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Posts Tagged ‘Positive Thinking’

In recent years, medical doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists have developed tests which have demonstrated that positive thinking can be a powerful influence by promoting health and well being in those who practice it. This backs up the early affirmations of people such as Dr. Norman Vincent Peale who was one of the first proponents of positive thinking more than sixty years ago, and whose teachings, supported by the work of others, are still gaining wide acceptance today.

The tests used have utilized brand new techniques that have determined the effectiveness of positive thoughts on a person’s health. New positive thinking tests which use established physical body sciences, have shown that certain thought patterns are actually more influential in promoting health and well being in humans than others are. The method involves measuring the muscle response of test subjects to oral statements and looking at how positive and negative statements affect the response. This is very useful in helping scientists determine which statements have a more beneficial effect. The test programs are still ongoing.

It is also interesting to note that tests being performed go beyond just simple muscle reactions to various oral statements. Scientists have also come up with a measurement scale that quantifies the actual power of those effects on muscles. This kinesiological testing has produced amazing results in that it plainly shows that certain words and phrases have much more effect than others. As a case in point, the word “anger” had a much more pronounced effect than the word “fear”, while the words “shame” and “guilt” had extremely-low responses. This demonstrates beyond a doubt that positive thinking words and self talk evoke much higher responses than their negative equivalents.

One very-significant implication of this new positive thinking testing is the fact that none of the results came from ‘random’ or ‘accidental’ occurrences. And also that virtually anything retained in mind can produce a measurable effect.

Scientists involved in this leading edge research believe that they have only touched the tip of the iceberg in this new field and also that future studies and positive thinking tests will demonstrate even greater influences of positive thinking on health, happiness and overall well being in those who embrace it. The research began when one psychiatrist proposed his belief that some human thoughts are detrimental to health while others are beneficial. The testing processes that evolved from this practitioner’s original contention promise to go far in demonstrating that positive thinking is actually necessary to good health in human beings.

A poor self image and low self esteem are problems that can be crippling both in your personal life and in business. Fortunately, these are problems which are usually eliminated with a successful switch from negative to positive thinking. And you can raise your self esteem even if it’s been a problem for you since childhood days.

In the field of psychology, poor self image and low self esteem are considered problems best dealt with through cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The techniques of CBT are to teach you how to do away with unhealthy thinking and negative behavior patterns that are grounded in how you view yourself and your entire life. CBT teaches you how to become aware of, challenge and finally change negative ideas and beliefs with positive ones. As such, CBT is also a primary element of positive thinking concepts.

There are some valuable steps you can take to begin changing to a better self image and higher self esteem. They are, of course, in line with both cognitive behavior therapy and positive thinking methods as well. They are, briefly:

(1)-Be honest with yourself and identify those situations and issues that are causing you
to have a poor self image and low self esteem.
(2)-Recognize and understand what your beliefs and thoughts are and how they may be
affecting your thoughts about yourself. Think about your self talk. What are you
saying to yourself?
(3)-Identify negative, inaccurate thinking about yourself and be completely honest when
you do. Also think about any physical, emotional and behavioral responses to your
thoughts.
(4)-Don’t just accept innacurate thinking. Challenge it. Realize that there is more than
one way to look at things. Ask yourself if your thoughts make sense and if there is
any logic in them. Be especially aware of any all-or-nothing thinking and things
you only see in a negative way. Do you jump to negative conclusions without any
facts to back them up? Do you mistake feelins for facts when they’re not? Finally,
do you tend o put yourself down automatically without knowing why?
(5)- Here’s the toughie! Start to change the way you see yourself by thinking only good,
positive thoughts. Forgive yourself if necessary.Use only optimistic statements.
Avoid any should or must statements. Focus ONLY on positive ideas and pictures.
Call upsetting thoughts something new. View failures as opportunities for change.
Continually encourage yourself and keep doing it every single day.

These things will take ime and require practice. Stay at it and see just how different your thoughts will become in time. Achieving healthy self esteem isn’t easy after years of being negative.

Positive thinking in the workplace is literally mandatory if successful career building is the goal. The upwardly-mobile business person does more than just show up on time and do a reasonably-good job. He or she must have a mental attitude geared toward excellence in everything done for employer, customer or client and focus on solutions to problems, rather than the problems themselves. They must understand that problems are temporary and that positive results are always possible despite momentary roadblocks.

Positive thinking produces a positive attitude and should be used with the boss, workplace colleagues and virtually everybody involved with the company’s products or services. A positive attitude is especially called for when things don’t go right and that happens in every job on occasion. Whining, complaining and throwing one’s hands up are indications of negative thinking and are unproductive. Instead a positive solutions orientation will be instrumental in overcoming problems.

