Chapter 1: How Positive Thinking Works
When you think about the things that your heart desires and the ways you can get them, there is a stream of joy that comes from deep within you that makes you take great control of your life. It is like when you think of something or someone that makes you happy, your brain releases endorphins, that gives you that feeling of joy and happiness. It is these things that help us develop a positive attitude.
According to so many psychological studies, happy people have been shown to have a special quality that allows them to live a better-quality life compared to those who are not. What do you think is the reason for this? Well, the answer is simple. Optimism.
The good news about optimism is that you can learn it. In other words, you can train yourself to have positive thinking by simply adopting a mindset full of optimism. According to the law of cause and effect, if you emulate what successful and happy people do, you will start feeling the same and get the outcome they have, hence end up enjoying same experiences as they do.
How Do Happy People Find Good In The World?
One thing that you must realize is that optimistic people tend to handle things differently from average people and those who are pessimistic. The first thing is that they focus their minds on the things they want and then work hard to find ways to get those things. In other words, you need to ensure that your goals are clear and have the confidence that no matter how long it will take, you will work hard to accomplish them.
Secondly, optimistic people see the good in every situation, however difficult it may seem. It is important to bear in mind that things will go wrong at some point in your life and trust me, that is a good thing! In every difficult situation, there is a dark side and a bright side, and you are the one that will determine what direction you would like to follow. The most important thing is for you to see the positive.
Instead of always looking for an excuse not to like something, choose to see the good in everything. Even in that job that you may seem not to like so much, there is something good in it, and if you look carefully, you will find it. The thing is, while you look, you will become more positive and happier.
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Positive thinking only works when you train your mind to be positive and to have an attitude that you can achieve whatever you want in life. The truth is, the mind has been created to have adequate bandwidth to pay attention to one thing at a time. Your job is to keep your mind focused on thoughts that lift you long enough to create neural pathways that help in establishing a new habit.
When you start facing a negative situation or event along the way, just remember that what matters most is how you respond to the situation. In other words, it is your response that will influence the outcome. It means that you must find a positive response even when things are not looking up. You can come up with positive affirmations or phrases you can repeat in your mind over and over so that you can overcome negative thoughts. It is this kind of words that will encourage you to have a positive attitude.
Decide To Be Happy
Being happy and living a positive life is a decision that you make. You can choose to see things as glass half empty or half full. Yes, things may not always fall in place. Bad situations will happen to you at some point in life, but that does not mean that you will never have it all.
No one can say their life has always been a straight line. You will have some mountains, hills, and valleys along the journey of life. The trick is for you to enjoy every season and choose to count your blessings one by one instead of complaining about what did not go your way.
The people around you will, at some point, disappoint you, but that does not mean that they are bad people or that they hate you. When you look at everyone, choose to see the best intentions on their part. Trust me, most people are striving hard to do the best the way they could. Instead of focusing on that small thing they said that you did not like, why not look at the many good actions and words they have done to you before.
Finally, no matter what happens, decide to remain cheerful. In every situation, there is a hidden blessing underneath it. Your job is to find it!
Positive Attitude In Action
If there is anything life has taught each one of us is that when things are going well, it is easy to be happy. However, when we face unexpected setbacks our faith is put to the test. It is during difficulties that we demonstrate to ourselves and the world around us what our true attitude is. Ensure that what you portray is a positive one.
Choosing to have a positive attitude will help you in more ways than you can imagine. When you think positively, your mind, whether conscious or subconscious, will not be able to entertain any negative thoughts or doubts. Once you learn how to think positively, there are so many amazing changes that will happen in your life.
Your brain will begin to operate a state of the abundant flow of feel-good hormones. It will make you feel like a heavy burden has been lifted off your shoulders and suddenly you are light again. Additionally, you will notice a major boost in confidence, and you will take on tough assignments that are outside your zone of comfort.
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When you reduce your self-limiting thoughts, you release the brakes you have applied in your life and suddenly experience new levels of growth you have never imagined possible. In other words, when you harness the power of positive thinking, you change your whole life.
Let us consider a real-life example of the power of positive thinking.
A child runs outside to play with friends. It is through their running that they develop athletic skills. Interacting with friends through play helps the child develop a team spirit and effective communication skills. Their ability to explore the world around them goes a long way in building their creative skills. It is the simple act of playing with others that helps build the child into a holistic individual equipped with skills that are valuable in their day to day life.
The truth is, it is these skills that last much longer than the emotion that stirred it up in the first place. Years down the line, it may be this athletic skill that will land them a scholarship as a college athlete, or their team spirit and communication skills that will help them do well in their role as a senior managing partner.
According to Fredrickson, this is referred to as the “broaden and build theory”. This is because, when you have a positive emotion just like a child, your sense of possibilities will broaden, and you’ll have a more opened mind. This, in turn, goes a long way in helping you build new skill sets that will prove to be valuable later in life.
Our Minds Create Our World
Look around you. What can you see?
The truth is everything that you see around you, whether a chair or a human being, has been created and first perceived by the mind of an individual. In other words, whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can simply come into being.
Well, some people may think that this is a poor positive thinking strategy that you have heard of over and over again. Up to this time, we had not been able to scientifically prove the power of positive thinking. However, today we can do that with the help of quantum physics.
What quantum physics has unraveled to us about the human mind, perception, and beliefs about reality is that you can use your mind to alter reality to perfectly fit your viewpoint.
For instance, so many scientists have demonstrated that the universe is made from particles while another group argued that it is made from waves. After many years of arguments, they all decided to take a step back so that they can have a different perspective. It is then that they discovered that the universe was created from waves or particles based on the scientists’ expectations. If they expected that the world was formed from waves, that is exactly what they would see. And if they thought it was formed from waves, that is exactly what it appeared to be.
In the same manner, you continue to believe that reality is as it is because you think that certain things are beyond your control. However, the truth is, the reality is as it is because you expect it to be that way. Funny huh?
Well, this same concept explains the reason why so many successful people place so much importance on the power of their minds and thoughts. In other words, they create their realities by what they believe and then go ahead to put their efforts on cultivating their mindset. This is what eventually leads them to phenomenal success and joy.
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Then you wonder why the average person blames other people for their circumstances and failures. The secret is to look deep inside for the source of both failure and success.
The important question here is, “if your success in life is based on your mindset, what are you going to do about it?”
