TOP TIPS FOR POSITIVE THINKING, BY LIFE COACH PETE COHEN

We are living in a world where it is easy to be negative because most people focus on what’s wrong, what’s missing or what they haven’t got. Many of us have never been taught to think in any other way. We speak to life coach and author of new self-help book “Shut The Duck Up” Pete Cohen who shares his top tips for positive thinking.

1. Positive thinkers think proactively – the space between the stimulus and the response is where people have a choice but most of us don’t realise this. We believe the way that we think and act is the way we are always going to be, but we have a lot more control over it.
2. Talk yourself into something – opportunities to pursue dreams, visions, and business ideas can all be overlooked if you are negative inside your head. Rather than talking yourself out of something, practise talking yourself into it.
3. Consider the connection between what you say and how you feel – there is a close relationship between what you say to yourself, how you think and how you feel. It’s important to ask yourself how you want to feel in your life. Whether that’s calm and in control, or resourceful and accomplished, then you need to recognise this, and ask yourself if the thoughts in your head are helping you to get there.
4. Don’t get stuck in a rut – human beings have between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts in just a single day and most people don’t realise that those thoughts are usually very similar to the previous day. If you’re not careful you can get stuck in the habit of negative thoughts, so break the cycle and inject a new habit of positivity into your day.
5. Find humour in the world – it’s important not to take what you think too seriously. Can you see the funny side of what you’re saying to yourself? Recognise that it isn’t true, and become aware that you can simply tell that negative voice to shut up!

Pete Cohen’s new book “Shut The Duck Up” on breaking the cycle of negative self-talk is available now from www.shut-the-duck-up.com.