The Power of Positive Thinking
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- 29 Oct 2021
Let’s start with a good old saying that has stood the test of time, “Health is wealth”. These days we loosely use this term, but let’s dive deep into what this could actually mean. It is observed that people who have a strong and positive mental framework seldom fall prey to the trap of illness, both mental and physical. People with a general positive attitude towards life are said to have more focused goals and eventually have lives that are easier and better to navigate as they work with a clear frame of mind.
Negative emotions such as anger, fear, jealousy, irritation to name a few, on the other hand, have the opposite effect. They can weaken goals and can cause unnecessary complexity to an otherwise peaceful life.
To have a stress-free life the best recommendation so far, is to take life one step, one breath and one day at a time. Life itself is not easy, challenges are inevitable in the sheer quest of survival, but the good news is, half the battle is learning how to deal with the curve balls thrown at you. If you take a step back and modify your mental capabilities to believe that the glass is always half full instead of half empty, guaranteed, you will find it easier to achieve your goals and to navigate through the hard times. It is also important to understand that most of the time our reaction to a situation is usually worse than the situation at hand itself. Recognizing this and correcting yourself with due patience and a holistic understanding of the situation and the variables that affect it, can help you deal with stress and achieve positive thinking and mental peace faster.
Understand the two outcomes of any given situation and the relationship ‘control’ has with it. If a situation is within your control, then you have the power to handle it, and you will do so easily being aware of this. And if it's beyond your control, then ask yourself, what do you gain by stressing in this situation? Wouldn't it be better to relax, go with the flow and see how things pan out? Take a breath when you find yourself thinking this is beyond your control. Accept the situation and ask yourself, what next?
The power of positive thinking has huge benefits to reap - self-motivation soars, you learn to be calm, to respond and not react to life. And eventually, fulfill what you were destined to do right from the beginning. A calm mind can move a mountain – said the belief in manifestation* (Manifestation refers to various pseudoscientific self-help strategies intended to bring about a personal goal, primarily by focusing one's thoughts upon the desired outcome). Indulge in the practice of positive thinking and manifestation and watch the modern era’s personality related issues of “depression” & “anxiety” take a back seat in life.
As another popular saying goes, you are the cause for yourself, you are what you think, so why not choose to think positively? Because choosing to think positively is in our control and proven worthy as compared to living in fear that the world is coming to an end every minute.
Being positive is also infectious, in a good way of course. You will notice how being greeted positively by a colleague after your mini weekend getaway can have a tremendous impact on further amplifying your own positive mood and can even set the tone for the rest of the day or even the week! Keep an eye out for this effect the next time you walk into the office on a Monday morning feeling extra chirpy.
While this is true for any given environment, being positive has a direct impact on your friend circle too. A positive person will attract more friends, if you are positive, friends would love to hold on to your friendship come what may. This is because they know a strong and positive friend will never let you down whatever the circumstances!
Negative thinking spreads doubt and contempt in the minds of the thinker and ends up creating doubt in others as well. Once a doubt is ignited, it spreads like wildfire. Negative thinking is thus very harmful, it is like a drop of poison that can kill a pot of milk. This dis-empowering perspective can ruin one’s present too which is the most precious moment in one’s life and of course it can ruin the future without a doubt. Negative thinkers spend sleepless nights worrying about what the future holds whereas the positive thinker will be snoring away to glory and be ready to take on whatever tomorrow brings.
Negative people also tend to live their life in fear compared to people with a positive attitude who face their fears like it’s a dare they can’t wait to take on. Positive thoughts are directly proportional to the progress of one’s life. And the best way to overcome fear in life is to go all in and “face the fear”.
Your thinking controls your mind, your mind becomes your action so, choose to remain positive and radiate positivity!
