[Music] hey everyone welcome back to another episode of podcast and chill our beloved listeners I'm your host Leo the guy who can teach you something while making you laugh and I'm Gwen your informative host here to help you get useful information you've heard of the word positive right but do you know what its power is and how do we use it correctly positive thinking isn't just about feeling happy all the time it's about learning to focus on the good things in your life even during difficult situations that's right and in this episode we'll explain what
positive thinking really is how it can improve your health and how you can develop this mindset in practical ways remember this podcast is made for English Learners like you so relax and enjoy learning about this life-changing topic are you ready to come with us let's get [Music] started Gwen let's start with the basics what exactly is positive thinking positive thinking means looking at the good side of life while being realistic it's not about thinking everything is perfect but about finding Solutions instead instead of focusing on problems that makes sense I'll make an example for example
imagine you're late for an important meeting because of traffic instead of saying my whole day is ruined you could think I'll do my best to catch up when I arrive you got it right research supports this idea too according to the Mayo Clinic positive thinking can help people manage stress better improve how they handle challenges and even live longer that's incredible positive thinking isn't just about feeling better emotionally it also has real benefits for your life right and if you're wondering how to practice this here's a simple activity let's take a negative thought like I
always make mistakes and change it to something more positive you could say everyone makes mistakes and I'm learning from mine This Small Change can make a big difference speaking of benefits Leo how does positive thinking impact our health positive thinking is great for your body and mind when you think positively your body makes less stress hormone like cortisol this helps you sleep better strengthens your immune system and even protects your heart so thinking positively can actually help us stay healthier a study by the American Psychological Association showed that positive people are 13% less likely to
get heart disease they also have lower blood pressure and healthier Hearts that's a good reason to start practicing positivity today Yeah the more you practice the easier it becomes to stay positive even in difficult situations now Leo let's talk about how someone can develop a positive mindset what do you think is a good first step we can prepare a gratitude Journal so listeners have you thought about how to use it to improve your positive thinking let me share it's important to practice gratitude by taking time each day to think about what you're grateful for you
can start to focus on the good things around you every day you write down three things you're thankful for it helps you focus on the good parts of your life no matter how small for example if you feel stressed at work you could take a break and write I'm grateful for my health for having a job and for the opport to learn new things this moves your focus away from what's wrong and helps your body relax another simple tip is to practice positive selft talk if you're feeling tired or stressed instead of thinking I can't
handle this try thinking I'm doing my best and I can handle this moment your body hears your thoughts and those positive words can lower stress and help you feel better physically I couldn't agree more [Music] now let's learn some vocabulary below so you can understand the topic better before continuing to listen catch up definition to make up for lost time or effort example I missed the first part of the lecture but I'll catch up by reading the notes later focus on someone something definition pay attention to someone or something example even though the trip was
short I'm focusing on the good part like spending time with my family take a break definition to pause from work or stress to relax example I always take a break after studying for an hour be grateful for definition to feel thankful for something or someone example I'm grateful for my friends who always support me during tough times move something away definition to take something or attention to a different place example having a gratitude Journal moves your focus away from what's wrong and helps your body relax next practice with some questions below to see how well
you understand the topic don't forget to type your answer in the comment section to discuss with others what example of thinking positively when being late for a meeting instead of thinking my whole day is over you could think I'll do my best to catch up when I arrive what health benefits are linked to positive thinking better sleep lower blood pressure and improved heart health now we will learn more ways to have a positive thinking sometimes we're too hard on ourselves right Gwen how can we stop negative selft talk and start thinking more POS positively that's
a great question Leo firstly you need to recognize when you're being negative if you catch yourself thinking I'll never be good at this stop and ask yourself is this really true that's a good point when we change negative thoughts to positive ones we start to see ourselves differently that's right when we are kind to ourselves our brain creates less stress and more Happy Feelings oh have you heard of toxic positivity some people say that if we are always positive we will fall into a trap of our own making what do you think Gwen actually this
opinion is completely true but it is only true when we cannot control that positivity some people even in extremely bad situations and need to solve problems they still avoid and think that everything will be fine that is toxic positivity but here we are positive to have the spirit to face the challenges ahead this is healthy positivity it's eye opening I hope everyone remembers this and balances their positivity H what's next let's talk about how positive thinking can help with setting goals oh right I'll share how it can help us reach our dreams one helpful tool
for positive thinking is visualization this means closing your eyes and imagining yourself reaching your goals for example if you're learning English you can picture yourself speaking confidently in front of people wow that sounds like something athletes do before a big game exactly and a research from Psychology today supports this it found that imagining yourself doing something not only makes you more motivated but also makes your brain act like you're really doing it so when you imagine success your brain starts to believe it can happen ah I see it's becoming more and more popular these days
especially among young people we call it manifest right yes people today often forget how important it is to have a positive environment being around happy and encouraging people can really help you stay positive that's so true when others believe in you and cheer you on it's easier to feel good about yourself and it goes both ways you can share positivity too say something kind cheer up a friend or just smile it can make someone's day better trust me no one hates hearing positive things I agree being around supportive people helps both your mind and body
feel better last but not least Gwen how can we stay positive when things go wrong the key is to see bad things as chances to learn like we have shared instead of thinking I failed try thinking what can I learn from this this helps you look at problems in a different way it sounds easy but it has to be practiced that's what makes it effective and that's why we repeat this method so often in this podcast that's such a helpful way to think it reminds me of something Thomas Edison once said I didn't fail 10,000
times I found 10,000 ways that didn't work he didn't give up he learned from each mistake exactly life is full of challenges but every challenge teaches us something when you face a problem take a moment to look back and remember be patient with yourself it takes time to grow and improve every small step you take is progress even if it doesn't feel like it at first keep going and you'll see positive change over time all right we will learn the last five words for today make sure to practice speaking all of them be kind to
someone definition to treat someone nicely with care and respect example she was kind to her friend by helping him with his homework remind someone of something definition to help someone remember something they may have forgotten face a problem definition deal with a problem not avoid it example when You Face a problem try to find a solution instead of running away from it take time to definition spend time doing something slowly and carefully make someone's day definition to make someone feel happy or special example her compliment made my day lastly let's answer the questions below just
share your thoughts with us in the comment section what should you do when you catch yourself thinking negatively you can stop that thinking right away and ask yourself if the thought is really true how can visualization help with achieving goals visualization helps by imagining yourself reaching your goals which helps you to take action easier so that's it the power of positive thinking we talked about how it helps with health setting goals and facing challenges we hope you feel inspired to start thinking more positively today it's not about being perfect it's about making small steps to
see the good things in life and don't forget if you liked this episode share it with a friend who could use some positivity thanks for listening everyone stay positive and we'll see you next time [Music]