What The Heck Is Positive Thinking?

Firstly, I must thank the author of the question. Although it was lacking a bit in grammar, and I am excited that he asked the question (I'm paraphrasing) "What is positive thinking, how do we develop it and how do we know when we've mastered it?"

It's a very good question, and one that not a lot of people cover. It's also a topic that every successful person knows about and has mastered, but not one easily explained. Positive thinking is something that is best experienced rather than researched, but that does leave a gaping hole out there for those still trying to figure out if they are doing it right.

many people assume that positive thinking is force optimism. Which is one method, but not the one employed by successful individuals. Forced optimism really just masks the old thinking pattern and doesn't really create a change that reverberates into the rest of your life in the way that true positive thinking does.

Keep your trousers hitched, I'm gettin there!

Positive thinking, at it's core, is a method of getting your unconscious and conscious minds to work together to find past positive experiences and use those experiences to create future positive experiences and to consider all other avenues for positive experiences.

Essentially, you are creating a new thought pattern program to dominate any negative thought patterns that are preventing you from achieving important and meaningful milestones in your life. Your not just forcing yourself to say "I'm happy! I'm happy! I'm thinking positive!".

You are changing your point of view from "this stinks" to "This is an unfortunate situation, but I know there is an opportunity hidden underneath all this struggle!"

The very first thing you need to do, is think about all the times you have not been positive. Maybe you've been through a bout of depression, or you're currently depressed. Maybe you have times when your frustrated, anxious or fearful?

Think about a time in your life with you were so filled with despair that you felt like you just couldn't take it anymore. NOW, here is the important part. Once you have yourself in that memory and you can feel the way you felt when you were in that negative mind state, I want you to get out a pen and paper, or a notepad on your computer, and write down what sort of state your body is in.

Are you hunched over? Are your arms crossed? Are you frowning?

Next, write down the thoughts that go through your mind when you're in that state. Do you think about all the things that have gone wrong in your life? Do you think about the other people that have gotten in your way or held you back? Do you think about how bleak the future looks from that negative state?

Write it ALL down. Get it all out on that paper or notepad so you can see just what it takes to get into that state on a conscious level, because that is the same way it happens unconsciously. Once you have written it all down, you'll start to become consciously aware of the times when you get into this state later, because you have just consciously assigned your negative patterns to a conscious process of awareness, so that you will never not be aware of just how to get into that state.

After you get tired of being in that pitiful state, it's time to do the opposite. I want you to now think of a times in your life when you've been excited, confident, happy, euphoric, sure, aroused or successful. It could be that time that you asked for a promotion and got it. Or a time when others recognized you for your accomplishments. It could be when you won a contest or lotto. It could be anytime, as long as it's a time that you were truly happy, comfortable and confident.

Now do the same thing you did with the negative state. Now that you are in a positive state, you need to take note of everything you are doing with your body and your thought patterns. You can see that when you are happy, you're shoulders are back, your posture is good, you have a smile on your face, you can breath easily and you feel good. And we know from the way we created this state, that in order to get there, you only need to bring back all those positive experiences in your mind.

And now you have consciously registered your positive state to an awareness program that will make you aware of when you are in this positive state and remind you of how to get there in the future.

Now, here is where it makes a difference. In order to think positively, you need to create that positive state in your body first, then in your mind, anytime you find yourself aware that you are going into or are already into a negative state. Do this every time you get mad, sad, depressed, frustrated, fearful or anxious and you'll change your state into confident, happy, balanced and certain. Once you get into this practice, you'll finally assign it to an unconscious process, so that you don't have to purposefully do it as much, and you'll then find yourself finding positive pathways through your life.

In short - you know you've mastered positive thinking when you're life is successful in spite of any negative events that happen in your life, and that you are easily able to find success and positive outcomes in your life without even having to stop and think about how you are able to keep doing that again and again.

Need some help achieving positive thinking?

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