The Power of Positive Thinking: Six Decades of Understanding its Importance

By cultivating a positive mindset, I believe you can build stronger relationships, enhance decision-making, cultivate innovation, cope better with stress, solve problems and inspire others. Can all that positivity give you a bad rap, though? Sometimes it can. I’ve spent nearly six decades dealing with positive, negative and everything-in-between thinkers.

I have heard people call positive people the following things: fake, overbearing and overly confident. On the flip side, I’ve heard people call these same people warriors or survivors and describe them as being delightful, full of grit and inspiring. Might it be that the negative people are the ones describing optimists as the former?

I don’t believe there is anything wrong with being optimistic and enthusiastic as long as it is coming from a place of authenticity, determination and focus.?

Being positive, particularly in this world we’re living in, isn’t easy. We’ve all got so many responsibilities, and the pace of life can be excruciating. According to the National Science Foundation, 80% of our thoughts are negative and 95% of our thoughts are repetitive. Being an optimist isn’t easy if our minds are prone to defer to the negative.

How do you become more positive, then? I’ve found there are five things you can do.

• Learn from mistakes.

We all make them, but if you don’t acknowledge and own the setbacks you’ve had, you are more likely to feel guilt and shame. Not acknowledging that you are wrong can lead to psychological damage and ruined relationships. The best thing you can do is learn from an error so that you are less likely to make the same mistake again.

• Seek emotional maturity.

Emotional maturity involves taking an inventory of your feelings — why you’re having them and how to deal with them. This level of self-awareness and understanding can mean the difference between a panic attack and a sense of calm no matter the situation. A wise colleague once told me about his “24-hour cool down” rule. Wait that long before you respond to a frustrating experience, because after 24 hours you will have a newfound perspective.

• Prepare for the future.

Knowing what you want to get out of life, taking an inventory of what it will take to accomplish it, and devising a fluid plan of the steps needed to get there will help you to feel more in control of your life. Keeping a goals list with to-do items is a good habit to get into. Marking items off a to-do list always makes a person feel more productive and in control.

• Recognize warning signs.

You know yourself; give yourself permission to be in tune with your thoughts and feelings throughout the day. If you are feeling anxious and can quickly acknowledge the reason you are feeling that way, you will be able to deal with it better and in the moment. Having a negative reaction without an understanding of it can make a person feel like they are “losing their mind”. With practice, you can be in control. When in doubt, take a moment to anchor yourself.

• Be authentic.

The single best practice to achieve positive thinking is to be yourself. Not everyone is going to gravitate toward you and your personality. And that’s okay. If you’re not being your authentic self, you won’t feel grounded, and that will create stress and negative feelings.

Understanding of — and hope and faith in — yourself and others will prevail and prove that positive thinking is warranted. I believe that positive thinking is the best way to support yourself to success and to pursue your dreams.

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