5 Ways To Change Your Mindset From Negative To Positive!

April 21, 2023 (updated)

5 ways to change your mindset from negative to positive

Negativity can devastate every healthy aspect in your life if you let it. Those harbored feelings, thoughts, and emotions begin to manifest themselves in everything that you do. So what does an unfavorable mindset look like?

· You think the absolute worst in every situation

· You don’t let go of the past and carry it with you

· You look at all instances through a destructive lens

· You are judgmental about others and yourself

That is just naming a few ways one might think if they didn’t have a positive frame of mind. The danger of this thought process is that it can take the emotions like depression, anxiety, low self-worth, and hopelessness and intensify them. This can make you feel like you are in a deep hole that you cannot crawl out of.

Before you allow yourself to get to that point, take control and do not let it control you! I have gone into detail on some of the ways that you can begin to switch your thinking from disparaging to encouraging. All you have to be willing to do is take that first step!

1. Embrace the Word of God:

The best and most effective way to change your mentality is by consuming the Word of God. It is Powerful and Living and can help you get rid of all of those negative thoughts that tend to creep up on you throughout your day. It is all about the renewal of your mind Romans 12:12. For every unfavorable feeling and emotion, the Lord has provided you with a scripture that will completely counteract it.

As a believer of Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you. One of His primary functions is to bring the Word of God to your remembrance when you need it the most, John 14:26. I cannot express to you enough how important it is to study your Bible daily, this is your double-edged Sword. As you immerse yourself more and more into His Word, you will begin to have scripture stored up to combat against the negativity.

For Instance:

· For overwhelming emotions of fear, the Lord has provided us with Isaiah 43:1 “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.”

· For negative thoughts regarding depression, the Word of God states in Psalm 34:17 “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.”

· When dealing with feelings of hopelessness, the Scriptures state in Deuteronomy 31:8 “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

· When experiencing extreme anxiety, the Word makes in clear in Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

When you are being bombarded with constant pessimism playing in your mind over and over again it can feel like you are drowning with the inability to come up for air. This is exactly what the enemy wants because what he likes to do is take your negative thoughts and exacerbate them! So, how did Jesus combat the devil when he tried to attack Him? He came at him with the Word of God Matthew 4:4 details, “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Here we can see where the Lord is counterattacking the enemy’s devices by proclaiming the Holy Scriptures. Trust and believe when you saturate your spirit with the Power of the Lord’s Word it will supersede any opposing thought, feeling, and emotion that you will ever have. The more you study, the more weapons you will have to fight back with.

God is love 1 John 4:7-8 so any feeling that you’re experiencing that is not positive is not coming from the Lord but from the enemy shooting fiery darts at your mind Ephesians 6:16. You have the ability to take charge of your thought process but you have to be willing to put in the work.

*I go into complete depth on Spiritual Oppression in my blog: 7 steps to fighting spiritual oppression-Real Talk!*

2. Understand the cause of your negative mindset:

One key element to overcoming those horrible, nagging judgments is to understand why you have them in the first place. Get out a notepad and write down a timeline of major events that have occurred in your life. It doesn’t have to be overly detailed but you want to make sure that you are including anything that has happened that could have had an adverse effect on you.

Remember the enemy does not play fair and will use every hurtful event that happened to you to create negative thoughts, emotions, and strongholds to prevent you from progressing in life. By analyzing all of the experiences that have impacted you in one way or another you can now begin to heal from them. The truth of the matter is there is really no way that you can start to rebuild yourself from these traumatic situations if your refuse to acknowledge them.

Once you have an idea of what you are dealing with you can allow the Lord to begin to heal those open wounds. Be aware of the triggers that make these particular thoughts resurface and take steps to manage them. Train your mind to offset the negative with a positive (Word of God). It is not going to be easy because you are naturally going to want to accept the harmful feelings since it is what you are used to.

Some of the things that will help get you on the right path are; reading the Word of God (step1), remaining in prayer, fasting, praise and worship. This is the best way to renew yourself spiritually. You also want to take care of your body physically: exercise, eating healthy, getting lots of sleep, and eliminating stress. By keeping an overall healthy body both spiritually and physically it will help you shift from being pessimistic to being more optimistic.

Some incidences are going to take a more in depth recovery process. You want to be honest with yourself and know when it is time to get the extra help that you need. There are professional therapists and support groups that specialize in life altering events that have an effect on you mentally.

Some signs that will indicate that you might want to seek guidance from a trained professional are:

· You are unable to function at work, home, or in any social situation

· You have trouble sleeping at night and frequently experience nightmares

· You are emotionally numb in all relationships

· You use drugs and alcohol to help you cope

Every one of us heals in a different way and in order for you to permanently change your frame of mind you have to pinpoint where it is coming from and take the necessary precautions to begin your rehabilitation. You can do it but it all begins with you, taking control of your life one day at a time!

3. Pay attention to what you are digesting (spiritually):

You are what you eat is a complete understatement when it comes to what you are consuming spiritually. What you watch and listen to is going to have a direct impact on your mindset no matter how you look at it. The reason being is because it stays in your subconscious mind which functions as a storage for data and information that it has retrieved. It has memorized what you’ve seen and what you’ve heard making it impossible to keep a hopeful outlook. If what you surround yourself with is nothing but filth that is what will materialize. It is extremely important to watch what you’re feeding your soul because that is what is going to take root.

