“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” – Winston Churchill
Positive thinking and optimism are now known to be a root cause of many life benefits. Thinking positively is not about putting your head in the sand and being unrealistic, as some people may believe.
Adopting a positive attitude will help you to recognise the negative aspects of a situation, however it focuses you instead on the hope and opportunity that is available. This way of thinking will prevent you from getting locked in a paralysing loop of bad feeling and will allow you to move in a more positive direction so that you can take positive action, solve difficulties and seek out opportunities.
Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field of psychology is founded on the belief that by thinking positively you will lead a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
There are many ways that you can become more positive and here are three useful tips:
Interestingly enough the antidote for negativity is to accept responsibility for your situation and not play the blame game. The very act of taking responsibility diffuses any negative emotion that you may trigger. By embracing responsibility and accepting that you can always choose the way that you respond to every situation is important. This will help you to feel more personally empowered and the successes brought by this attitude act as a foundation for self-respect and confidence.
Thoughts in many ways are fuel and nutrition for your mind. If you feed your mind with junk thoughts that are negative and fundamentally unhelpful, you could end up feeling anxious, depressed and lethargic. By feeding your mind positive thoughts that are healthy and nutritious you will feel much more vital and happy. It is important that you raise your conscious awareness of what exactly you feed your mind with and know that you can change the ingredients any time you like.
Using the word probortunity instead of problem is a good way of addressing anything that is challenging in a positive and optimistic way. It will help you to acknowledge a negative situation and then help you to turn it around and create a broader perspective so that you can seek out the flip side of every situation. In every difficulty there will always be a potential opportunity if you work on identifying what it is.
In summary
There are so many benefits for thinking positively and this mindset can help you to enhance your own life as well as those of others around you.
“Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities – always see them, for they’re always there” – Norman Vincent Peale