What is positive thinking?
Positive thinking is described as having a mental state where you expect favorable outcomes regardless of the situation at hand. It is a process through which we create positive thoughts that in turn transform our desires into reality. When you are thinking positively, you hope and aspire for good things in your life; good health, happiness and prosperity in all situations.
If you wish to change everything negative you’ve learned in your life and start reaping the benefits of positive thinking starting today, this article will highlight to you the steps you can follow to get there. To change these negative patterns try the recommended practices and exercises. I have seen them work wonders for me and the people around me who practice positive thinking.
Does positive thinking work?
Research has revealed that having positive thoughts can, in fact, create real value in your life and will also help you to build important skills that last much longer than a smile.
One of the leading positive psychology researchers, Barbara L. Fredrickson while at the University of North Carolina published a comprehensive paper titled ‘The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions’. The research provides surprising insights about positive thinking and its impact on your skills. Barbara’s work and especially this research is one of the most cited and referenced in her field with surprising application to anyone in their everyday life.
What did Fredrickson discover and what does it mean for you…
Barbara L. Fredrickson Research on Positive thinking
For her research, she tested the impact of positive emotions on the brain by setting up a simple experiment. In this experiment, she divided the research subjects into 5 groups and showed each group different films that elicited different emotions in them.
Groups 1 and 2 watched clips that created positive emotions in them. For Group 1 the images created feelings of joy. Group 2 the emotion created was contentment.
Group 3 was the control group so they were shown images that were relatively neutral and did not produce significant emotion.
Groups 4 and 5 watched clips that created negative emotions in them. For Group 4 the images created feelings of fear and as for Group 5, the feeling generated was anger.
Each participant was later asked to imagine themselves experiencing a situation where similar feelings would occur. They were then asked to write down what they would do in this situation. They each had a piece of paper with 20 blank lines that started with the phrase, “I would like to…”
The research participants that saw images of anger and fear had the fewest responses. Those who saw images of contentment and joy had more responses when compared to those in the neutral group.
What this showed, is that when you experience positive emotions like contentment, love and joy, you will tend to see more possibilities in your life. These findings paved the way for research that proved that indeed positive thinking opens your mind up to more options and broadens your sense of possibility.
Why is positive thinking important and how can it change your life?
The benefits of positive thoughts do not end a few minutes after the positive feelings subside. On the contrary, the biggest benefits occur after. This is because positive thoughts provide an enhanced mental space in which we can build skills and develop valuable resources for use later in life.
Consider this scenario.
A small child who usually runs around outside during the day, playing with friends and swinging on branches, develops several areas of their lives by this simple joyous act. They develop their athletically ability (growth in their physical skills), their ability to examine and explore the world around them (growth in their creative skills) and their ability to communicate with a team and play with others (growth in their social skills). The positive emotions created during play and joy prompt the child to build other skills that are valuable in everyday life.
How can you train your mind for effective Positive Thinking?
Use positive words as you talk to others.
When you use positive words, they trigger positive emotions and you bring about positive circumstances. What we believe and say, is based on our perceptions; what we perceive depends on what we think.
Positive thinking can be a driving force for change, but that change is only achieved by conveying it through positive words. As you speak, try to focus on the good in your world instead of what is not working out. Focus on the light rather than the dark.
Change your perception of the things that appear to be negatives and turn them into positives, you not only change yourself but possibly change the people around you.
Take control of your Mind.
There are many ways to get things that we want for ourselves in our lives, but it all begins with how we choose to think. (not the word CHOOSE) because we always have a choice when it comes to what goes on in our minds. As you think, so shall you become. You are a product of your thoughts.
Whatever a man can perceive in his mind, he can achieve. If you see it in your mind, you can make it a reality. You can’t win in the war of life when you are losing the battle in your mind.
The moment you start developing the habit of positive thinking, you begin to attract a positive aura that enriches your life with happiness, joy, peace, happiness, abundance.
Choose to feed your mind with positive things such as reading inspiring books, listening to uplifting audios, practicing yoga and other forms of exercise. This will help you to clear the negative thoughts that plague your mind. Fear, uncertainty, and other challenges may leave you susceptible to negative thoughts, and if you don’t take control of your mind, you miss all the benefits that positive thinking brings to one’s life
Positive thinking is a result of gratitude
It’s important to always find something to appreciate in any situation. If you really want to have some more positive feelings in your life, you’ve got to keep focusing on what is right. Positive thinking is about finding something good to appreciate even in the tough times. It is about finding out what is working and gratefully trying to improve what is not working. If you first focus on the good that you have in life, you will always have more peace and contentment but if you are always focused on what you don’t have, you will never have enough.
Make each and every day a meaningful experience by always being grateful in whatever circumstance you encounter. The moment you master this art, you will live your life abundantly. You will always find a reason to live every day. You always be happy by embracing each and every moment of your life.
