In the final part of our well-being series, we are going to look at a book that was written by Jon Gordon all about the power of positivity, called ‘The Positive Dog’.

What is the story of The Positive Dog?
“We all have two dogs inside of us. One dog is positive, happy, optimistic, and hopeful. The other dog is negative, mad, sad, pessimistic, and fearful. These two dogs often fight inside us, but guess who wins the fight? The one you feed the most. So begins the story about a negative mutt named Matt and a big dog named Bubba who teaches him how to feed himself with positivity each day and in the process Matt transforms his own life and the shelter they call home.

The Positive Dog is an inspiring, heart-warming story that not only reveals the strategies and benefits of being positive but also an essential truth for humans: Being positive doesn’t just make you better. It makes everyone around you better.

For anyone looking to overcome negativity and challenges to become more positive, The Positive Dog provides the inspiration and action plan to feed yourself and your team with positivity. When you feed the positive dog and feed others, everyone benefits!” Jon Gordon

Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health.

Here are some ways to think and behave in a more positive and optimistic way:

• Identify areas to change – think about areas you often think negatively about and try to approach it in a more positive way.
• Check yourself – during the day, stop and evaluate what you are thinking about. IF you find your thoughts are mainly negative try to turn them into more positive thoughts.
• Be open to humour – don’t be afraid to laugh or smile! Seek humour in everyday things because when you laugh, you automatically feel less stressed.
• Follow a healthy lifestyle – try exercise or following a healthy diet. Exercise can positively affect your mood and reduce stress and a healthy diet helps to fuel your body and mind.
• Surround yourself with positive people – make sure the people in your life are positive and supportive. Negative people may increase your stress levels and make you doubt your ability to manage stress in healthy ways.

This week’s well-being top tip… Practice positive self-talk!
Start by following one simple rule: don’t say anything to yourself that you wouldn’t say to anyone else. If a negative thought comes into your head, evaluate it rationally and respond in a positive way. Here are some examples of negative self-talk and how you can turn them into something more positive:

Negative: I’ve never done it before. Positive: It’s an opportunity to learn something new.
Negative: It’s too complicated. Positive: I’ll tackle it from a different angle.
Negative: I can’t, there’s no way it will work. Positive: I am going to try and make this work.
Negative: I am never going to get better at this. Positive: I’ll give it another try.

Benefits of this activity:
With practice, your self-talk will contain less self-criticism and more self-acceptance and optimism. You may also become less critical of the world around you. When your outlook is more optimistic, you’re are able to handle everyday stress in a more constructive way.

Let us know if you try this tip and what benefits it had on you!

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