How do I change my mindset to a positive one❔

Adopt positive ways of thinking and eliminate negative ones from your mind.

In both your private and professional life, many of your thought patterns are completely automatic, as experience often takes over, especially when it comes to routine thoughts, and conscious decisions fall into the background. However, with a little practice and the right tips, you can change your own way of thinking and break through the old and negative patterns. But how does this actually work and what’s behind it? We’ll tell you.

View subjective worlds objectively?

Routine, for example, has the advantage that you get ready in the morning despite lack of sleep and tiredness and get to work before your mind has reached work level. On the other hand, however, our thought patterns can quickly lead to thought traps that only very few people are aware of and which, in the worst case scenario, not only delay our professional and personal goals, but could even do us real harm. It is always difficult to get an objective view of the world and what is happening, because the closer you are to a topic, person or company, the more subjective your opinions become.

“All objectivity is always just an attempt to be objective.” (Erich Limpach)

This also makes it extremely difficult or even impossible to see oneself in an objective light, which leads to a certain degree of self-righteousness and self-deception in all people. In extreme cases, for example, this results in obviously untenable election promises by politicians or embellished balance sheets by accountants or business bosses. However, a common misconception is that these lies are the result of fraudulent intent and are deliberately malicious. In many cases, the opposite is actually the case and there is actually a good intention behind the deception.

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions, not bad ones.”

The Irish writer George Bernard Shaw already knew and this sentence still applies to the human mindset today: Our process of forming opinions is rarely dependent on pure facts. Instead, factors such as a desire for harmony, mental laziness or pride and stubbornness play an important role.

The human confirmation bias

The above-mentioned system of thought is the subject of research in psychology and has been given the euphonious name “confirmation bias”. This is the tendency to search for and find only the information that confirms one’s own hypothesis. Even if more facts speak against one’s own conviction, the little information that serves to confirm it is more likely to be remembered.

“We only listen to what we want.”

This sentence describes the psychological phenomenon comprehensively and, in fact, on the one hand people increasingly look for information that actually confirms their preconceived opinion, while on the other hand ambivalent information is also generally interpreted as confirmation.

One of the best-known thought experiments on this topic was conducted by Lord, Lepper and Ross: the psychologists selected various people for their series of experiments who were either for or against the death penalty and gave them two studies to read. These studies were ostensibly intended to provide empirical data for or against the use of the death penalty and although both sides were equally represented in the texts, in the end the subjects were even more convinced of their own opinion. As soon as they read arguments in favor of their own position, their confidence that their opinion was the right one increased, while counter-arguments only had a very weak effect. In addition, the study that supported their own conviction was rated as being of better quality.

Opinion formation: The confirmation bias dilemma…

The consequences of confirmation bias or confirmation bias can be serious:

• Irrational adherence to disproved hypotheses
• Overconfidence in judgments
• Manipulation of the sequence of evidence
• etc.

The last point is particularly important from a legal perspective, as people generally have a neutral attitude towards legal cases and are initially unbiased. However, the first piece of evidence in a case ensures that a working hypothesis is quickly formed in people’s minds, from which most people find it difficult to detach themselves. This is also important in business and professional life, because first impressions are hard to get rid of — be it at a job interview, when choosing a new company as a partner or the impression you make on a customer.

…and the self-fulfilling prophecy

Another dangerous mental trap that you have to contend with in both your private and professional life is the so-called self-fulfilling prophecy. This is a psychological phenomenon: if you expect a certain result or behavior in advance, you subconsciously contribute to this result or behavior occurring.

There is also an opposite effect, known as a “self-defeating prophecy”, in which we use our preconceived ideas and behavior to ensure that a certain outcome does not occur. The classic example in this context is negative affirmation, where we think that we can’t do something — and if it doesn’t work on the first attempt, we feel confirmed. This reinforces the prophecy we have made and we end up in a vicious circle, even though we might have succeeded on the second attempt.

This is a bad habit that can not only slow you down from a professional point of view, but also put obstacles in your own way. For example, if you are convinced that you won’t be convincing in a job interview or that you will fail in a presentation, then you will subconsciously ensure that this is the case. However, it is actually possible to turn this attitude into a positive one and tell yourself that you can actually do it. Especially in combination with realistic optimism, you can actually influence your attitude and the result.