Men and women just starting out on a career path will always be subject to assignments where they don’t feel secure in their knowledge or experience. The negative thinker responds with ” Oh No! This is way beyond me. I can’t do it.” Conversely, the positive thinker tells himself or herself ” Well, this is a challenge. I don’t really understand it yet, but I will fill in the gaps and move ahead.” They then seek counsel from more experienced colleagues or do the fact-finding research necessary to understand and implement the assignment. It’s all just a matter of attitude!

This is where the all important self-talk comes into the picture. Positive thinking requires that you always use words like “I can”, “I will” and I’m ready” in lieu of giving yourself all the reasons why you can’t. Perhaps equally important, always remember that when you are positive and have that aura about you in business, it is readily apparent to the people you work with and especially to your supervisor. Upward mobility (success) comes much more readily to the employee that is positive than it ever does to the negative thinker.

There is a lot of help available to guide your efforts to become an effective positive thinker. A check on the Internet will produce many successful instructional and motivational programs on the subject that are offered from professionals with long experience in the subject. Some of this information is offered free while others are available in the form of nominally-priced audio programs on CD or via video. There are also many e-books to be found that cover the subject of positive thinking for business success very thoroughly.

There is a perhaps overly-simple definition that describes the primary difference between negative and positive feelings. It states that negative feelings yield negative results and positive feelings yield positive results. If this is true, and it does appear to be so, then positive thinking should yield positive results and negative thinking the converse. Thus, the value of positive thinking becomes apparent.

Negative thinking throws up barriers between you and others; stops you from trying new things, blocks your success in business and personal relationships and, perhaps most important, makes you unpleasant to be around. It also makes you look at things from a pessimistic perspective. These thoughts come from fear, uneasiness, apathy, and self talk filled with negative expressions like I can’t, I won’t, I shouldn’t, Why should I care, I’m a loser, I look terrible and many more. The cure comes from positive thinking but it doesn’t always come easily after years and years of negative thinking habits. The easiest thing would be to never start thinking negatively in the first place. However, if that were the case, you’d never be reading this article.

Positive thinking opens the doors which are closed to negative thinkers. It gives you the confidence to try new things, take advantage of business opportunities, make personal relationships more rewarding and makes you a nicer person to be around. You tend to look at things from an optimistic point of view and are characterized by self talk with words like I can, I will, I should, I care, I’m a winner, I look good today and others. People with this frame of mind constantly think about the possibilities of growth, getting ahead, succeeding and solving challenges. They work to build good relationships and sustain them over time. Perhaps most important, they ‘like’ themselves, admit weaknesses and find positive solutions to problems rather than throwing up their hands in despair.

Predominantly negative thinkers who are committed to changing their way of looking at things, have to learn how to focus on positive thoughts and attitudes and to act on them. They must also stop giving themselves excuses as to why things won’t work, can’t be done, or are beyond their abilities, and begin taking some positive steps toward telling themselves why not and giving things their best shot. Doing this isn’t usually easy and requires a lot of practice, so they must really be determined to become positive thinkers. Fortunately, there is a lot of help and really good step-by-step instruction available through positive thinking programs that are readily accessible on the Internet.

One of the most effective ways to get children thinking positively is to show them positive thinking by example when they are going through the developmental stages of self doubt. These stages are easily spotted when children are always comparing themselves to their friends, seeing themselves as unable to achieve, or exhibiting an unwillingness to try. As stated here, those are general characteristics because young people can apply them to a very-wide number of everyday situations in home, in play and at school. Since the very young are inclined to copy their parents and older siblings, teaching positive thinking by example and comparison becomes quite an effective tool.

Our world is rife with negativity. Children will benefit very much from adopting positive attitudes that will keep them on the right path. And doing so when they are very young and in the midst of personality developments is the perfect time to instill the importance of thinking positively.

When children exhibit obviously negative responses to everyday situations, that’s the perfect time to counter with positive thinking alternatives. For example, if the child tells you, “Daddy, I just can’t do this.” A good positive retort would be, “I have faith in you. Take your time and give it another try.” Or if the child says, “I’m just can’t understand math.” you might answer, ” I wasn’t either at your age, but I kept trying and finally got it. I know you can too if you really try.” One more good example might be if he or she tell you, “I’m no good at ice skating. I keep falling down. I want to go home.” You might very well respond by saying, “It’s always tough to do something new for the first time. Remember, you had the same problem learning to ride a 2-wheel bike. Keep at it. I know you’ll learn soon.” The forgoing are all situations where you can counter a negative impression with a positive thinking alternative. Done on as regular basis, it works!

Don’t take the risk that your child will develop positive thinking habits on their own. Teach by example and provide positive alternatives. You might also secure one of many available children’s books that teach this on their learning level and read it with them. This is a valuable adjunct to any program. Take control of positive thinking education for your child. The results you’ll see will be well worth your effort.

