Positive thinking

[rixxx]

So I've been doing some positive affirmations/self hypnosis stuff and Im feeling super positive- It's almost a bit annoying because I don't want to watch the news because I see how negative it is.

 

 

Anyway, point of this thread is- Who else has done such things?

 

Maybe people here could give it a go? Not long ago there was a 'depression' thread-maybe this could help?

 

 

Discuss or report your findings etc.

[YEK]

sometimes i'll look at myself in the mirror and say something positive to myself, if that helps...

[Adieu]

Can we turn this into a post your biohacking, healthy stuff, and/or ways to improve your life and be healthier? (both mentally and physically) I've been doing some things lately that I would like to share.

 

The stupidity on the news is much more abhorrent to me than the negativity. Although, accurate news sources do just scare the shit out of me.

 

I don't do focused affirmations or anything like that, but I do consciously avoid getting into patterns of negative thinking and/or self-doubt. I like to look at my life and my behavior, and then find concrete reasoning for my mistakes or not measuring up. I then look for solutions that I can implement. I try to just take it easy on myself mostly while still attempting to maintain focus and goals. I think accountability, honesty, and discipline are important, but so is giving yourself a break.

[YEK]

i also take fish oil pills as well as B100's

[delet...]

I go for a walk/jog, i find that exercise helps.

 

I did develop some of what i guess you could call positive affirmation type rituals that help wash my mind of the spikey negative shroud that can sometimes cover it. The act of thinking about a physical manifestation of the negative thoughts and pulling it away from the body into a bubble and then bursting that bubble (yeah i know fUa). Or just concentrating (when i've run up a hill or something) on positive words and feeling a healing energy gather to a point in between my hands (like a shuraken), whilst thinking about nothing else. Then letting that energy rush over me.

 

I don't do these things very often (so mostly fester in the range from apathetic to minorly depressed), but it's funny how they actually work. And moving the body and the mind into a healthier state despite how you get there, can't be a bad thing. Even if it means playing embarassing mind tricks on yourself, that once spoken about can only induce ridicule from anyone reading the post. (lol/-sie-)

[Dale]

It's difficult for me to not pay attention to the news and current affairs. I think the longest I've gone without looking at news media is probably only a couple of days but I have learned to distance myself emotionally from a lot of the shit that goes on in the world. I think making sure that you setup your own environments, so that you are in control of the 'reinforcers' you experience in life is a good step, and being able to identify what kinds of things make you feel depressed and what factors improve your well-being is something that seems obvious but not many people are able to actually plan these kinds of things out. I think there is nothing wrong with identifying and planning out ahead of time how you would like things to be in life/which social relationships you want to maintain/what activities do you get the most enjoyment out of, etc.... It seems to me that simply leaving a lot of factors in life 'unplanned' means you're possibly heading for problems, depending of course on what you're like as an individual based on your own unique background and your ability to handle certain situations.

 

I try to limit setting large amounts of expectations as well, since I know that it isn't really the world that does me harm; it can sometimes just be my own expectation of a situation which causes an issue.

 

It's worth mentioning as well that limiting one's dependencies on others can be helpful. If you live your life through another person, that is only going to lead to a lack of independence. These are just a few tools that I find helpful and I've never had a long-term, depressive episode.

[delet...]

As to the news, i agree with AdieuErsatzEnnui. It's the lying about what's going on that depresses me more than what's actually happening.

[Adieu]

I don't think you should be embarrassed about trying to be happy

[delet...]

;-]

[joshuatxuk]

So I've been doing some positive affirmations/self hypnosis stuff and Im feeling super positive- It's almost a bit annoying because I don't want to watch the news because I see how negative it is.

 

 

Anyway, point of this thread is- Who else has done such things?

 

Maybe people here could give it a go? Not long ago there was a 'depression' thread-maybe this could help?

 

 

Discuss or report your findings etc.

 

I've been actively striving to be happy, positive, and friendly as much as possible in the last year or so. I still sometimes slip and get a bit too cynical or pissy about something but when that occurs I just get out what I can and move on. With things like the reality of world events, encountering awful people in public, dealing with negative friends, it's not so much an attitude of "ignorance is bliss" it's more like "what else can be done" and directing the energy on something constructive instead of wasting it on getting all angry or depressed.

 

I used get very agitated just by thinking about things like politics or recalling bad experiences and memories. I've dropped that. I've also dropped being cynical and jealous and resentful - there's actually a lot of joy in being happy for others, including complete strangers (this has in a very specific example made me far less whiny and critical about music I don't care for - with few exceptions I just tune it out and when I do have a critical opinion about art of any sort I express my opinion but never dwell on it) I've come along way in terms of maturing and growing honestly, this is just another step for me from the bad habits of being more cynical and impersonal in the past.

 

It does make a difference - I get along a lot better with a co-worker who drove me nuts last year - my positive attitude has made it 180 in terms of how we interact. That in particular could be such a feedback loop - positivity wears off just as much as negativity can. I don't get random headaches, have trouble sleeping, and get physically as worn out. I'm sure it helps that I have pets, eat well and try to stay active. This may also sound cheesy, but there's nothing wrong with just a good walk or simply enjoying the many wonderful things about life, whether it be nature or music or whatever.

 

Couple habits of mine:

- Going outside in some capacity - gardening, walking, playing fetch with a dog, etc. for at least 30 minutes.

- Having a couple go-to songs or videos bookmarked on youtube that simply put you in a good mood when you're feeling shitty and/or pissed off.

- Clearing my mind before my work commute, often by doing the point above.

- Making lists and setting a goal (my wife does this a lot) - this could literally be as simple as making a grocery list or saying "I'm recording a track tonight."

- Subscribing to a magazine or podcast or blog about positive current events or developments - reading a fucking awesome science article for 10 minutes can eliminate hours of horrendous talk radio, cable news, or political pundit bullshit I was exposed to and couldn't forget easily.

- Sex.

- Drinking a good beer.

- Having a steady hobby (working on this one)

- A good laugh. Laughing is a fucking great outlet.

 

This lyric from the Peter, Bjorn and John song "

" sums up my outlook:

 

And the question is, was I more alive

Then than I am now?

I happily have to disagree

I laugh more often now, I cry more often now

I am more me

[joshuatxuk]

Actually just skip my rant, I basically said something like this:

 

http://youtu.be/o5LB0kvWkTQ

[Guest Etch]

[YO303]

I don't like to trick myself into a false sense of happiness, i want to look at things how they are so i can set realistic and logicals goals, for example if my job is shit i dont want to trick myself into thinking the job is great because then i would stay in that shit job without even trying to get a new job.

 

Being hopeful and motivated in great but a 100 percent positive outlook on life can be more harmful than it seems.

[Guest zaphod]

[youtubehd]JV6CD9iJUnQ[/youtubehd]

[delet...]

It does make a difference - I get along a lot better with a co-worker who drove me nuts last year - my positive attitude has made it 180 in terms of how we interact.

 

 

 

 

All my co-workers bar one are backstabby/at times inexplicably hostile/not positive/unable to admit failure, all the usual human failings. Through my time in this place of employment of have been upbeat and not let their shit allow me to carry a grudge etc. I've always been nice.

 

But they are still the worthless cuntstains that they were when i turned up. I haven't changed who they were/are/and always will be. But still i press on, with my perpetual niceness even though with these types of people it can be seen as a type of weakness and they will only respect and fear reflections of their characters. Disciples of the devil all.

 

anyway, so maybe it works sometimes. It does pay to make an effort and not accept things at face value. But sometimes you're stuck with bottom feeding tards, driven by the whim of their base emotions rather than logic and no matter what you do, they're all still going to hell.

[Guest isaki]

rixxx, these hypnosis videos -- could you link them please?

[delet...]

I don't like to trick myself into a false sense of happiness, i want to look at things how they are so i can set realistic and logicals goals, for example if my job is shit i dont want to trick myself into thinking the job is great because then i would stay in that shit job without even trying to get a new job.

 

Being hopeful and motivated in great but a 100 percent positive outlook on life can be more harmful than it seems.

 

I don't think the guys are going on about being super positive about everything all the time, to the exclusion of accepting other emotional input. As yes i agree that living only with a false sense of happiness is quite negative, because then you can become one of those people that aggressively defends their positivity, by denying reality. Making the world more annoying to those around them. heh.

[LimpyLoo]

I used to study Buddhism quite a bit (mostly academically), but recently I have been trying to implement a few Buddhist principles, namely Mindfulness and Right Thought. This was prompted by my tendency in poker to "tilt" ("tilting" is essentially having an emotional response to an unfavorable result and then letting those emotions negatively affect your future decision-making).

 

In the short-term the idea is to constantly be aware of what you're thinking and what you are feeling (e.g. "I am depressed/angry") and also to focus on your breathing, which will slow down your breathing as well as your thoughts. And in the long-term the idea is to not let things that are beyond your control affect what is within your control.

 

But it turns out these concepts helped not only my poker playing, but my entire fucking life. My food tastes better, I enjoy music more, my posture is better, I'm not as self-conscious as I used to be, I'm no longer randomly seized with anxious or neurotic thoughts, I no longer feel deep regret about things I should or shouldn't have done, I'm not worried about dying, and most-of-all I feel like I am planted firmly in the moment and I am sucking every lost drop of marrow from it. And really all because I started paying focusing on everything instead of auto-piloting through life and letting everything just fly past.

 

Right Thought is a very simple concept: instead of thinking "I should've done X, I should've done X, why didn't I do X" and getting depressed about something that is now out of your control, you might think "I didn't do X but that's okay, it's gone and past and beyond my control and I'm not going to let it contaminate my life."

[rstark]

I like doing guided meditations and stuff. Orin and Daben have a lot of really good ones.

 

Here's a great one that I found on reddit about 2 weeks ago, it seems to be pretty popular

 

[joshuatxuk]

 

It does make a difference - I get along a lot better with a co-worker who drove me nuts last year - my positive attitude has made it 180 in terms of how we interact.

 

 

 

 

All my co-workers bar one are backstabby/at times inexplicably hostile/not positive/unable to admit failure, all the usual human failings. Through my time in this place of employment of have been upbeat and not let their shit allow me to carry a grudge etc. I've always been nice.

 

But they are still the worthless cuntstains that they were when i turned up. I haven't changed who they were/are/and always will be. But still i press on, with my perpetual niceness even though with these types of people it can be seen as a type of weakness and they will only respect and fear reflections of their characters. Disciples of the devil all.

 

anyway, so maybe it works sometimes. It does pay to make an effort and not accept things at face value. But sometimes you're stuck with bottom feeding tards, driven by the whim of their base emotions rather than logic and no matter what you do, they're all still going to hell.

 

My wife's office is a lot more like yours - there are some absolutely terrible human beings in there. Since we're both public employees it's essentially the only place these curmudgeons will ever work since it's essentially impossible for them to be fired. There's one co-worker of hers who literally spends his weekends systematically harassing the City of Austin with complaints about every neighbor and business close to his home. Since he's a lawyer he pours over codes and regulations simple to find complaints to file. I pity his sad routine of trying to make others miserable for no reason. She manages to deal with this guy and others daily, I would of probably snapped awhile ago in her position.

 

In my case I've noticed that perpetually being upbeat and nice, even when I'm actually quite annoyed, has prevented my co-worker from becoming as flustered and miffed and passive aggressive as often as she was last year. She's not mean just kinda nutty, like that cheesy American comic Cathy

To give a better context, we work in very cramped desks on the Texas Senate floor during the legislative session - usually we have our own cubicles and space. Last year I met her passive aggressiveness with my own, and it was just this terrible cycle where I would be aggressive and not assertive when needed. I've mostly avoided it this time around, I simply laugh off anything bad that happens that day.

[geosmina]

I simply say to myself "You will die", and that motivates me to do things

[delet...]

 

 

It does make a difference - I get along a lot better with a co-worker who drove me nuts last year - my positive attitude has made it 180 in terms of how we interact.