So far, we’ve read about all that comes with positive thinking. We learnt that thinking positively helps you stay calm, take life head on, and achieve better mental peace. But did you know, positive thinking also helps you to stay on top of your confidence? As you keep tackling each challenge with ease, naturally your self-confidence is bound to rise. People who think positively therefore do not believe in engaging in small talks with no value. They do not ponder over what the society or the neighbors think, they are selfish in a sense that they think about their well-being and put themselves first. Automatically, there is structure to their life. They are organized, meticulous and systematic in their ways. Such a person leaves no room to get triggered by other people’s actions or words.
Therefore, this positive attitude helps build better relationships with yourself as well as with others. Positive thinkers value others’ opinions while respecting their own opinions and they are adaptive to different living styles. At the same time, negativity empowers self-centeredness, egoistic values, doubt and blame games. To state simply, the difference is that positive thinkers find solutions in every situation whereas negative thinkers find problems in every solution.
ALL SAID AND DONE WHEN WE KNOW ‘IT'S EASIER SAID THAN DONE’!
So, how do you train or shift your mind from negative to positive thinking? If you are a perceptual negative thinker, this could seem almost impossible. But this million-dollar question comes with more than a million answers.
All you need to do is school your mind and take the plunge and push your mind out from the darkness of negativity. You must force and fill your mind with thoughts which gives you pleasure – time you spent with your mother, or listening to the same pleasant story over and over again, or watching the sun rise with your loved ones, or dancing under a majestic waterfall, or binging on pizza on a rainy day - could be anything that you associate with as a happy memory, thought or time in your life.
Visualize what you want to achieve, manifest what you want, put the thought inside your mind, start spinning your beliefs thread by thread and before you realize you would have reached the end of the thread and you would have achieved what you manifested. Understand which thoughts to believe and which ones to let go. Belief comes in different shapes, sizes, and actions, and not just in thoughts and feelings so treat them how you want them to treat you. Accept yourself for what you are rather than what society or that annoying aunt wants you to be! Either way, it is always good to be a good listener, sometimes you may hear what you did not want to hear but rather needed to hear.
Put yourself first, because if you don't, who else will? Not your next-door neighbor, or your aunt, and definitely not your classmate who may have first introduced you to the fear of missing out (in all probability to the most mundane materialistic things) in life. You’re wrong if you think others spend a minute thinking about you first, but that doesn’t mean you disregard or mistreat them. You respect them because respect is the truest form of virtue.
To summarize, positive thinking is an inward journey. It starts with being true to yourself and being honest with yourself, the rest is secondary. Learn and really love yourself before expecting others to love you the same way you do.
Modern culture’s “me time” is real and essential as you are your best company. You unearth the process of discovering yourself in your own company. Focus on what you have, the people you are surrounded with, count your blessings, discover your path, appreciate your growth, and look back in awe because at every stage of life ‘progress’ just like ‘challenges’ are also inevitable.
Living a more luxurious life doesn’t automatically translate to the best state of happiness. A premium luxury bed runs the risk of not delivering the standard for a peaceful night’s sleep. On the contrary, a peaceful mind can sleep soundfully on an old rug. Refrain from comparing yourself with others as you are not aware of the baggage they carry. Watch your thoughts, watch what you read and consume every day, surround yourself with positive, energized, and motivated people. Do not live in fear because there will always be certain things that are out of your control, learn to let them go and manifest what you need.
And if you made it till here and if you still need more convincing, let me in a very old school way share a list of things that positive thinking can help you with.
Positive Thinking
- Reinforces a healthy lifestyle
- Reduces anxiety
- Helps radiate and spread positivity
- Lowers your chances of feeling low
- Levels up confidence
- Zeroes self-pity
- Betters your emotional balance
- Helps foster a positive support circle
- Helps manage anger and frustration
- Helps find true inner peace
And to end, here is another famous phrase – ‘balance is key’. And this is true at almost every instance of life. Learn to balance criticism and praise, since after all, life is about ups and downs. And always remember that you cannot only have nights; a new dawn shall be waiting for you with a big broad beautiful smile somewhere! So, be yourself and smile!
Vinou Rajesh
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