One could prepare a very-long list of steps to be taken to understand and adopt positive thinking as a new and improved mindset. You can reasonably consider such a list an outline for learning and a source of ready reference reminders. The way the average person’s life happens includes the fact that things don’t always turn out the way you’d prefer. Dissapointments can surely be depressing, and if allowed to add-up, can place you in a depressed state for long periods. Thinking positively is a powerful way to keep bad things from influencing your overall outlook. Always remember that positive thinking adds up to a positive mindset; that a positive mindset leads to positive emotions; and that positive emotions generate positive occurrences.

Here are ten useable positive thinking steps that you can take:

1. Make a personal decision to let positive thinking into your life with the goal of making you happier and healthier.
2. Gather all the needed information of positive thinking from the Internet, read it over and gain an understanding of how it works and will work for you.
3. Decide that positive thinking will bring you health, happiness and success and that you will stick with the program as long as it takes.
4. Learn to understand your abilities and to use them in the most productive way in order to achieve your personal goals. Then, prioritize the things you want and need. Never be depressed if some things don’t go your way. That’s true for all.
5. Learn from those things that don’t work. Ask yourself why and try new ways to make them happen. Never say “I can’t” only say “I’ll find a way.”
6. Remember how to laugh at yourself when necessary and never get down when things go wrong. Keep in mind that life has too much to offer to adopt a negative attitude. This is a good place to recall and repeat positive thinking phrases that apply to your circumstances.
7. Never use the should have, would have; could have scenario. Instead, re-evaluate the situation and start again. Approach each challenge with enthusiasm and the belief that you will succeed, be it in your personal life or in business.
8. Really believe that you are in control of your ultimate destiny. Nobody will rob you of your future unless you permit it. Realize that the only limit on your achievements is the limit you impose on them. Enjoy what you do at every level.
9. Plan out those things that you can and make a list of each progressive step you shall take to achieve an objective. Proceed logically and never give up because you meet obstacles. Instead, find a way around them and keep to the plan.
Be passionate about the things you want to achieve. Never have a ’so what’ or ‘ho hum’ attitude. Be honest with yourself, think positively and enjoy each day.

Some people insist that positive thinking is dangerous to you, although they are not in the majority on this. But the disbelievers could know something. After all, just about everything good also has something to worry about. However, any pitfalls notwithstanding, the basic premise of being a positive person isn’t wrong. You just need to understand the ground rules.

There is one obvious danger related to positive thinking, that being kidding yourself into thinking everything is okay when it is anything but okay. There are, of course, certain obviously-negative situations that must be faced up to and dealt with whether you like it or not. The key here, is not to let one bad circumstance cloud your vision and optimism about other future issues. Then too, most bad things can still be responded to with a positive, problem-solving approach best achieved by thinking through the problem and the options available to solve it. That is a positive thinking approach applied to a negative issue.

In general, if you approach life with positive direction, the best way to confront any problem is to ask yourself: What do I want to accomplish?; what solutions are possible under the circumstances?; and what solution is the most practical for me?. This kind of self talk or self questioning almost always leads to the right answer.

Most critics of positive thinking believe it is self-delusional and they can be right in some situations. If you embrace positive thinking improperly, and refuse to face facts that are plainly before you, that is either deluding yourself or being in a state psychologists call denial. Neither is a good thing. You can be a positive thinker and still be a realist at the same time. Positive thinking is a way of looking at things, but not always necessary as a solution.

Critics also sometimes say that positive thinking takes away your awareness, self trust and intelligence. Not if you don’t let it. All those personal assets can be applied in a positive way and to great advantage. Just because you have a positive attitude certainly doesn’t mean you won’t trust your own intelligence and good sense in analyzing a problem.

All this being said, the pitfalls aren’t the result of positive thinking per se. Instead they are really the result of not applying the ground rules of positive thinking properly in some situations.

Well excess of anything may be dangerous but you still must be positive to face any kind of situation in life.

It has often been said that “One picture is worth a thousand words” and that apparently applies equally to those dedicated to illustrating positive thinking principles and methods. Searching the internet under “pictures for positive thinking” produced 2,350,000 listings on Google alone. There are stock photos, cartoons and illustrations of people expressing positive emotions versus negative ones offered for general and specific categories of the positive thinking mix. Most are ‘royalty free’ one-time purchases and some are offered at no cost whatsoever as free downloads.

Positive thinking pictures and graphics are useful indeed for teaching the subject to people of every age level under the proven principle that pictures and words are together a more memorable message than words alone. To this end, the Internet offers a limitless potpourri of graphic images for every conceivable application.

