“A positive mental attitude is the starting point of all riches, whether they be riches of a material nature or intangible riches.“

- Napoleon Hill

I have taught many sessions about positive thinking over the years, but was reminded yesterday by my 15 year old daughter about practising what I preach. I was struggling with something and she wrapped me in her arms and said “Mum, the way forward is to think positively.” Gulp. In that instant, I changed my mind. I mean I changed my mindset, the way I was thinking about myself and the situation. In that instant,t my perception and my reality changed. Some people might think this is a form of denial or a bad case of unrealistic Pollyanna thinking, but I don't think so.

Negative thinking is not more realistic than positive thinking. What does realistic mean? It could mean being aware of how things really are. Fair enough, only if we stay firmly rooted in how things really are, nothing would ever change. I am 46, if anyone had told me that children would have access to the internet, mobile phones and real time mobile video communication when I was a child, I would have told them they weren't being very realistic. All those advances are a result of someone abandoning realistic ideas in favour of developing ideas of the imagination. The word imagine is interesting. I like to think of it as 'I the magician', I magick and I make real what was once in my imagination. We have choices, we can stay negative and retain the current reality, or we can think positively and magick in the new reality.

With a positive attitude you will see the positive in your situation and feel more able and empowered to make positive choices. You will see the positive in others and enjoy the benefits of positive communication. You get what you expect and what you focus on. Positive thinking is expansive, trusting and productive. Negative thinking is restrictive, fear-based and destructive. Your thinking determines your reality, not the other way round.

This doesn't mean you just have to think positively and you will wake up to a tree bearing money. What it does mean is that if you are thinking positively, you will take actions that will help you create the reality that you want to experience and create a kind of magnet that will draw positive things to you. You will be operating in the realms of possibility and exploring solutions to challenges.

This doesn't mean swimming in a sea of denial, on the contrary, it means staring at problems in the face, feeling them and then searching for the 'gifts' in the solutions. Experiencing the difficult feelings like sadness, pain or grief is part of the process. If we don't acknowledge feelings, we will be suppressing them and then they will surface in other unhelpful ways. On the other hand, addressing them can mean finding life-changing gifts. For instance, if pain and discomfort from shyness pushes you to learn how to become assertive and confident, then those negative feelings had a purpose. Staying stuck in them would not be useful. But the new learning might eventually make you an expert and a teacher in the field of assertiveness and offer career possibilities that were not on the horizon before the reality check. With this approach, you can create abundance, happiness and achieve your goals.

This also doesn't mean having a perfect life. Hardships and struggles that become catalysts for intensive positive thinking are also catalysts for new beginnings and deeper levels of trust. Life is a roller coaster, a journey of highs and lows. But maintaining a positive attitude throughout the low times can help to expose life's learnings and point us in better directions, help us make better choices, become better people.

The darkest part of the night is always just before dawn, choose to see the light, if you want to.