Mindy’s Monday Motivation – Blog Post #35 – The power of positive thinking!

In 1937, Napoleon Hill introduced the concept of positive thinking in his book, “Think and Grow Rich.” Though he never used the term specifically, the idea is that positive thinking is a contributing factor of success, that having an optimistic disposition in every situation in one’s life attracts positive changes and increases achievements. In 1952, Norman Vincent Peale took the concept and applied it to practicing faith in his book: The Power Of Positive Thinking: A Practical Guide Of Mastering The Problems Of Everyday Living. The book gained popularity as a motivational, self-help book and became the number one best-selling book on the New York Times’ list for 186 weeks. There are some who criticized this as a scam by authors to make money out of simplistic writing and principles. Others suggest that it minimizes the importance of self-discipline, hard work, setting and implementing goals, establishing and observing priorities, and recognizing limitations and obstacles. One such critic, Steve Salerno, thinks that rather than having blind optimism and believing you can do anything in life just because you believe it, it’s more realistic and fruitful to expect failure but keep trying.

I am certain that there will be debates on the benefit or harm of positive thinking for future to come. I don’t know what the outcome of it will be, but I do believe in the power of positive thinking. Hear me out; when you think negatively, you reject everything and everyone around you. You might think that someone who is reaching out to establish communication has an agenda. You are then more guarded, which can result in less opportunities coming your way. When you are more positive, you can be more open to having a conversation and that difference in attitude can result in a different outcome, leading to more opportunities.

There have been many stories as well as research conducted that show the benefit of positive thinking. For example, a positive self-image has been shown in scientific studies to help people solve problem, make better decisions, take more risks, assert themselves and strive to meet their personal goals. Beside giving you confidence, according to WebMD, positive thinking can improve your physical health: giving you longer life span, lower your chance of getting a heart attack, greater resistance to illness, lower your blood pressure, help you manage your stress which in turn will reduce stress-related afflictions such as depression. The site goes on to talk about studies in which women who were optimistic were less likely to die of cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and infection.

Brian Tracy, a Canadian motivation speaker, described a UPenn study in which 350,000 individuals were interviewed at random times on what they were thinking about and ranked the top 10% successful people versus the rest. He said they found the top 10% was always thinking about what they want and how to achieve it versus the bottom 10% thinking about the things that they don’t want, what make them angry or sad, usually past events that can’t be changed and who to blame for all their problems. I can’t verify his findings, though I have tried, so take his words for a grain of salt. However, it’s not uncommon to hear about successful people talking about the positive thinking. If you believe you can achieve it, then you will find a way to make things happen. If you don’t believe it in the first place, would you put effort into something that you have no chance of achieving? Probably not, so the power of positive thinking, does and will, make a difference in the outcome of your situation. However, it’s more than just thinking positively. You also need to take steps to accomplish your goals.

Going back to what Brian Tracy said, the top 10% successful people don’t think about what they want but also how to achieve it. They think about the different steps that they must take to get there. So, what are the steps that you can take to help you achieve a more positive way of thinking? This is a compilation of the various advices that I have read. It is, by no means, a perfect list, so please do provide additional feedback and comment if you feel I missed anything. However, it’s a start to help you get started on your road of positive thinking.

1.??????Swap out negative thoughts with positive thoughts. - For example, you got rejected for a job that you thought would be the right fit for you. Don’t fret it! First, there are many reasons why you weren’t chosen and many of them had nothing to do with you. It could be timing, where another candidate was already further along in the interview process. It might be worst. However, that’s not something to delve on since there isn’t anything you can do to change it. Instead, think of it as opportunity gained because now you get a chance to get another awesome job. If you have already accepted the other one, you might miss out on this new opportunity. ?

2.?????Focus on the things that you can control - Sometimes little things happened like you missed your flight to an important client meeting. Nothing can be done about that. The plane has already left, so why delve on it? Rather, try to resolve the problem you have at hand – get another flight scheduled (airline people can be very accommodating), call your client to reschedule or call your colleague to cover for you. While trying to resolve the situation, you might end up figuring out creative ways to go about it. ?Maybe you would end up conferencing into the meeting from a coffee shop or rent a car to drive the distance instead. Most people will understand the stress of travel and you may end up having a story to chuckle over with your client or colleague about and a story to prove to your boss and your client your commitment and dedication.

3.??????Focus on the good things – it’s not to say that bad things won’t happen, but spending time lamenting on it won’t help you resolve the issue. Rather, turn it around and see it as an opportunity to be grateful for the good things that you have and cherish those moments, however small, that brings you a bit of joy. The world is all about contrast – good vs bad, happy vs sad, etc. If we don’t have the bad, how do we recognize and appreciate the good. So, now that you experience the bad, savor the good moments.

4.?????Transform negative talk to positive talk. –This isn’t to say that you should only hear the positive and never hear any negative. ?Quite the opposite, really. You take any negative comments and make that a step for improvement. If someone tells you are bad at something, then ask them how to improve. If they can’t substantiate what they are saying, then you can ignore those empty words. However, if they are able to give you some guidance on how to improve yourself, then you just turned this negative conversation to a positive step in your self-improvement plan. You also just turned this person who you might have thought was a negative influence on you to now someone who is an advocate for you. This leads to my last suggestion.

5.?????Find positive people to surround yourself with. – When I say positive people, I am talking about people who have the can-do attitude that will motivate you to also be positive and confident in yourself. You don’t need someone telling you that you can’t do this or that. You don’t know, but neither do they. So, unless you give something a try, how would you know? I am stealing a poem from another blog post about positive thinking written by Nick Fry. The poem, “Thinking,” is written by Walter D. Wintle, a late 19th century poet.

If you think you are beaten, you are

If you think you dare not, you don't,

If you like to win, but you think you can't

It is almost certain you won't.

?

If you think you'll lose, you're lost

For out of the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow's will

It's all in the state of mind.

?

If you think you are outclassed, you are

You've got to think high to rise,

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

?

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But soon or late the man who wins

Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!

Happy Monday, everyone! Keep happy thoughts and until next week! You accomplish what you put your mind to.?