“Keep your glass half full” or “see on the bright side,” you hear all the time, but how can you make your thoughts? What does it mean to think positively? How does a positive thinker behave and live? There are no rules for optimistic thinking. No panel or committee determines who is an optimist and who is a pessimist. It all comes down to your interpretation of why things happen and maintaining your perspective.
Everything you do in life exposes you to two types of feelings: pain and pleasure. When deciding how much mental and emotional anguish or pleasure you feel from a life event, your thinking is the judge, juror, and executioner. Your attitude to the event decides how profoundly the circumstance affects you cognitively and emotionally, not the experience itself.
When a positive thinker has a terrible event in life, he can maintain perspective and not dwell on the aspects of the circumstance that bring pain. He focuses on what he can do to improve the problem and is logical in analyzing what occurred. If he discovers that he is to a fault, he makes the necessary modifications to alleviate the anguish; yet, he will not place unreasonable blame on himself. Regardless of the intricacies of life, the positive thinker does not concentrate on thoughts of misery and instead focuses on situations that offer feelings of joy. He also concentrates on what he has that others do not, rather than what he lacks that others have.
When a pleasant event occurs in life, a positive thinker does not hesitate to credit himself for the favorable outcomes. He expects positive things to happen but recognizes that certain things are beyond his control. He believes in preparing for success rather than relying on chance. The optimistic thinker also finds encouragement from people who share his outlook. He helps himself by surrounding himself with people who share his ideals and put him in favorable circumstances.
Here’s an example of a situation in which having optimistic thinking made all the difference.
#1 Life Experience
Debbie Downer is a manager at ABC Insurance and resides in the city of Anytown. It starts to rain as she leaves work. Debbie Downer grabs her umbrella and sets out on her one-mile trek back to her apartment.
An unexpected blast of wind snags her umbrella and sweeps it out of her fingers and over a building. She grows enraged and exclaims, “Why me? Things like this only happen to me because I have the worst luck in the world, “and continues her drenched trek home.
As she walks home, a truck goes by and sprays a puddle all over Debbie. She curses the driver and removes her shoe, attempting to hurl it at the vehicle. She misses the vehicle and loses her shoe in a sidewalk drain. She comes up the steps to her apartment wearing just one shoe, ranting about how stupid the people in this town are.
Debbie had planned to go out to dinner with a friend, but she canceled since she was having a rough day. Debbie feels like she had the worst day ever, and her walk home from work significantly influenced her.
#2 Life Experience
Positive Paula also lives in Anytown and works as a manager at ABC Insurance. It starts to rain as she leaves work. Paula is upbeat as she takes out her umbrella and starts the one-mile trek back to her flat.
An unexpected blast of wind snags her umbrella and sweeps it out of her fingers and over a building. She laughs and says, “Oh well, it’s only water,” before continuing her soaking soaked trip home. A truck goes by and spills a puddle all over Paula as she walks home. She is astonished, but it doesn’t bother her since she is already saturated and knows she will change into dry clothing when she gets home.
She climbs up the stairs to her apartment, changes her clothes, doesn’t think much about it, and goes out to dinner with her friend. Paula feels that she had a wonderful day overall, and her walk home from work had no effect on her.
What is the distinction?
Debbie and Paula had the same event, yet the outcomes differed drastically. The source of the biggest discrepancy here is a lack of concentration. What you choose to concentrate on influences how you perceive a life event. Debbie Downer lost perspective and made the illogical argument that everything in her life always goes wrong, and she also sought to blame the people in her city for destroying her day. Debbie was solely concerned with the unpleasantness, and negativity dominated her thinking.
Positive Paula put things in perspective by recognizing that a little rain won’t harm. She also convinced herself that she might have avoided being splashed by the vehicle if she had walked on the sidewalk a bit farther away from the roadway. This is irrelevant to Paula since she is looking forward to spending quality time with her buddy over dinner. Paula is focused on the good, and negativity swiftly leaves her thoughts.
Negative thinking may make a normal daily experience awful, resulting in a downward cycle. On the contrary, strengthening your self-esteem and thinking positively will enhance your overall quality of life. Focusing on what you can manage and maintaining perspective are the first steps in developing a good mentality. Life will be more fun and less stressful as a result.
Your mentality determines how you interpret a circumstance. Both a sad and a happy person have a heart and a brain. They both endure difficulties in life. They both feel rage, despair, and delight. To breathe, they both need oxygen. The sun still rises every morning for both. The only difference is their attitude.
You are the only one who can take action and alter your negative sentiments. Circumstances in your life may be worse, so start living since you have much more power than you may have assumed. You are probably already thinking about places in your life where you might be happier if you adopted a positive mentality. Take action right now!