Decide to always appreciate and be grateful at anything in life, and you’ll watch your life change… Gratitude invokes the law of attraction. Remember, like attracts like. If you make an effort to be grateful, you will find that you will be blessed with more things to be grateful for.
A fantastic way to consciously practice gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal. Every day before you to go to sleep, be grateful for what you have achieved throughout the day. Within a short while, you will notice your lists become longer and your peace even greater.
Stop being judgmental.
So many people like seeing the speck in their brother’s eye, before removing the log in their own eye. What most people don’t realize is that what you focus on most in others, you attract the same energy for yourself. If you are angry at other people, you will start being angry at yourself. If you are kind to others, you will start being kind to yourself as well.
Positive thinking begins when you start good or positive things in others. You will think positively about your life if you constantly try to see the positive in others.
Surround yourself with other positive thinkers: Develop a mastermind.
A mastermind can be defined as coordination of effort and knowledge in a spirit of harmony between two or more people for the attainment of a definite purpose.
Positive thinking is one of the characteristics of an effective mastermind. Whoever surrounds himself with the advice and counsel of a group of people who are willing to encourage and motivate them wholeheartedly will most likely achieve their desired results.
Your thinking is greatly influenced by the people around you. People tend to imitate the habits of those with whom they associate. We become influenced by the people we meet, the things we do and the thoughts we have. This happens subconsciously in our mind and is expressed outwards through our words, our feelings, and our actions.
People are generally more willing to come to our aid when we are positive. The vibrations of our thinking whether positive or negative are passed from one mind to another just as quickly and surely as the sound of the human voice passes from broadcasting station to the receiving set of a radio.
Positive thinking will occur and continue to flourish in you only if you constantly surround yourself with positive people.
Kill the Negative self-talk.
The only way to be a positive thinker is to kill your negative self-talk. Refrain from words such as, “I can’t” and instead ask “How can I?”.
By recognizing that you have will power and exercising it consistently, you build a wall of immunity against the negative talks in your own mind. This wall helps to protect you against negative self-talk, both from yourself or from the people around you.
Deliberately purpose to kill the negative self-talk and begin to speak positive things upon yourself and your life. The most common mistake people make is leaving their minds open to the negative talks they generate themselves. Negative self-talk is so damaging because for most people it goes unrecognized until it becomes an uncontrollable part of their daily habits.
Like the wind which carries one ship east and another west, the subconscious mind will lift you up or pull you down; according to the way you set your sails of thought.
Repeat great affirmations daily: Speak positively to yourself
Most of us would never talk to a friend the way we talk to ourselves. What do you constantly tell yourself over and over? We often discourage ourselves before we even begin a task for fear of failure or what others might think of us. The key to changing all this is to be our own greatest cheerleaders.
Daily repeating of great affirmations will help you achieve what you want because it generates positive impulses that reach deep into the subconscious mind. It also shuts off the flow of negative impulses and aids in voluntarily influencing your subconscious mind to reach out for what you desire.
Some of the great affirmations you can say to yourself are;
- I feel good.
- I can.
- I am able.
- It is possible.
- It is within my reach.
- I appreciate the goods things in my life and thank the Universe for them.
- Everything will turn out well.
- I appreciate the goods things in my life and thank the Universe for them.
- I am the best.
- I am a happy person.
- I am a successful entrepreneur.
Smile Every day.
The most pleasing word 5- letter word is a smile. A good smile makes you look happy, healthy and younger. Positive thinking makes you to always smile and instill good vibes in your life but the inverse is true: A simple smile can create positive thoughts in you as well.
Peace begins with a smile. A smile also increases your life span and your value. Positive thinking helps you to smile even during miserable situations. Positive thinking makes you to always see the light even when there is dark.
Positive thinking for positive results.
If you wish to find the way back to positivity, strive to look out for all the beauty in this world. If reading this makes you feel thrilled, by all means, read and look for more. If it is watching a funny movie, spending time with friends, taking a walk, or your favorite hobby, go for it. This world is an amazing place to be. Live wholeheartedly every chance you get.
Each one of us carries a quiet genius and a triumphant hero within your hearts. Unfortunately, most people on the planet today don’t think this way about themselves. They evaluate their achievement by what they’ve collected instead of looking at the character they’ve cultivated. They compare themselves to the fake, highlight reels presented by the people they follow on social media. They get caught up in the false notion that because something has not been done before, then it can’t be done. This robs them of all the electrifying possibilities their lives are meant to become. This explains why the majority are sinking in the quicksand of uncertainty, boredom, distraction and complexity. Don’t let the world sink you into a person you are not.
Your opinion of yourself becomes your reality. Always strive to think positively and say positive things no matter the situation.
A POSITIVE THINKER SEES THE INVISIBLE, FEELS THE INTANGIBLE AND ACHIEVES WHAT WAS THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE.