How to Start Taking Control of Your Life

By nicoleleon, eHow User

Start Taking Control of Your Life

It's easy to develop negative thinking patterns because it is easy to become frustrated by one's challenges and frequent feelings of being overwhelmed. This negative outlook then makes it even harder for us to manage those challenges and move forward.

Practicing positive thinking allows people to focus on their strengths and accomplishments, which also in turn helps to increase happiness and motivation. This, in turn, allows individuals to spend more time making progress, and less time feeling down and stuck. The following tips provide practical suggestions that you can use to help you shift into more positive thinking patterns:

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. • 1

     Take good care of yourself by eating nutritious foods, exercising, and getting enough rest.

   • 2

     Create a gratitude list of all that you're grateful for as this will help be a constant reminder and appreciation of the good things in one's life. This will help to reduce the stress and keep challenges at bay too.

   • 3

     Taking a simple 60 seconds a day to stop and appreciate all of the great things in your life will help with bringing more joy into your life at the same time.

   • 4

     Look for proof instead of making assumptions. This will help with not focusing on fear of others not liking you or accepting you which can have a great effect on a person's psyche.

   • 5

     Avoid using absolutes while complaining about someone or something such as someone always being late, or a person never calling. When thinking this way it makes the situation seem a lot worse than it actually is and programs your brain into believing that others are incapable of delivering or coming through on their word.

   • 6

     Change negative thoughts into positive thoughts. If you find that you are in the middle, about to think of a negative thought. Stop yourself by switching that thought into a positive thought. This will help to improve not only your attitude but overall outlook in life too.

Read more: How to Start Taking Control of Your Life | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5384251_start-taking-control-life.html#ixzz1M0l4pY7r