The title of this blog probably says enough – positive thought is a powerful thing! The problem is, sometimes it doesn’t necessarily come easy for everyone. It’s one of those, “easier said than done” concepts. However, if practiced enough and if cognizant about your thinking patterns, positive thought is something that can eventually be achieved on a regular basis. If done right, eventually it won’t even take any kind of mental effort and the benefits can be huge!
So what is positive thought? Well, it’s simply the ability to take a situation (or negative situation) and turn it around into something good. For instance, if you’re starting your day and you spill coffee on yourself. We’ve all been there, right? There’s usually two ways people think about this situation. They either think to themselves, “Ugh, this day is already off to a bad start! It’s probably going to get worse from here!” or “Well, it’s just spilled coffee. I’ll change my shirt and brew some more. Nothing is lost.” Guaranteed, that the person who had the second thought is more likely to continue on with their day in a successful manner. The first, however, may find themselves in a spiral of negative events. The negative thought maker will then confirm that when bad things happen at the start of their day, it will continue to get worse. In reality, it’s the person who had a negative thought that created the continuation of negative events. Why? Because of the way they viewed their day. Unless you view bad things happening as ways to learn, grow, or change something, then you will continue to be stuck in a negative pattern of thinking. Not to mention, yes, bad things will continue to happen to you. It’s about how you CONTROL your thoughts that depicts how a situation can be handled and what can come of it.
So how can we train ourselves to think more positively and view situations in a brighter light? Easy. It just takes lots of practice and patience. The next time you’re in a situation where something doesn’t quite go the way you anticipated or hoped, take a moment to step back and evaluate how you want to respond. Think about how you can view the situation as a learning opportunity and perhaps a way to do things differently the next time. Even if this seems like a struggle, keep at it. Overtime, you will have developed a healthy new habit and positive thought will come naturally. It will change your life in more ways than you ever thought possible and you’ll lead a happier more successful life!