The Power of Positive Thinking

 Almost all of us are aware of the classic example of ‘the half empty/half-full glass’. Why does it really matter if we see the glass as half empty or half full right? After all, it’s just a glass of water.

Well, it might not really matter much in the case of a glass of water but it shows our outlook towards life. Do we pay attention to the things we have or do we pay attention to the things that we don’t?

Our outlook towards life determines how we live our lives, whether in a positive way or a negative way.

Positive thinking makes a person happy and successful because you focus on the ‘good’ things or the things that you have.

It helps you see the possibilities in life and you are never limited. Negative thinking, on the other hand, makes a person unhappy and less successful because you are limited to and focused on the things that you don’t have.

Some of the powers of positive thinking are:

• It helps us live a longer life – researches have shown us that optimism is correlated with many positive life outcomes including increased life expectancy.
• It reduces stress – one of the reasons for stress is excessive worrying and worrying is a form of negative thinking. Thus, a person with positive thinking will worry less and therefore be less stressful.
• It helps us get better sleep – we all know why sleep is so important for us. It gives our body time to recover from all the ‘wear and tear’ that happens during the day. Now, stress and worrying can keep us up late at night and might wake us up quite frequently at night. Positive thinking keeps stress and worries at bay thus helping us get a good night’s undisturbed sound sleep.
• It improves our immune system – researches have also proved that having a positive outlook makes us less prone to falling sick.
• It helps us be more appreciative of the little things in life – when we think positively, we tend to appreciate the little thing in our life

Some of the ways we can develop positive thinking are:

• Meditation – Spend a minimum of 5-7 minutes every day in a quiet room and meditate. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Read more about the impact of meditation. It is not easy to stop yourself from thinking, but after a while, you will master it.
• Have fun – Do the things you love and that bring you happiness. Spend some time forgetting about the world and just enjoy doing whatever you love. It will relax you and also put you in a better mood.
• Journal writing – This is a great way to bring positivity in your life. Every day, either before going to bed or after waking up, spend 10 minutes writing in a journal. You can write anything you want. If you write at night you can write about your day.
• Focus on positives – It is very easy to give in to negative thinking but it is important to fight that and focus on the positives in our life no matter how little it is.