You have to protect your eye gate which is any and everything that you read or see. If you make it a habit to study your Word that is what is going to resonate in your spirit. On the flip side, if you spend your day reading gossip, messy articles, watching filth, and all other crudeness that is put out on social media platforms then that is what will take residence in your mind. It really does matter when it comes to what you allow into your eye gates.

You also have to shield your ear gate meaning anything that you hear. If all you listen to is music that is filled with profanity and vulgarity then that is exactly what will marinate in your thoughts. Without you even knowing it, you will begin to display certain attitudes that directly correlate to what you make a habit of listening to. This becomes problematic for you if you are truly making an attempt to alter your thought process. What happens is everything that you have allowed yourself to hear has now developed into adverse personality traits that can be difficult to adjust.

The devil uses the things that you watch and listen to as access points to come into your life and wreak havoc. You have to make it a point to prevent giving him any legal access because of what you are watching and listening to. Make the necessary modifications in your life now before your negative thoughts become entrenched in your everyday way of thinking. You can do it but you have to be serious because it will take dedication and commitment.

I have some articles that go more into detail about your ear gates and your eye gates: Guarding Your Ear Gates-Part 1, Guarding Your Ear Gates-Part 2, Guarding Your Eye Gates-Part 1, and Guarding Your Eye Gates-Part 2

4. Evaluate your company:

Who are you allowing in your space? This question is exceptionally vital when it comes to transforming your frame of mind. If the people that you surround yourself with have nothing but uncomplimentary attitudes then that is what will eventually rub off on you, it’s inevitable. There is really no way to get around it you are going to pick up messy characteristics if that is all that you allow in your environment.

The Word of God tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” The Apostle Paul is giving us a clear warning about the dangers of allowing evil company into your space. Be very cautious about the people that you keep around you and remember that you can always love them from afar. As a Christian you want to pray for the people that don’t always have the best intentions for you or others. The Lord put them in your path for a reason.

So what group of individuals do you need to evaluate? You need to be fully aware of the impact that you friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and even your partner has on you mentally. What they are putting out into the atmosphere is what you are taking in and allowing to manifest in your spirit.

The thing about negativity is that it is like the flu; it can easily spread and is particularly contagious. It can transmit without you even realizing it and before you know it those offensive behaviors have embedded themselves into your subconscious mind showing up when you least expect it.

Some examples of negative characteristics are:

· Lying about everything

· Selfishness

· Gossiping to you and about you

· Rudeness

· Anger issues

· Never having anything nice to say

· Disloyal

· Sneaky

Those are just some of the types of mannerisms that you want to steer clear of. You will not be able to change the way that you think if you continue to surround yourself with people that exhibit the characteristics that you are trying to avoid. You don’t have to be rude about wanting to separate yourself from harmful behaviors all you have to do is politely let them know that you want some distance. You can pray for them and love them from afar but what you can’t do is risk their personalities rubbing off on you when you are trying to become the best version of who you know you can be!

5. Know that you are not perfect:

Nobody is perfect and oftentimes we are our worst critics in everything that we do. Having a perfectionist mentality causes you to have extremely high standards that can never be achieved. You are setting yourself up for failure from the beginning and it is not mentally healthy.

In order for you to shift your frame of mind from negative to positive you have to understand that every one of us is flawed and you are going to make mistakes, there is no getting around it. The quicker you learn to accept that the easier it will be to change that way of thinking. Wanting to make sure everything is done with precision is a goal that is not attainable and you will literally drive yourself crazy.

Let go of this obsessive approach to life because if you don’t it will fester and create harmful emotions like insecurity and low self-esteem. You will begin to harbor feelings of unworthiness making it difficult to remain confident considering the pressure you put on yourself.

All anyone can do is their very best and if that is what you are doing then that is more than enough. Modify your standards to some that are realistically possible this will create an improved overall thought process. Understanding that the battle is in your mind and the enemy loves to shoot those negative thoughts and keep them on repeat!

Clear out all of the voices in your head like:

· “You’re not worthy.”

· “You didn’t do it the right way.”

· “It’s not perfect.”

· “You’re a failure!”

The best way to eliminate the extra thoughts flowing in your mind is to follow step one, get into the Word of God. Get rid of the negativity and replace it with the extraordinary Power of God’s Word. You will be amazed at the difference that it will make. The main thing you want to remember is that as long as you have breath in your body you have purpose! Don’t let the overwhelming feelings of wanting to be perfect drive you away from who you are destined to become!

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Fruit of the Spirit (self-control)

Fruit of the Spirit (Gentleness)

The Fruit of the Spirit (Faithfulness)

The Fruit of the Spirit (Goodness)

The Fruit of the Spirit (Kindness)

The Fruit of the Spirit (Longsuffering)

The Fruit of the Spirit (Peace)

The Fruit of the Spirit (Joy)

The Fruit of the Spirit (Love)

Overcoming the Spirit of Fear-Part 1

Overcoming the Spirit of Fear-Part 2