Change your own thought patterns

Despite all these mental traps and psychological obstacles, it is perfectly possible to change your own thinking and break down preconceived ideas. After all, your own opinion is also your own reality, which is merely a construct of your own experience, acquired prejudices and beliefs that do not always make sense. The first step to changing your own thought patterns is always self-reflection or questioning your own reality. Ask yourself:

• Why exactly are you convinced of a fact❔
• Do the facts really support your opinion or have you just cherry-picked the right information❔
• Are there perhaps other potentially correct ways of thinking❔

Of course, it is not an easy task to change your own world view and maneuver yourself out of the beliefs that have suited you and made you comfortable up to now. Try to realize that most of your assumptions are based on unproven assumptions and vague ideas and that only very few of your approaches can actually be proven.

For example, if you are convinced that you can’t do something because it hasn’t worked before, then try it again — a single negative experience is not proof that you are actually no good at something. However, in order for you to actually break through previous thought patterns, it is not only important that the old patterns are exposed as wrong or inappropriate, but also that you fall back on new thought patterns instead of old opinions.

Tips and tricks for changing your own opinion

Ultimately, people are simply not wired to be convinced by facts alone: on the one hand, they only retain the information that is conducive to their preconceived opinion, on the other hand, they do not believe many facts. If you want to break through your old thought patterns, go in search of examples. For example, if you are convinced that your job is boring and simply not fun, then look around for colleagues who actually enjoy their day-to-day work. Talk to them and ask about the positive aspects — you will be surprised at what you had previously overlooked.

“How easy it is to form a false opinion, blinded by the splendor of outward appearances.” (Molière)

Studies show that we only accept the facts that give us an advantage — which you can also use to break old thought patterns. Go on a targeted search for the information that supports the new, desired opinion and ignore the other facts. This may sound like self-deception, but it is a tried and tested way of conditioning yourself. Practice makes perfect

Nobody expects you to be able to break through your old thought patterns overnight, because that’s not how the human psyche is built. You shouldn’t expect too much of yourself either, but allow enough time. The first and most important step is to recognize your old thought patterns and decide that you want to change them. The next steps are practicing the new ways of thinking that are to replace the old ones. Depending on the topic and how deeply the old opinion is anchored in your memory, this may take more or less time.

Don’t give up if it takes you a little longer to achieve results and don’t get discouraged too quickly. Also try to find the method that works best for you — unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution here and while some people can change their own minds with feigned optimism and self-deception, other people can only be influenced by examples and facts. Others, on the other hand, need a mixture of several methods in order to break up their entrenched thought patterns. Simply try out the different variants and find the opportunity to change yourself and adapt old opinions.

Tackle individual thinking traps

Ultimately, everyone thinks in their own way, as thinking is influenced by many factors such as upbringing, experience and prejudices. There is therefore no universal solution to recognizing and avoiding your own thinking traps, because from a psychological point of view, there are not only many general thought patterns that ensure that your own opinion is not changed, but also many individual reasons. Ultimately, you simply have to try to explore yourself and understand why you can’t simply change some opinions: What exactly is behind them and for what reason are you not convinced by the counterarguments? Only then will you be able to develop yourself further and achieve new successes.

A small yet effective tip is to write in a diary: this way, even weeks, months or even years later, you can understand what prompted you to make a particular decision on a particular day and what alternatives you had to choose from. When making a decision, it is not always possible to predict what consequences it will have. This allows you to reflect at a later date and determine whether your thought patterns and opinions have helped you or whether you should reconsider them. This will enable you to make better decisions in the future and celebrate new successes both privately and professionally.

A small yet effective tip is to write in a diary: this way, even weeks, months or even years later, you can understand what prompted you to make a particular decision on a particular day and what alternatives you had to choose from. When making a decision, it is not always possible to predict what consequences it will have. This allows you to reflect at a later date and determine whether your thought patterns and opinions have helped you or whether you should reconsider them. This will enable you to make better decisions in the future and celebrate new successes both privately and professionally.

I hope that I can bring you closer to positive thinking with my article and help you to implement it 😀