There are pictures and other graphic elements offered online for a variety of positive thinking categories. These include: Positive thinking stock photos for general applications; positive thinking illustrations and clip art; pictures that demonstrate posiive vs. negative attitudes; positive thinking cartoons; funny pictures about positive thinking; pictures of people expressing positive vs. negative emotions; positive thinking in sports graphics; pictures of women for positive thinking and many, many others

Photos and cartoons offered are in black & white, color and specific tones of color to aid in portraying certain moods. There are also offers to custom photograph or cartoon subjects to meet specific requirements. Prices sometimes depend upon how the images are going to be used by the buyer. Images can be had as downloads, on slides for presentations and in the form of prints suitable for framing and use in schools, doctor’s offices, etc.

At first glance, one might wonder what about positive thinking can possibly justify such a very-wide availability of graphic images and photographs. Consider if you will just how widespread positive thinking has become. There are uses on websites, to illustrate articles and e-books; as teaching aids in slide and flip-chart presentations and as wall and office d?cor everywhere. Some are crafted specifically to illustrate well-known positive thinking quotations and phrases as well. There has also ben a high demand from teachers at the elementary school level for use in instilling the idea of a positive attitude for life in general and learning in particular in the very young. Whatever the need, there are numerous pictures and graphics to select from that will illustrate virtually any positive thinking idea you have.

There are many positive thinking activities available that are designed to train participants in various ways to shift their thinking and attitudes into a positive framework. Some are general and apply to the positive thinking concept no matter where it is applied; others are specifically designed to reinforce particular types of thought processes applicable to business, personal relationships, school or others.

For example some positive thinking training resources:

* Help participants determine their values along with any differences between their career objectives and goals so that they can take positive steps to resolve differences;

* Introduce participants to the ideas behind determining ‘excellence’ strategies from other people;

* Show participants how to problem solve by utilizing their inherent strengths and abilities;

* Detail how to alter an undesirable view of their behavior and replace it with one that they will see in a more positive light;

* Help participants to identify and explore negative beliefs that are keeping them from achieving success and replace them with positive beliefs that they can implement for better self esteem and behavior.

These are just a few of the positive thinking training activities that are readily available on line via the Internet. There are also a significant number of training exercises that build skills; compete fairly; resolve conflicts; and more. These generally include standard tests that enable participants to assess their progress toward positive change. Free downloads of these materials are also available online.

Conflict resolution is greatly aided through positive thinking and there is even a Conflict Resolution Network that can be reached online from http://www.crnhq.org They offer many free downloads including a very-thorough conflict resolving game that is a challenging new alternative to normal debating. In this game, participants deal with an issue selected from numerous possibilities including domestic violence, immigration and development and the environment, with the aim of resolving the conflicts inside it. The end goal, of course, is to teach people how to resolve real conflicts occurring in real-life situations that will almost certainly be faced. Three primary role tasks of the game are analysis, options and solutions.

Most positive thinking activities are intended for adults and high-school age teenagers, although there are a few available for younger children. In any case noone is too young or too old to seek help on positive thinking for a happier life.

Notwithstanding any debate as to the effectiveness of positive thinking or the lack thereof, science has demonstrated that positive thinking has physical as well as psychological health benefits. This has been medically-ascertained by measuring what happens to the brain when natural pain-killing chemicals adjust the way neurons fire. Doctors in Italy and University of Michigan scientists have shown that patients who believe they are getting pain killers but who actually receive a placebo instead,, benefit both physically and mentally from the belief alone, which results in needed relief without drug interaction when the brain releases endorphins that block pain. Positive thinking as a human benefit, has now been medically verified.

Doctors also now believe that patients with higher levels of well being have lower risk from heart attacks, reduced stress hormone levels and less inflammation, which is an indication of how well the immune system is functioning. It is also becoming clear to scientists that chronic stress as well as psychological stress can slow down the healing of wounds, can weaken the immune system and lower the effectiveness of vaccines. These factors serve to demonstrate that when a patient can focus his attention on something beside his pain and his illness, it permits his body to profit from its own inherent healing abilities. These newly-demonstrated mind-body links clearly mean that positive thinking and feelings actually can affect a person’s health and well being.

For many decades, scientists, doctors and citizens alike scoffed at people who claimed that the power of the human mind could heal physical problems and illnesses. Now, those beliefs are not being subjected to quite as much ridicule as they were earlier. While science and medicine are still miles away from believing that the mind alone can cure fatal diseases or other major problems. However, they are ready to admit and demonstrate that positive attitudes have a direct affect on the human immune system which is the body’s first line of defense. To say it in even simpler terms, if you are happy with your life and have an optimistic approach to things, it will affect you in a good way. And that is the legacy of positive thinking.

A Columbia University neuroscientist recently said that people’s expectations can have profound effects on their brains and health. If this is true, it follows that having a good attitude and looking forward to things (positive thinking) has a positive health benefit. The converse, therefore might also be true and dreading things (negative thinking) can effect bodily and mental health in negative ways.

All these things now being said, we can surely expect a steadily-increasing interest in the roles of medicine and positive thinking in our society.