Our minds are always full of thoughts, even if we are not aware of them, and they influence every decision and action we take. Let me reiterate, It is very true that your thoughts have an impact upon your actions. Your actions, in turn, translate to your success or failure – in your career, relationships and life.
Did you ever meet a 5-year-old who doesn’t like a picture he or she drew? I haven’t. Instead, I see the children’s eyes filled with happiness, excitement and pride. But as the years pass, we fill our minds with doubts, fears and self-belittling thoughts.
Imagine then how much we restrict ourselves in every aspect of our life if we give too much power to negative thoughts!
We will never seek the work we have always wanted because our negative thoughts make us question our abilities.
We will never ask the person we love to go out because we still think we’re not good enough.
We’ll never risk quitting our job in order to pursue the life and the work of our dreams because we can’t get over our mental barrier that insists we’re too weak, too unimportant and too dumb.
We will never lose the pounds that threaten our health because we believe that we cannot push our boundaries.
And we will never be able to see our full inner potential because we just don’t dare challenge the voices in our head…
There are basically two modes of thinking, negative and positive. While someone is engaged in negative thinking, they will find whatever is wrong or could go wrong in a situation and cannot bear to see good in anything. They emphasize everything that is wrong instead of being grateful for the things that are. They want to complain about how terrible this is. Consequently, they may find themselves downgrading their aspirations to fit their reality.
You probably know someone like this, or you might even think, “yes, it’s me.” Let me confess, at times, I was there too.
I am personally someone who is a massive believer in the power of a positive mindset and have seen miraculous changes in people’s lives when they switch their mindsets and thoughts to be more positive.
Let us examine the attributes of optimism.
Traits Of Optimistic Thinking
Attitude
Positive or optimistic thinking is an emotional and mental attitude that emphasizes good and expects results that are beneficial to you. It’s about anticipating happiness, health and success instead of expecting the worst. Leveraging the law of attraction, this mindset creates a positive feedback loop that brings even more good into your life.
Your thoughts also contribute to your values and beliefs, which affect the quality of your personal relationships and how you view the world as a whole.
It is essential not to get carried away with positive thinking. You can sit in the garden of your mind telling yourself there are no weeds, but to build a truly fulfilling life, you need to stop covering up the weeds with positive thinking – and clear them instead.
You need to go to the root of what’s holding you back and cultivate an overall positive mindset that doesn’t ignore negative emotions, but knows how to control them.
Empowering
Rather than diminish your aspirations and feel negative every day, imagine if you could improve your self-confidence and improve your positive thoughts to reach your vision and goals instead? The truth is, you can. This is a choice that you can make and the result will be a direct reflection.
So what is positive thinking not? This is not a remedy that automatically makes you happier and more fulfilled. This is not a solution to deeply held restrictive beliefs like fear of failure and fear of success. And it doesn’t mean sitting around all day telling yourself you’re happy. To fulfill your dreams, you need more than just a positive attitude. You’ll have to take action.
Inner Locus
Do you blame others when things go wrong? Or do you look to yourself for the solution? When you take responsibility for the way you think, act and feel, you have an internal locus of control – and this is a key characteristic of successful individuals. This type of thinking gives you a strong belief in yourself and a positive state of mind that allows you to get up and start again after a failure. From there, everything else in your life can fall into place.
Just remember, the one thing in life you can control is yourself. You can’t control every event, but you can control how you deal with it. Once you empower yourself to change what’s in your control – only then are you ready to tap the power of positive thinking.
Contagious
Positive thinking may be contagious to our friends and those we love. What you’ll find is people who, by having a positive attitude themselves, end up being more successful because they cause others around them to be more supportive and feed off of their determination and optimism.
One positive person begets another, and another, until the entire group is ignited with energy and optimism. Connect a group of these people to a small environment where they spend time together and optimism and success skyrocket!
If a resigned person came in touch with such group of people, leaves happy, with less stress, and thankful for the time with such people who added some light to their day. They will take that positivity home and it spreads to their families and friends, and everyone benefits from a few people just having a positive attitude and treating each other well.
Transformational
Yes, positive thinking has the potential to change your life. Research has revealed that positive thinking helps you live longer, reduces loneliness and more. But the most outstanding effect of positive thinking has to do with the law of attraction. It’s the idea that what you concentrate on, you attract. As Tony says, “Whatever you hold in your mind on a consistent basis is exactly what you will experience in your life.” When you focus on the negative, you’ll experience more negative. But when you turn your attention to the positive, the whole world opens up to you.
When you think about something that makes you happy, your brain actually releases Endorphins- the happiness hormone which gives you a generalized feeling of well-being and as a result, you develop a positive attitude.
Simply believing that the best will happen and considering each situation as a learning opportunity, it is easy to overcome obstacles slowly and consistently. Positivity breeds positivity. So the positive ones are also encouraging, and in turn, others are encouraging and supporting them
Study On The Effects Of Optimistic Thinking
Positive thinking has been studied extensively. Take a look at this excerpt from a paper summarising the findings of a Harvard study on the effects of positive thinking on health:
The study analysed data from 2004 to 2012 on 70,000 women in the Nursing Health Study, a long-term study that tracks women’s health using surveys every two years. Participants’ level of optimism and other factors were examined. The purpose of the study was to understand how optimism can affect mortality risk, such as race, high blood pressure, nutrition and physical activity.
The most optimistic women (the top quartile) had a nearly 30 percent lower risk of dying from any of the diseases analyzed in the study compared with the least optimistic (the bottom quartile).
Women with the most optimism were :
*16% less likely to die from cancer.
*38% less likely to die from cardiac illness.
