The Effects of a Positive Mindset
This weekend was a refreshing look at the progress I’ve been making to overcome my fears. My two biggest fears: snakes and darkness. Have you ever walked into the darkness scared that the boogeyman (or a snake) would jump out? The fear envelopes your body so much that the fear becomes reality and you run away to lessen the frightening experience? I participated in a night time trail run this weekend. Normally a scary event since I will be alone in the woods for an hour, running.
When my time began, I ran into the woods with a flashlight and my thoughts. The bushes rustled as I passed by and the shadows emphasized the unknown. This evening, I had a different mindset than before. Alert, yet relaxed, I imagined the movement in the bushes was the wind or a bunny and the object hidden by shadows was a cartoon character. This allowed me to enjoy the experience (and potentially run faster than usual). Everything was going smoothly until I trailed behind another runner. After five minutes, she stopped running and yelped. My old habits returned in a flash. In response to her fear, I screamed and jumped back. Why? I had no clue why she screamed but I had assumed that there was a huge snake obstructing our path. It turns out that a little armadillo was just crossing the trail, minding his own business.
This reminded me that a positive mindset takes constant practice. While my practiced positivity does turn more into a habit, a quick stimulus can return me back to Level One of fear and negativity. I have created a game for myself. The goal is to remove all negative talk from my mind and mouth. Even though there are unsuccessful days, I start over with strong intentions to do better next time.
5 Ways to Practice a Positive Mindset:
- Repeat a happy, positive mantra in your head
- Imagine the “best case scenario”
- Give thanks to the current situation.
- Remove negative talk from your vocabulary (and your mind)
- Encourage & complement others