Positive thinking, combined with thankfulness, provides you not just success but also inner peace, improved relationships, better health, pleasure, and joy in your everyday life. It also allows you to see life in a whole new light… your everyday concerns will flow more easily, and life will seem brighter and hopeful.
Positive thought, like a smile or laughter, is infectious! Consider this: have you ever been around someone who can’t stop laughing at a joke or anything hilarious that happened? Then, when they can finally control their laughter, they recall the joke or humorous situation and start laughing again… it makes you laugh right along with them – you can’t help but laugh with them!
People around you will pick up on your upbeat demeanor and react appropriately. Consider joyful things – remember, there is a good for every bad. Think of anything good about every negative idea that enters your head. For example, if you’re at work and thinking about how much you despise your job, consider how many thousands of individuals have lost their jobs in the last few years and haven’t been able to find another one! Now you’re glad (here is where appreciation joins forces with positive thinking) that you have a job, even if you despise it. I was cleaning up my home one day, getting rid of stuff to reduce clutter, and I thought, “This place is simply too tiny” (negative thought). Then I started thinking about all the homeless people and people who have had their homes repossessed or who have been evicted from their apartments (due to losing their jobs) over the last few years – NOW, my thoughts turn to “We are so lucky, and I am so thankful that my husband and I are both working so we can make our payments and have a roof over our heads and a place to sleep” (positive thought and gratitude).
To make positive thinking work, you must have a good attitude toward life, anticipate a favorable conclusion from anything you do, and take the necessary steps to secure your success. For example, you can’t expect someone to purchase your property if you don’t publicize it or employ a real estate agent since no one will KNOW it’s for sale. You know you can anticipate selling your house if you engage a real estate agent to publicize it and invite people to visit it.
Positive thinking that produces outcomes requires much more than merely speaking or thinking a few encouraging words, remarks, or ideas. It must be your primary mental attitude. Thinking optimistically for a few seconds before allowing negative ideas to enter your mind is not sufficient. Some effort and labor are required. It takes practice at first… after all, you’re accustomed to thinking negative ideas, aren’t you? Habits are difficult to overcome, but if you are diligent and try to remember to think of good ideas when a negative one enters your head, your positive attitude will become your new habit rather quickly. It CAN BE DONE – my spouse was and still is the most negative person on the planet – with everything. He had a negative reaction to anything I said. So, what do you believe occurred after several years of marriage? I noticed myself and my children getting negative – and I didn’t like the sensation or the effects! So… I invented something new! When someone stated anything negative, such as “I’ll never get this done” or “it can’t be done,” I would say, “positive follows positive; negative follows negative.”
Furthermore, if someone says anything terrible, I answer with something nice! I also point out that they are being negative… of course, my husband would reply, “that’s reality”… true… it may be true, but if you THINK and BELIEVE negatively, it will turn out negatively; if you THINK and BELIEVE positively, it will come out positively. My spouse still has negative ideas, but he is MUCH more optimistic than he used to be! Now, whenever I respond positively, he truly agrees.
Here are some pointers to help you cultivate the power of optimistic thinking:
When thinking and discussing, always use positive language. Use phrases like “I can,” “I am capable,” “it is doable,” “it can be done,” and so on. “You can achieve everything you put your heart and mind to,” I told my children, and “anything is possible.”
Allow only sensations of pleasure, power, and achievement to entering your consciousness.
Negative ideas should be rejected and ignored. Refrain from thinking of such ideas and replace them with productive pleasant ones.
Before beginning any strategy or activity, imagine its successful completion in your thoughts. Visualize the conclusion with attention and trust – BELIEVE it will be successful. Remember, good comes after positive, and negative comes after negative.
Read at least one page of an inspirational book or magazine every day. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking is one of my favorite books.
Watch movies that make you laugh or feel cheerful – I always watch comedies; I never watch war or conflict movies.
Reduce your time spent listening to the news and reading newspapers – I never watch/listen to the news or read a newspaper. Talk about gloomy! Yes, this is “reality,” but I have the option of reading or listening to the news that interests me.
Associate yourself with optimistic thinkers. Once again, a good mentality spreads.
On a more “realistic” note, it might be difficult to think positively if you have a lot of stress in your life. Unfortunately, this is a part of life that we all experience at some point… therefore… go for a brisk walk, swim, ride a bike, work out at the gym, or indulge in any other physical exercise. This not only helps to establish a more cheerful mindset, but it also helps to burn off tension!
Even if your circumstances are not ideal, think positively and anticipate only good outcomes and experiences. Your mental attitude will eventually affect your life and circumstances, causing them to alter. You will develop new ways of thinking.
