The power of having the proper mindset espoused by Jerold Skolnik in his book We’re All Crazy: Get Used to It! is key to achieving a lifetime of success and satisfaction.
The world is living in strange times right now. Society operates in contradictions, and almost everyone on Earth seems like they’re wandering aimlessly. The global economy is the highest it has ever been, but there’s record economic inequality. A significant number of democracies are backsliding to authoritarianism. The sum of human knowledge can be accessed via smartphones, but people are having difficulty finding answers to their questions.
These are very strange times.
And it’s easy to understand why people might go crazy just living through life. It’s unbelievable, yes, but it’s the reality of things. So, how do you keep your head up high?
Having a positive mindset can be very beneficial for navigating through the craziness of present society. It can help you in all areas of life, from relationships to careers to dreams.
The power of having the proper mindset can be wonderful, as described by Jerold Skolnik in his self-help book We’re All Crazy: Get Used to It!
Keeping Your Head Up High
When you have a positive mindset, you are able to focus on the good things in life and are more capable of looking for opportunities to grow and improve with a healthy measure of positivity. It’s all about seeing the silver lining in everything; it’s being a “glass half-full” kind of person. With a positive mindset, challenges, although still daunting, can be faced with optimism and determination. It’s living life without letting fear and anxiety live it for you.
A positive mindset is extremely beneficial for an individual’s mental health and well-being. By focusing on the good things in life, people are more likely to be more satisfied and content. They are more easily in control of themselves and have the wherewithal to dive into new experiences.
Mentally speaking, a positive mindset has been affirmed to be correlative with lowered levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Some studies even show that your immune system is strengthened and enhanced because of positivity.
If you have the proper mindset in every situation, you are able to achieve your goals. You learn how to persevere and reach your goals with a contagious can-do attitude. There is a resiliency to having a positive mindset that is rarely talked about: setbacks become temporary and momentary, and they become opportunities for further personal development.
A Guide to a Positive Mindset
Of course, after all is said and done, getting into a positive mindset can be difficult. It’s not something someone chances upon. It is deliberate. You have to condition yourself to have a positive mindset. Here are some steps in doing so:
- Practicing Thankfulness. A very simple way of cultivating a positive mindset is to be actively grateful for the things that you ARE grateful for. If you have friends and family you appreciate, be open about that appreciation and let them know whenever possible. For more abstract things like the first sunny day after winter or the aroma of a freshly cooked loaf of bread, learn to savor the moment when it comes. Honing in on the positives makes it easier to detach yourself from the negatives.
- Changing Perspective. There is a saying that the body is simply the plaything of the mind, and in specific scenarios, that is true. If you have a very negative worldview, you will see that you are more likely to suffer depression, anxiety, etc., but if you have a positive worldview, things become more positive, too. So, if you ever find yourself in a spiral of negativity, break it by reframing things into a more positive nature. This can be as simple as saying, “I’m not able to do this now, but I will when the time comes,” instead of going, “I’ll never be able to do this” all the time. Reframing things also has the added benefit of discovering new ways to approach things and learning from failures rather than getting caught up in them.
- Positive Reinforcement. The proverb that a bad apple spoils the whole bunch has some kernels of truth to it. If you crowd around with negative people, you will also adopt their negativity and vice-versa, creating a self-sustaining cycle of pessimism. For anyone to come out of that funk, they have to start associating with more positive-thinking individuals. Your relationships should become a platform for you to help yourself improve, so avoid people who will bring you down, even if it’s not deliberately.