How to Think in a Positive Way

Nowadays there are a lot of people (writers, businessmen, etc.) who write about positive thinking and how it can influence our life. There are books, websites and articles based on this topic. It just shows how important it is in these days.

Let’s present examples of some of these books:

1. The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
2. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
3. As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

Apparently, thinking in a positive way doesn’t mean pretending that everything in our lives is alright and nothing can go wrong. It just means trying to find a brighter side of every problem or obstacle on our way. If something wrong happens ( loss of a job, breakup, failing exam, etc.) thinking positive is not easy. Sometimes it can even be impossible. But each of these events has its own meaning; we just have yet to see it. And it’ll probably take some time to realize a hidden purpose behind it. For example: losing a job could lead to a better job opportunity; breaking with someone can show us that a person who broke up with us wasn’t the one. We just need to have this on our mind.

Positive thinking is also about anticipating that good things will happen. It’s about anticipating success (when it comes to a job interview, an exam) not expect a failure. It’s about focusing on health, not on a possible illness (you know, a lot of people tend to be a little bit hypochondriac). It’s also about not letting negative thoughts to overwhelm you.

Changing our way of thinking from negative (or mostly negative) to positive can have a huge impact on our lives. It can influence our health and cause a lot of important changes. Let’s present some of these effects.

• Lower level of stress – if you focus on a better side of your life you can reduce an amount of stressful situations in your life (a lot of stress and anxiety is caused by a negative approach to a certain situation)
• Increased level of health – without being stressed too much you can get rid of strains laid on your heart - it’ll enhance your health and can prolong your life
• Better mental health – thinking positive can help to get rid or suppress a depression and can help to build greater psychical resistance when a hardship comes
• You attract what you think – a lot of good things can happen or appear in your life when you keep a positive way of thinking

Starting to think positive isn’t a simple task. It’s not about turning off a button while saying ‘Alright from this moment onward I’m going to think positive’. It doesn’t work this way. It’s kind of a long process. It can be even harder in these days because there are a lot of negative things going on around us (you know, everyone has problems to deal with, but on top of that we read/listen a lot of negative news on TV, on the internet or in newspapers).

So how can we think positive? Let’s show some important steps.

Intentional influencing of thoughts

Napoleon Hill in his book Think and Grow Rich (although it’s quite an old book – from 1937 – it holds a lot of inspiring thoughts) wrote: “It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind”.

Basically, it means that you can and you should influence a nature of your thoughts. Whenever a negative thought cross your mind you should make an effort to get rid of it, change a point of view of this thought to more positive one or simply replace it with another thought.

Changing a nature of your thoughts starts in your own mind. Using positive words in your inner dialogues is essential. Instead of saying: “I made a mistake. I’m so stupid” try to say: “I made a mistake. Next time I will try my best not to make a same mistake again”. It sounds different, doesn’t it?

It is important to keep on doing this. It can be difficult from the beginning, but it’s worth it.

Surround yourself with positive people

It is said that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. It is certainly difficult to stay positive while being surrounded by negative people. And it is not like you can simply change your family or partner. So try to avoid negative influence of people around you and surround yourself with people who can provide you with a support and influence you in a positive way.

Keep moving forward

No matter the circumstances try to keep moving. Nothing will change if you stay on a same page of your life book moaning and complaining about injustice of the world. This may sound mean because there are definitely situations which is really difficult to look forward in. But please be careful not to get stuck in them till the end of your life.

Remember: “Everyone faces defeat. It may be a stepping stone or a stumbling block, depending on the mental attitude with which it is faced” (Napoleon Hill quote again – you really should take your time to read his book, it’s totally worth it. And you may find there what you are looking for).

It’s also important to be aware of a power of your mind. If you’re facing a challenging and difficult situation you have two options:

• Think about a negative outcome and the worst can actually happen because you, in fact, were expecting it; or
• Think about a positive outcome and the best can happen.

Other important steps

Smile – it helps to think positively, it can brightens other’s people day and it’s healthy (smiling and laughing prolong life – it is said so :-) )

Try some relaxing activity – yoga, meditating, sports, listening music, drawing, these are all activities which can calm you down and help to get rid of stress - and without stress it is easier to be positive

Help other person – helping each other is important; people around you can be of a great help to you and they can help you to move forward as well as you can help those people to reach their dreams – helping them can distract your negative thoughts and leave you with a good feeling

What other people think about you is none of your business – a lot of people's stress comes from a thought ‘what others will think about me if…¨, people are anxious and nervous of others judgment, but this is the thing you really can’t change – people will always think something and will always judge their surroundings so you shouldn’t let it bother you (although I know how difficult this one is, it's better not to care)

Read – if you want to change your way of thinking, take your time to read inspiring books, stories of other people, inspiring articles or quotes, watch inspiring videos, all of this can help you to strengthen your will to change your way of thinking and inspire you in a lot of ways, not only about positive thinking

There are people who don’t like a thought of positive thinking. It is probably because it’s kind of a phenomenon of past years. Or they may think being positive is the same as being constantly happy. I think it’s more about being aware of the sun even behind the darkest clouds.

If you don’t believe in a power of positive thinking, it’s alright – no one forces you to believe it. This article is meant as a summary of information and advices for those who are interested in it.