“Positive thinking is more than just a tagline. It changed the way we behave. And I firmly believe that when I am positive, it not only makes me better, but it also makes those around me better.”
— Harvey Mackay
Is your glass halfempty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you’re optimistic or pessimistic — and it may even affect your health.
Studies show that personality traits such as optimism and pessimism can affect many areas of your health and well-being.
Positive thinking doesn’t mean that you ignore life’s less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.
Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason.
Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information or expectations due to preconceived ideas of what
may happen. Here is an example of how to put positive thinking into practice
Positive thinking
• It’s an opportunity to learn something new.
• I’ll tackle it from a different angle.
• Necessity is the mother of invention.
• I couldn’t fit it into my schedule, but I can re-examine some priorities.
• I can try to make it work.
• Let’s take a chance.
• I’ll see if I can open the channels of communication.
• I’ll give it another try.
Negative self-talk
• I’ve never done it before.
• It’s too complicated.
• I don’t have the resources.
• I’m too lazy to get this done.
• There’s no way it will work.
• It’s too radical a change.
• No one bothers to communicate with me.
• I’m not going to get any better at this If you tend to have a negative outlook, don’t expect to become an optimist overnight. But with practice, eventually your self-talk will contain less selfcriticism and more selfacceptance. You may also become less critical of the world around you.
When your state of mind is generally optimistic, you’re better able to handle everyday stress in a more constructive way.
Always remember there is goodness everywhere and kindness matters.
Source: Mayo Clinic
