First of all, let me assure you that I have been both a beneficiary of positive thoughts as well as a victim of negativity. I do thus believe in the concept that positivity makes things work out better and downright negativity creates conditions which makes way for the worst to happen.

The mind, I believe has the power to arrange things for the better or the worse. They say the mind is the master and dozens of theories exist supporting this view.

Although at first I used to dismiss this as BS, my mind has now been conditioned to accepting these theories after a period of time, following important events in my life.

This is how my my story goes.

In the year 1990 when I started my own business, I did not bother to think about what situation I would have to face in the event the results of my actions were not favorable.

Many people pointed out the fact that I was totally inexperienced, and this would be a heavy disadvantage which could even lead me to disaster. However, I set about my task with optimism.

Sheer optimism which affected my hearing too! I was engaged in happily setting up my own business with a view to reaping the benefits. I did reap many benefits though.

I never stopped to think of the consequences I would have to face in the event things had gone wrong. The results were truly excellent and it continued that way for a couple of years.

However, I was consistently receiving advise from many to pay heed to the changing trends, and to alter course accordingly. This particular business of mine continued to be successful until the unethical actions of some competitors created intense competition.

Certain instruments were required to negate that competition. These required funding. Funding required eating into profits. So, I had to alter course after all. So that was it. It was fun while it lasted. Then it was "hard-a-starboard."

The fact remains that I won!

In spite of all the warnings I received, I had set about my task with one primary focus. And I did succeed. None of the predictions of those who warned me came true, although all the advise I received were from real well wishers who did not want to see me stranded. Terminating the business was the result of changes caused by external forces over which I had no talent to control, and events that had been totally unpredictable.

As I stated before, prior to setting up my business many people offered advice, in the form of warnings. These warnings had registered in my subconscious only, to emerge later on as re-callable memory, although at the point of registering it went totally unnoticed by me.

Much later on when things did go wrong, caused by events which could not be foreseen even by my pessimist peers of course, I heard phrases like, "there, did I not tell you?" It was only then did I remember ignoring warnings as I was deafened by my sheer optimism.

But, from my point of view, I had won although I stepped into a strange domain without any experience at all in the mode I was switching into. The "disaster" that was predicted did not take place at all.

The only "disaster" that occured was that I could not continue operating that business and had to abandon ship ... without a scratch. 

As for the other side of optimism, I would like to mention, during this period of success, I had noticed a certain trait in an employee of mine, which led to a fear that he would commit a particular kind of mistake.

I did not take any preventive measures although the fear continued to haunt me. Then, believe it or not, he DID commit that error, the very error which I even dreaded to dream that he would commit. It caused big losses and embarrassment as well. 

So that's it! I had all along been optimistic without even knowing it, and have achieved great results. My pessimism which was a fear that an employee would commit a particular error also produced a result, an unfavorable one. Thus, I cannot dismiss the theories of positivity and negativity as total BS. 

Right now I look at both sides of the coin. The flip side always appear a little scary. What I fear from my experiences, is that negativity will somehow barge into a peaceful happy condition and cause a sort of panic to set in. On the other hand, positivity is not all that easy to possess. Negativity is not easy to repel either. Blame it on Murphy or anything at all. 

By continued experimenting, I have observed that the calmer the mind is, the more it derives the capacity to repel negativity. The more you repel negativity the more optimistic you become. The more optimistic you are, the more you are likely to face favorable events.

It is up to you to interpret my tale any way you want. Put it down to coincidence or anything at all. I only told you my story, exactly the way it happened and how I behaved before and during. The result of these events is that I have arrived at the conclusion that positivity or optimism helps immensely and negativity or pessimism does the opposite.

A calm mind could be achieved by means of certain simple breathing exercises performed seriously and regularly. For this purpose you should consult a qualified Yoga Instructor. He will design a series of simple breathing patterns for you. He should then be able to measure your progress and accordingly alter the duration and design of your exercises.

Transcendental Meditation is possibly one effective way to create a stable mind. This involves repetition of a single word called a "Mantra." You are required to perform two sessions per day, each session lasting twenty minutes. According to my experience, I would say, an instructor is needed to select the right mantra for you and guide you in the initial stages.There are many opinions on Transcendental Meditation. Giving them a hearing will help, I believe.

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