Positive Thinking
Optimism and positivity are becoming increasingly fashionable. Messages come from everywhere encouraging us to smile, enjoy and be happy. With such a simplistic and reduced approach, it is logical that many people consider this proposal somewhat childish and naive. For this reason, in the following paragraphs we are going to delve into the basis of positive thinking and the explanation of the many benefits it can bring to our lives.
It’s Monday, it’s raining heavily and you’re late for work. You have missed the bus, so you have to walk quickly while trying to keep your umbrella from blowing away in the wind. Suddenly, at a bus stop or in a shop window notebook you read a message like: “smile”, “life is wonderful”. This will surely infuriate you even more. You would like to be happy, but circumstances do not cooperate.
Although that message that you find so frustrating is an incomplete simplification, the teaching it contains is one of the most beneficial that we can learn. Life is not wonderful because everything works out for you, it is wonderful when you decide it to be. Smiling should not be a consequence of external events, but a daily and personal decision.
Positive and negative thinking
One of the most proven premises in the history of psychology is that we do not see the world as it is, but as we are. Reality is just a set of events that take shape in light of our thoughts. These are the ones that give meaning to what happens to us, and give it a positive or negative valence.
There are many currents that use this assumption in their techniques of therapeutic change. Our thoughts define our state of mind, regardless of what happens around us. That is why there are mostly happy people and others generally dissatisfied. It is not that the former have a particularly privileged life, but rather that they decide, at all times, to feed their positive thinking.
We can imagine our mind as a space inhabited by two seeds: that of optimism and that of negativity. Every day we have the opportunity to choose which one to water and help it grow. But we must know that, whichever is the most cared for, it will become stronger until it occupies all our mental space.
You have the power to choose
Many people will think: “I water the positive when good things happen to me and the negative when things go wrong, that’s the logical thing to do.” It may make sense to you, but it certainly isn’t functional. Why let your state of mind drift to external circumstances? Always choose to feed the positive side because it is who will help you maintain optimism and motivation to get ahead.
Basking in bad thoughts, settling yourself in the victim position will not change what has happened to you. On the contrary, it will intensify your discomfort and make you perceive only more negative details. Well, we have to take into account that thought patterns feed back: the more you think negatively, the easier it is to find reasons for frustration and dissatisfaction. And the same is true on the contrary.
It would be ideal if they began to instill in us the habit of positive thinking since we are children. In this way it would be easy and natural for us to perceive the beauty of life and we would develop an attitude of gratitude. We would be able to see the opportunity in every situation and face adversity with confidence and optimism.
However, many times this does not happen and we grow up with a negative thought pattern. A radar to detect the difficulty and injustice and feel ourselves victims of the world. After years of watering the plant of negativity, positive thinking is incomprehensible to us. However, remember that you are always in time to change reality with your decisions.
Make it a point to let your old patterns die of thirst and start feeding your ability to perceive the good. You will find that the more you practice, the easier it is for your mind to find the positive. Therefore, do not wait and take the test. No matter how forced it may be at first, it will end up feeling natural.
