A Word to the Wise
- Positive Thinking Works!Nurturing a habit of positive thinking is the surest way to happiness, to improve self-esteem and to a better life. Be kind to yourself. Take control of your thoughts and they will take care of you.'The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.'
Marcus Antonius AD 86-161
Negative & Positive
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Negative thoughts, negative thinking leads to negative actions.
They - put you off balance,
- steal your energy and
- spiral you downward into an ever deepening chasm.
That's the bad news. And the good news is: Only if you let that happen.It'll take a little work and perseverance, but the solution is not too drastic. Developing a positive mental attitude through positive thinking will improve your self-esteem, confidence and lead to greater success in your life. Life will appear brighter, more colourful, less stressful and more inviting. We all have an inner voice and how we talk to ourselves controls the way we think.
I've heard kids say they have a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other.That's a good way to explain rational thinking and the difference between right and wrong, but what happens if the 'devil' voice is the stronger or more persistent. Does that encourage us to be fatalistic in our attitude to life? Negative Thinking Brings Negative RsultsLet me tell you a real-life story. A really good friend of mine found it difficult to cope with a series of incidents in her life. Nothing I would call major - but they seemed to come one after the other and they were really dragging her down and keeping her in a 'bad' place so to speak.
Her personal mantra for life had become: Life is Sh**
She had used this expression for years in fact. Nothing improved. The unfortunate incidents and accidents
continued and she viewed life through a clouded lens of misfortune.
Incredibly she resisted my attempts to encourage a more positive outlook. You cannot change someone and they cannot change themselves if they don't truly want to. In a fatalistic world, once accepts one's lot and becomes grateful that it is not indeed worse. Finally one day in discussion I sensed a glimmer of light, a tiny chink in the 'armour' she had placed around herself. I knew I could not push things too far, or make the change too drastic. It had to be subtle.
Thankfully we were able to come up with an alternative. I persevered and happily we changed her saying to:-
Life is such...
We practiced the correct tone to distinguish it from the previous one
- raising her voice at teh end
(tone accounts for 38% in effective communication)
We practiced adding positive endings to the phrase, to really eradicate the previous negative response she had set up and lived by.
Life is such....that you can enjoy a drink by the pool
Life is such....a beautiful thing
Life is such.... that my children remember my birthday
Life is such....
Life is such....
Life is such that....
Over the next few days and weeks she consciously changed to using her new phrase until it became automatic.
Did her new found positive thinking make a difference. It sure did, or I would not be telling the story here!
What had been 'huge' events became little niggles, which she now takes easily in her stride. She began to plan more things
and look forward to them. The fear and dread of the 'next incident' gradually left her as she learned to trust in herself. Life became less about fate and
gave her back control. That's the power of positive thinking.
Yes, life is such...that you can make a difference...so easily.
Can you feel the power of that change!
Changing just one word and tone made all the difference.
What are the words that you live by?
What is your response to mishaps, misfortune, bad luck?
Think about your thoughts and whether they lift you up or drag you under. It isn't always easy, especially if you've been surrounded with negativity all your life. Positive thinking works!
For more help to get you started click here.
Develop your PMA (Positive Mental Attitude)Are you ready to develop a positive mental attitude through positve thinking, to change your life and achieve greater happiness?
Then take the Anthony Robbins
10-day Mental Challenge.
In his book 'Notes from a Friend,' Anthony Robbins, the personal development guru, sets a 10-day mental challenge to overcome negative thinking, and to replace it with positive thinking. His challenge is for you to: 'refuse to hang on to any crummy thoughts, feelings, questions, words or metaphors.' When you catch yourself having a 'lousy thought, feeling or question' that you change it immediately. Now, here's the rub. Your goal is ten consecutive days without dwelling on a negative thought.
Anytime you dwell on one for more than 5 minutes, you must start over again at Day 1 - no matter how many days you've already managed it.
How to do Positive ThinkingPositive thinking is achieved by: - supercharging the good emotions
- diminishing the effect of negative ones.
He suggests you can even make them silly.This will of course be reflected in the language you use to yourself or others as you communicate how you feel.
So, for example
Negative - DIMINISH the effect of negative emotions
- FAILED --- there is no failure only feedback, so what did you learn from the experience
- ANGRY --- lessen anger by referring to it as disenchanted, displeased, rankled
- TERRIBLE --- the experience was different, uncomfortable
Positive - SUPERCHARGE the good emotions
- COOL --- if something was pretty cool, it can become outrageous, amazing, perfect
- O.K --- feels much better when it's super, wonderful, incredible
- SMART --- think of it as brilliant, scintillating, cracking
Are you up for the Anthony Robbins 10-day challenge?
Our readers would love to know how you got on. Care to share your experiences, then contact me directly here.
Return from Positive Thinking to Happiness Pirates
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