Seven evidence-based strategies effectively boost optimism and mental wellbeing: accepting imperfections, exercising regularly, using music therapeutically, reframing challenges, and practicing emotional release, while licensed clinical social workers provide additional therapeutic support for sustainable positivity development.
Ever feel stuck in a cycle of negative thinking? Optimism isn't just something you're born with—it's a skill you can develop with the right strategies, and these seven evidence-based techniques will help you shift toward a brighter, more resilient mindset.
Seven Tips To Increase Your Optimism (And Why Positivity Is Important)
The mind can be a powerful thing. When we nourish it with healthy, positive thoughts, there may be no limits as to what we can do. A few ways to increase your optimism can be accepting or working on your imperfections, using the power of music to your advantage, exercising regularly, trying not to take life too seriously, cutting back on complaints, letting things go, and remembering that ups and downs can be normal. If you’re having a hard time embracing positivity, then working with a licensed clinical social worker through ReachLink’s telehealth platform can be helpful. The seven tips listed below can also help in your journey to increase your optimism.
Tip #1: Accept your imperfections
One of the things that can make us the unhappiest may be our sense of self. Whether it’s our physical bodies or personality traits that get us down, we can often be our own worst enemies. By accepting our flaws, we can move past them and start to become the best possible versions of ourselves.
You may wish to work on some of your flaws to improve them, rather than simply accepting them. For instance, if it bothers you that you have a hard time managing your anger, you might choose to attend anger management therapy sessions. If that’s the only thing you don’t like about yourself, then all you may need to do is find a way to fix it or accept it. In turn, you may become a much happier person. If, after attending these sessions, you learn new ways to healthily cope with your anger, this may be an instance in which the people around you may also be happier due to the changes you’ve made.
Tip #2: Don’t underestimate the power of music
Music can move mountains. Blasting any kind of music you resonate with and singing or dancing along with it can do wonders for relieving stress. And when you relieve stress, that can help you feel much happier both in the long term and the short term.
Happy music can certainly lift your mood, as can a tune that invokes an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. But try not to underestimate those darker tunes, either. Sometimes, it can help just to know you’re not alone and that others have experienced similar pain and gotten through it—often by way of creating the very song you’re listening to. If you’re in a room without music right now, you might put some on! Its effect on your mood can be invaluable.
Tip #3: Exercise regularly
You might be tired of hearing about how you’d “feel a lot better if you exercised regularly,” but it can be true and for several reasons. First, you may release any sense of guilt you may experience about not living a healthy lifestyle. The more you exercise, the more muscle you typically build, which can mean that you burn more calories even while just sitting and watching TV, in comparison to someone who doesn’t exercise regularly.
Not only that but when you exercise, your brain usually releases dopamine. This is often known as the “feel-good” chemical in your brain, and it can encourage you to continue exercising, which can contribute to further mood-boosting endorphins being released as you build an exercise habit. Plus, you can take solace in the fact that exercise can be an excellent way to ward off illness and disease.
Exercise may be hard at first, but the joy can be in pushing yourself and seeing yourself reach goals you may have never thought possible. This can do wonders for your self-esteem, and it can become a joy to exercise once you’ve gotten into a set pattern of doing it regularly. You may begin to look forward to it, which can improve your outlook on life, your physical health, and your everyday activities.
Tip #4: Don’t take life too seriously
It has been said that children laugh about 100 times a day, while adults usually laugh only 20. It may not be surprising that the default emotion for most adults is often misery! We may need to start taking ourselves a lot less seriously so that we can lighten up and enjoy life. We generally only have a limited amount of time on this earth, so we may as well enjoy as much of it as possible.
This may sound silly, but you might schedule yourself some time each day to laugh. Reading the comment boards on Reddit may be a good way to encourage some giggles. You might also break out a new comedy show, book, YouTube video, or movie that you’ve meant to get to. Laughing can positively affect both your mindset and your health, so get cracking—up, that is.
Tip #5: Reframe challenges
Have you ever heard someone say that complaining without trying to fix the problem is just whining? Complaining on its own often gets you nowhere. Excessive complaining can even make it challenging for others to enjoy spending time around you.
If something bothers you quite a bit, that can be a sign that you may need to take action to change the situation. If it doesn’t bother you that much, and it’s nothing more than a simple annoyance, then it can be ideal not to waste your time complaining. Instead of taking on the “glass half-empty” mindset, you might try approaching life with more of a can-do attitude and seeing how things can change as a result.