 

 

 

 

All my co-workers bar one are backstabby/at times inexplicably hostile/not positive/unable to admit failure, all the usual human failings. Through my time in this place of employment of have been upbeat and not let their shit allow me to carry a grudge etc. I've always been nice.

 

But they are still the worthless cuntstains that they were when i turned up. I haven't changed who they were/are/and always will be. But still i press on, with my perpetual niceness even though with these types of people it can be seen as a type of weakness and they will only respect and fear reflections of their characters. Disciples of the devil all.

 

anyway, so maybe it works sometimes. It does pay to make an effort and not accept things at face value. But sometimes you're stuck with bottom feeding tards, driven by the whim of their base emotions rather than logic and no matter what you do, they're all still going to hell.

 

My wife's office is a lot more like yours - there are some absolutely terrible human beings in there. Since we're both public employees it's essentially the only place these curmudgeons will ever work since it's essentially impossible for them to be fired. There's one co-worker of hers who literally spends his weekends systematically harassing the City of Austin with complaints about every neighbor and business close to his home. Since he's a lawyer he pours over codes and regulations simple to find complaints to file. I pity his sad routine of trying to make others miserable for no reason. She manages to deal with this guy and others daily, I would of probably snapped awhile ago in her position.

 

In my case I've noticed that perpetually being upbeat and nice, even when I'm actually quite annoyed, has prevented my co-worker from becoming as flustered and miffed and passive aggressive as often as she was last year. She's not mean just kinda nutty, like that cheesy American comic Cathy

To give a better context, we work in very cramped desks on the Texas Senate floor during the legislative session - usually we have our own cubicles and space. Last year I met her passive aggressiveness with my own, and it was just this terrible cycle where I would be aggressive and not assertive when needed. I've mostly avoided it this time around, I simply laugh off anything bad that happens that day.

 

 

(response to the bit under the pic) good plan (i'm not gonna edit out the rest of the post that i'm not replying to because when i last did that the quote system went nuts on me??!!)

 

And i'm sure that being nice has dulled somewhat the likelihood of random acts of meanness towards me, if sometimes i find that they despise me for being unaffected by the day and mostly nice. (my boss verbalises this sometimes lol). Heh ... deez ppl !!

 

---

 

as to that lawyer schmuck, my retired next door neighbour is like that. Perhaps not as bad, but he told me a story about what he did to the last tenants in the house i'm in that curled my hair a little.

[YEK]

i agree that hobbies help. especially creative stuff

[data]

i stopped reading most daily newspapers ages ago (offline and online) as most of it is just a bunch of tabloid bullshit i don't need, or stuff like "100 kids dead in bus crash in india" which i have absolutely zero use of knowing and it just brings you down and will eventually desentisize you. i might check news sites online every now and again, but i usually just do a quick scroll through to see if there's any major important stuff happening. i hate accidently reading about fucked up shit i don't need or want to know, like the other day some guy shot a baby in front of its mother somewhere in the states, and for some reason it was breaking news in sweden and all over the front page of one paper. wtf? so yeah, i tend to avoid it. i get the stuff i need from twitter, forums, linked articles etc anyway.

[Guest murphythecat8]

im a buddhist. positive technic is great, but wont really last. you have to realize that you suffer all the time, and that no matter how much you dont want to be affected by other people, you will as long as you dont realize for yourself that those people are beautiful and that you love them and that you want them to be happy and that you understand, no matter what they do, their suffering and their cause.

we all suffer, and yeah some people seems more prown to also make people aroudn them to suffer, but you have to realize that YOU suffer. Its YOUR fault if you suffer, never the fault of the other. You can stop suffering if you realize certain truth. Its not by judging other and wanting them to be better, that you will stop suffering.

why would anyone wants a annoying person to stop being annoying? because you get affected by his annoyance. you are responsible of your reaction. you are actually probably the cause of his annoyance behavior. how can you let that people be annoying! bring him some truth in his life, and he will soon realize the consequence of his actions.

I say that people that do negative things think that those things will make them happy. its your job to make them realize how much siffering they acheive by doing those negative actions.

oh, I should stop now, I should have even never talked.