*39% less risk of death from a stroke.
*38% less likely to die from lung disease.
*52% less risk of death from infection.
This ensures that optimism and a positive attitude help you to be more successful. It also has the potential to help you live longer. Very likely to have a great impact on the lives of other people
Simple Strategies For Tapping Into Power Of Positivity
Negative thinking is a habit, as does positive thinking. Are you tired of the negative patterns running in your life, then It’s time to stop these limiting Beliefs and come to a place of sanity, love and excitement about life, work and ourselves.
So, how can we tap into the power of positivity? How do you stay positive? Keeping your positive mind is a series of steps you take everyday. This is not always easy, but the experience of the power of positive thinking in your life is worth the effort.
Take a look at the 11 simple habits to harness positivity.
1. Substitution For Negative Thoughts
Turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts.
Whenever you consciously recognize negative thinking, try to replace it with more positive thinking. It’s like someone is writing a sentence that you don’t like on a board and you get up, erase it and write something that you really like.
2. Morning Routines
An important habit is to begin your day with priming, meditation or affirmations. Your morning routine sets the tone for your day and puts you in the right frame of mind to carry out all your tasks positively.
3. Affirmations
Instead of getting angry and blaming another person for what happened. Commit yourselves today to learning how to develop positive thinking and positive attitude toward yourself, the people around you and your life. The best way to train your mind to think positive is when a negative event happens, remember that it is your response that actually determines the result. Always keep an eye out for a positive response or an optimistic lesson when such events occur. Attempt to substitute your negative thoughts with positive affirmations.
4. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness refers to awareness and being present. The more conscious you become, the more responsive you can be.
5. Quotes
You may also gain positivity by having positive people around you and reading positive/motivating quotations or books! All your dreams can be fulfilled if you have the courage to pursue them.
When you feel yourself falling into negative habits and can’t quite seem to figure out how to think positive, pull up a quotation from someone you respect. Read it and determine how best to put it into practice. You can even write it down and post it somewhere where you will often see it, such as the fridge or the side of your computer screen.
6. Positive Imagery
Be mindful of the mental pictures you are focusing on.
If you are a worst-case individual, take the time to ask yourself if the things you are worried about are 1) true? and 2) likely to happen?
There’s a good chance they’re not, and the worst-case scenario is often not as bad as you think.
Change the mental pictures that you let in your mind.
How you look at yourself and your environment make an enormous difference to your thinking.
Instead of dwelling on dark and negative thoughts, consciously build and focus on positive, bright and colorful images, thoughts and situations in your mind a few times a day.
If you are persevering and continue to work on yourself, your mind will automatically dismiss its negative thoughts and accept those that are positive.
7. Look Out For Positive In Any Situation
Always select what is positive in a situation. It’s usually a challenge, but the good news is that once you do something a number of times, it becomes a habit and will feel more natural. Let’s say you find yourself out of work. Rather than thinking “why is this happening to me?” ask yourself, “what is this teaching me?” See that it brings opportunity into your life to explore and try something you really enjoy.
Look at the positive side of every situation, even when you are surrounded by sheer negativity.
It is a little more difficult to implement, but that is not to say that it is impossible.
You can find positivity in everything by mentally clinging to something positive, whether it is family, friends, your faith, nature, the glistening eyes of someone or any other glimmer of beauty.
If you seek it, you will find it.
8. Attitude Of Gratitude
Gratitude is about being thankful for everything in one’s life. If you are searching for something good or beneficial in a person or situation, you will still find it.
At least once a day, take a moment and think of 5 things to be thankful for. It might be anything, big or small.
This will lighten your mood and give you some insight into what is really important in life and how many blessings are already around you.
9. Practice Meditation
Meditation helps relieve stress and calm your nerves. It helps you take a pause and return to positivity.
10. Substitute Negative Habits for positive ones.
The first step to educating your mind on positive thinking is to identify your bad habits and negative thinking patterns. Once you have recognized this, you can substitute them with positive habits and words that are not as emotionally charged. If you find yourself in a spiral in a scheme of thought of worry and anxiety, ask yourself: What does this emotion really tell me? What am I actually scared of? Then come up with an action plan to address this fear.
11. Change Your Vocabulary
Changing your vocabulary is an essential habit for positive thinking. The words you choose – whether in conversation or in your mind – have a profound impact on your state of mind. Research has shown that positive self-talk enhances psychological states, helps people regulate their emotions and more. Your conversation influences the way others respond to you, creating a loop of positive and negative feedback.
Before you can pick different words, you should recognize the words you are already using. Take note of how you are labeling and describing things during the conversation, especially your own emotions. Are you really “terrified” at this huge job presentation or just a little nervous? Are you really “angry” with your partner or a bit annoyed by one of their bad habits? As you change your vocabulary and use less emotionally charged words, your state of mind becomes more responsive to positive thoughts.
Many people find it useful to write negative words, they happen to be using all day. For each negative word, write a positive alternative by its side. Keep the alternatives in the back of your mind so you can use them next time. Find this aspect of positive thinking overwhelming? Begin with a single area of your life that provokes negative thoughts, such as work or relationship status. Catch yourself in those moments, and build from there
Summary
Jim Rohn, a great coach once said, “Every day, stand guard at the door of your mind, and you alone decide what thoughts and beliefs you let into your life.” Will you give in to the temptation to think negatively and stagnate – and then blame others when you don’t reach your goals? Or will you guard your mind and permit only a positive thought that propels you to the life you dream of? The choice is yours.
I challenge you to be positive and optimistic all day long – check it out. I bet you’ll be happily surprised!
Happy Parenting
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