Choose a Better Feeling Thought: Rewiring Your Brain for Positivity

Your mind is a powerful tool, capable of shaping your reality in profound ways. What you think, say, and imagine doesn’t just exist in your head—it leaves an imprint on your brain, creating the framework through which you experience life. The fascinating part? Your brain doesn’t naturally distinguish between what’s real and what’s imagined. It simply believes what you tell it, whether it’s “true” or not. This means that the stories you feed your mind, positive or negative, can become your truth.

Every thought you have reinforces a neural pathway in your brain, thanks to a process called neuroplasticity. If you frequently think, “I’m always failing,” your brain starts to strengthen that connection, making it easier for your mind to seek out evidence that supports that belief. Over time, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Conversely, if you repeatedly tell yourself, “I’m capable, strong, and resilient,” your brain will start to treat that as your baseline truth, building pathways that make positivity feel natural.

Take a moment to reflect: what do you tell yourself most often? Are your inner dialogues building you up or tearing you down? The beauty of this process is that you have the power to choose which thoughts to nurture.

The brain’s Reticular Activating System (RAS)—essentially a filter for what gets your attention—plays a crucial role here. Whatever you focus on, your RAS assumes is important and brings it to the forefront of your awareness. If you’re constantly telling yourself that you’re unlucky or unworthy, your RAS will magnify situations that reinforce those beliefs. On the other hand, if you tell yourself, “My life keeps getting better and better,” your RAS begins to highlight opportunities, synchronicities, and positive moments. In essence, your focus becomes your reality.

This isn’t just theoretical—it’s been proven. Visualization, for example, works because your brain treats imagined success as if it were real. Studies have shown that professional athletes who visualize their ideal performance engage the same neural pathways as they would during the actual competition. It’s mental training that primes them for physical excellence. Similarly, when you visualize yourself navigating life with confidence and grace, you’re preparing your brain to act as though it’s already true.

So how do you put this into practice? Start by incorporating affirmations—positive statements that reflect the reality you want to create. When repeated regularly, affirmations like “Things are always working out for my highest good” can rewire your brain to believe that even when life is moving up and down, that its leading you to exactly where you want to be. Pair these affirmations with visualization exercises. Imagine your ideal outcomes in vivid detail—what it looks like, how it feels, and the emotions tied to it. This mental rehearsal helps train your brain to focus on the positive, making it easier to bring that vision into reality. Let yourself feel the positive emotions, then crank up the volume and make it feel brighter, sparklier, and more vivid. Work yourself up into a sparkly, technicolor lather of how good it will be.

Throw in some gratitude. Start listing off everything you are grateful for, all the things going well in your life, seek out the good in every situation, there's always a silver lining, there's always a way to spin things that feels good. Don't give in to the negative thoughts. Don't dimish your happiness by focusing on the bad or what could go wrong, or the downside. Don't dampen your spirits by being "realistic" or "practical" live in the optimistic outlook and shift the narrative running in your subconscious mind. The more you practice this, the more you pave the pathway, the more reflexive it becomes.

I did this, and now I am the master of always looking on the bright side, always seeing the best possible outcome, focusing on the positive and ignoring the chances that things may not work out for me. This outlook has lead me to the more insane and uncanny experiences. Even when things are going wrong or a problem arises, facing it with positivity and we-can-handle-this attitude makes overcoming obstances part of the fun of life. Challenges keep life interesting and help you to become a more creative and well-rounded person. There is nothing you can't handle. You were born to face life and look good doing it.

Your brain is like a garden. The thoughts you plant and nurture will grow, whether they’re empowering flowers or limiting weeds. By intentionally choosing positivity—thoughts that feel good, uplifting, and expansive—you can rewire your brain to align with the life you truly desire. This isn’t about ignoring life’s challenges or pretending everything is perfect; it’s about learning to focus on the possibilities, expanding your capacity for joy, and creating a mental environment where you can truly thrive.