Overcoming social anxiety with a positive mental attitude
Life is not all plain sailing. Indeed, hardship, trials and tribulations are part and parcel of being. Encountering difficulty is not a bad thing, what matters is the way we deal with it. A positive frame of mind is essential for so many reasons. Positive thinking is proven to boost performance in productivity and quality. We are typically more confident and do better if we are feeling good and well.
I have found biological examples of this. A positive frame of mind is due to enhanced amounts of neuro transmitters like serotonin that regulate the efficiency abilities of the brain. The knock effects of a positive frame of mind also include enhanced wellbeing not only enhanced mental health but better in the physical sense aswell. This is due to the increase to the immune system that a positive frame of mind can give you.
The reverse is also true, when we are depressed we are a lot more liable to contracting other diseases and mental health issues. Our relationships with people decline, we start to think irrationally and our confidents can fall. In a nutshell this is a frame of mind that is best to avoid at all costs. Feeling depressed ever so often is not uncommon but the way in which we choose to deal with a dilemma comes from our state of mind.
A positive mental attitude is also about giving you a can do attitude. Those that think positively are far more likely to see challenges instead of issues or opportunities as opposed to difficulties. For example, entrepreneurs who are successful usually are because they are able to spot opportunities for progress in a marketplace which others only see problems in. The positive mental attitude of a successful person means that opportunity becomes a reality; because they also have the drive and motivation to succeed and make their dream come true. So as you can see there is much to be gained from a positive mental attitude. The problem for lots of people is in developing one in the first place.
Developing a positive frame of mind is not some new aged trend. For hundreds of years religious men and scholars alike sought out and created ways to harness an inner harmony. While this may have begun to make humanity closer to god the essence of this idea is just as relevant nowadays. That a positive frame of mind makes us closer to the divine while a negative frame of mind can only steer us in to ways of being which are a detriment to our lives. Monks realised this long ago which is why they devote themselves to a life of abstinence and mental and spiritual fulfilment.
One of the simplest ways to determine your frame of mind is to think about how you are with other people. A good way to do this is to picture how you behave towards people you do not know. Are you outgoing and open to meeting and talking with other people? Or are you insular and scared. Believe it or not one of the best ways to conquer a negative frame of mind is to change your mindset towards the world around you and that means the people in it also. If you are generally uncomfortable around others then try this experiment.
One night force yourself to strike up a conversation at random in a public place. Do not worry about how you look or appear or what you talk about. A reference about the weather or anything will do. Just try it and note how you feel afterwards.
You see, the way you are with others will have an effect on the opportunities you get offered. Consider it in this way who is the most likely to get a job between two people of equal ability and knowledge except for one difference, One is uptight and uncomforable with other people and the other is easy going and comfortable with people. If I was the boss I know which one I would pick for the Job.
Learn the power of a positive mental attitude with Quentin’s free seminar on Overcoming social anxiety.