Positive emotions give us benefits beyond just feeling good. When you feel good, it is easier to see the big picture rather than getting lost in detail.

Foster Creativity

When you experience positive emotions, you are more creative than when you are feeling neutral.

Positive emotions help you to make sense of complex information quickly and make you less likely to jump to conclusions.

A positive mindset has physical benefits as it helps heart rate and blood pressure to return to normal quickly after a stressful event.

Cultivate an Appreciative Mindset

Because positive emotions have these benefits, it is useful to build on what is positive in your life as a basis for making the changes you want. However, it is not always easy to try to stimulate positive emotions through humour, or by telling ourselves to look on the bright side. 

The easiest positive emotions to evoke, even under extreme circumstances, are those of gratitude and compassion. You can use the following affirmations as a guideline:

• "I appreciate even the simple things with gratitude."
• "I am grateful for everything I have."
• "I am grateful for my health."
• "I am grateful for my wisdom."
• "I am grateful for my wealth."
• "I am grateful for my loved ones."
• "I love myself."

Always find positive meaning through helping - act compassionately towards others. When helping others always make sure that you have helped yourself first. Never try to help others despite your own predicament, and only help where you can. This will start to evoke a negative feeling if it wears you down.

It is of practical value to learn to like yourself. Forgive yourself. Love yourself.

Find What is Already Working

There is an increasingly popular approach to organisational and personal change called Appreciative Inquiry, which holds that the best way to improve things is to discover what is already working and then do more of it. We tend to get more of what we focus on. Paying attention to what is already working well in your life is likely to raise your morale and your self-esteem, and increase the energy available for changing the areas of your life that are not working so well.

Know Your Strengths

To make it easier to establish the positives in your mind, try these lines of inquiry:

• What do people tell you are your strengths?
• What do the people who care about you regard as your good qualities and abilities? Take a look at yourself through their eyes or, better still, ask them - you may be pleasantly surprised.
• Imagine that a good friend was talking about you to someone who has not met you. How would that friend describe your good points?

Notice how you feel after focusing on the positive aspects of your life. What has changed?

Learn to Value Acceptance

Until you are in a position to change the parts of your life that you do not like, the best attitude to have is one of acceptance. There is no point wasting your energy fretting about things you are not in a position to change.

One of the best-known expressions of the attitude of acceptance is the "Serenity Prayer,".

Do More of What Works

In contrast to problem-focused approaches to change, the Appreciative Inquiry approach says that you will get more sustainable changes if you concentrate on doing more of what is working in your life. It is easier to envisage the future you want when it is based on your own experiences, rather than trying to dream it up in its entirety.

Tip:  Make sure your vision of the future keeps the good aspects of your life now: this will reduce your resistance to change.