The Power of Positive Thinking

There are several advantages of positive thinking. But before we can get there we need to identify the several side effects of negative thinking. Negative thinking can cause several physical symptoms and increase your risk of diseases and a shortened lifespan.

Some of the symptoms of stress include: headache, body aches, nausea, fatigue, difficulty sleeping.

Cynicism, stress, anger, and hostility have been linked to a higher risk of: heart disease, heart attack, stroke, dementia.

Enough about talking about negative. There are several health benefits for thinking positive. Some of these benefits include, but are not limited to, increase in life span, lower rates of depression and levels of stress, greater psychological and physical well-being, better immune response, better cardiovascular health, and better coping skills.

Not sure if your self-talk is positive or negative? Some common forms of negative self-talk include but are not limited to: filtering, you magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all of the positive ones; personalizing, when something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself; catastrophizing, you automatically anticipate the worst. The drive-through coffee shop gets your order wrong and you automatically think that the rest of your day will be a disaster; polarizing, you see things only as either good or bad.

You can learn to turn your negative thinking into positive thinking, but do not expect it to happen overnight. Just like with any new habit, It will take time and practice.

Here are some ways to think and behave in a more positive and optimistic way: identify areas to change, first identify areas of your life that you usually think negatively about, whether it's work, your daily commute or a relationship; check yourself, periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're thinking; be open to humor, give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times; follow a healthy lifestyle, aim to exercise for about 30 minutes on most days of the week; surround yourself with positive people, make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback; practice positive self-talk, if a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about you.

Here are some examples of negative self-talk and how you can apply a positive thinking twist to them: I’ve never done it before/It’s an opportunity to learn something new; It’s too complicated/I’ll tackle it from a different angle; I don’t have the resources/Necessity is the mother of invention; I’m too lazy to get this done/I wasn’t able to fit it into my schedule, but I can re-examine some priorities; There’s no way it will work/I can try to make it work; It’s to radical a change/let’s take a chance; no one bothers to communicate with me/I’ll see if I can open the channels of communication; I’m not going to get any better at this/I’ll give it another try.

If you are feeling consumed by negative thoughts and are having trouble controlling your emotions, see a doctor. You may benefit from medical help, such as positive psychology or therapy. Persistent negative thoughts can be caused by an underlying psychiatric condition that requires treatment.

As was said before, you will not be able to undo years of pessimism and negative thoughts overnight, but with some practice, you can learn how to approach things with a more positive outlook.

Here are a couple bible verses I have found helpful while on my journey to positive thinking. Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.” Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”