- We blame our moods and our disposition on a variety of things.
- We didn’t have our morning coffee.
- We didn’t get enough sleep last night.
- We had an argument with someone.
- Someone cut you off on your way to work.
- The weather is getting you down.
- The dog ate your favorite shoes.
- The line at the coffee shop was too long.
- The waitress brought you the wrong item.
The list can actually go on and on. We blame everyone for our moods yet the truth is
the only one who has control over your mood is YOU. You are in control; you have the
power to change your world...You and only you.
When you train your mind to only think positive thoughts you will see a dramatic shift in
your life. The small crises will no longer be crises at all; in fact they may become
opportunities. Once the smaller problems no longer matter, the bigger challenges that
we face in life seem much more manageable.
Imagine how powerful this new perspective will be. Imagine the changes it will have on
your:
Relationships with Friends and Family
You walk in the house, your children are fighting, the dog has chewed your favorite
shoes and your spouse has just called to tell you their going to be home late tonight.
How do you handle it?
Many people would begin yelling at the kids, the dog and their spouse. Then they’d
develop a splitting headache, order dinner out and sit down to a night of television all
the while they’d not said one kind and loving word to their family and they’d not received
one kind and loving word in return from their family.
When you train yourself to eliminate negative thoughts from your mind that scenario has
a totally different outcome. Instead of resorting to yelling they might have immediately
tried to resolve the problems. They may have given the kids something productive to do
like help with dinner or clean up the dog mess and they would likely have felt some
sympathy for their spouse that had to work late. They might have even taken extra
steps to make sure that their spouse had a pleasant homecoming. That’s not all. Their
positive thoughts and actions would have benefited the people that they love as well.
Career and Professional Success
Career stress happens when we believe that the demand for our skills, time, or abilities
exceeds what is available. When we feel stressed we feel both threatened and feel
overwhelmed by the demands on us. Our level of stress is based solely on our
perception of the demand made on us and our abilities to meet that demand.
Very often people judge themselves too harshly. We judge ourselves under a
completely different standard than we judge our friends and co-workers. This intense
scrutiny that we often place upon ourselves causes negative thinking, stress,
unhappiness, and a lack of confidence.
Imagine how differently you would feel if you felt confident of your ability to meet the
demands placed on you. Imagine how your stress level would plummet.
Imagine rather than thinking, “I can’t accomplish that goal in two days.” You were to
think, “I can accomplish that goal in two days.” Or “Okay, I have my goal what do I need
to do to accomplish it in the required timeframe?”
The negative thought immediately sets you up for failure where as the positive thinking
person not only approaches the project with a positive attitude but they begin planning
how they are going to accomplish it.
Because stress has a direct effect on your health, the difference between the two
thinking processes can be life saving.
Health
Researchers at Yale University found that people with an optimistic outlook lived 7.5
years longer than those with a pessimistic view of their future. Their study went so far as
to show that a positive attitude was more important than lower blood pressure and
cholesterol levels to overall health and longevity.
As demonstrated by the placebo effect, positive thinking is a resource for healing.
People that believe they are in control of their health and face illness with a positive
attitude are more likely to overcome pain and adversity. For example, optimistic
coronary bypass patients generally recover more quickly and have fewer complications
after surgery than do patients who are less hopeful.
Positive thinking has also been linked to stronger immune systems and has proven to
slow down or lessen frailty as we age. The power that positive thinking has on your
health and wellness far outweighs our understanding.
So how do we achieve this blissful state? How do we train ourselves to eliminate
negative thoughts before they appear and replace them with only positive thoughts?
The answer?
It’s like your mother used to tell you – Practice.
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