a positive mindset toward themselves, their work, and their patients can help them find the meaning and fulfillment that likely prompted them to enter the field in the first place.

Having a positive mindset in health care not only acts as a facilitator of meaning and purpose in the lives of healthcare professionals, it also:

Luckily, there are evidence-backed ways for nurses to implement a more positive outlook, including:

Speaking of the importance of positivity in health care, the benefits can extend to the patients as well.

Youve probably heard the common phrases and encouragements used when discussing someones cancer diagnosis.

A cancer patient will likely be told at least a few times that You have to stay positive! and You can fight this if you maintain a positive attitude.

This idea that being positive will help cancer patients to fight the disease is a common one, although the literature is a bit iffy on whether this phenomenon is real (Coyne & Tennen, 2010; OBaugh, Wilkes, Luke, & George, 2003).

Although it is unclear whether simply cultivating a positive mindset will help a patient beat cancer, theres no doubt that getting support, focusing on a healthy mental state, and maintaining a positive attitude will help patients reduce their tension, anxiety, fatigue, and depression, and improve their overall quality of life (Spiegel et al., 2007).

Cancer Treatment Centers of America expert Katherine Puckett agrees that positivity can be helpful for patients being treated for cancer, but clarifies that other emotions are perfectly acceptable as well.

So often I have heard a loved one say to a cancer patient who is crying, Stop crying. You know you have to be positive However, when we make space for people to express all of their feelings, rather than bottling them up inside, it is then easier for them to be optimistic. It is okay to allow tears to flowthese can be a healthy release. (Katherine Puckett, as reported in Fischer, 2016).

This indicates that the most important factor regarding positivity in cancer recovery is that it is authentic. False smiles and superficial cheerfulness will likely do nothing for the cancer patient, but working on cultivating an authentically positive mindset and focusing on the activities and techniques that build well-being can have a significant impact on a cancer patients quality of life andpossiblytheir chances of beating cancer.

Do a quick Google search on how to cultivate a more positive mindset, and youll see that there are tons of suggestions out there! Weve gathered some of the most popular and most evidence-backed methods here, but dont hesitate to search for more if you need them.

Larry Alton from Success.com lists 7 practical tips to help you get more positive:

Successful author, speaker, and coach Brian Tracy (n.d.) echoes some of these tips and adds a couple more:

For a more specific list of habits and actions you can take to develop a more positive mindset, try these 10 suggestions from Megan Wycklendt (2014) of Fulfillment Daily:

Finally, these 11 techniques from Dr. Tchiki Davis (2018) can also help you adopt a more positive attitude:

To pass along the benefits of developing a positive mindset to students, you can encourage them to try the techniques listed above. However, there are some methods for improving students attitude towards learning and school that may be even more effective.

Elliot Seif from the ASCDs Edge website outlines 13 ways you can help students cultivate this mindset:

However, these techniques are not always within a teachers (or parents) realm of control. If you these techniques are too overwhelming or the scope is out of your control, try these 7 strategies that you will likely have the power to implement:

For more tips and suggestions from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, check out their excellent resource on instilling positive attitudes and perceptions about learning here.

If youre interested in fun, engaging, and hands-on ways to improve your positivity and enhance your positive mindset, youve come to the right place! There are many activities and games you can use to boost your positive thinking. Some of the most popular ones are listed here, but feel free to search for more if none of them align with your intereststhere are a lot to choose from out there!

Zdravko Lukovski from the Enlightenment Portal website has 10 exercises and activities that you can implement in your own life or encourage your clients to try in order to think more positively:

This list from Thought Catalogs Kathy Mitchell (2017) has some of the same ideas as Lukovski, but she adds a few more activities as well:

If youre more interested in games you can play to boost positive thinking, try these suggested games from Mary Osborne (2017) at Live Strong.

Recognizing Positive Behavior

Gather your team (or family, friends, etc.) and review a list of a generic individuals positive behaviors (like giving credit to others, smiling, saying thank you, and listening nonjudgmentally).

See the rest here:
What is Positive Mindset and 89 Ways to Achieve a Positive ...