The “power of positive thinking” is a popular concept, and sometimes it can feel a little cliché. However the physical and mental benefits of positive thinking have been demonstrated by multiple scientific studies. Positive thinking can give you more confidence, improve your mood, and even reduce the likelihood of developing conditions such as hypertension, depression and other stress related disorders.
All this sounds great, but what does the “power of positive thinking” really mean?
Here are some examples:
1. Start the day with positive affirmation
How you start the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Don’t start the day with negative emotions. Repeat positive affirmation for example, “Today will be a great day”. You will be surprised how well your day turns out. I personally listen to a 5 minute clip on YouTube from Absolute Motivation or Redfrost Motivation to get me up and going. Make the first thoughts of your day positive ones.
2. Turn failures into lessons
You are not perfect. You are going to make mistakes and experience failure in multiple contexts, at multiple jobs and with multiple people. Instead of focusing on how you failed, think about what you are going to do next time- turn your failure into a lesson. Use failures as feedback to where you can improve on. The key is to learn and not dwell on them.
3. Transform negative self-talk into positive self-talk
Negative self talk can creep up easily and is often hard to notice. You might think “I’m so bad at this” or “I shouldn’t have tried that”. But these thoughts turn into internalised feelings and might cement your conceptions of yourself. When you catch yourself doing this, stop and replace those negative messages with positive ones. For example “shouldn’t have tried’ becomes “that didn’t work out as planned”—“maybe next time” or “I know with time and effort I can achieve” or “each step is taking me to where I want to be”. A great book on this is called the Chimp Paradox, I highly recommend it.
4. Find positive friends, mentors and co-workers
When you surround yourself with positive people, you’ll hear positive outlooks, positive stories and positive affirmations. Their positive words will sink in and affect your own line of thinking, which then affects your words. Eliminate the negativity in your life before it consumes you. There is a saying that “you are the sum of the five people you spend your most time with.” Choose carefully. Recommend YouTube video: Les Brown ‘Negative People’.
A big part my training principles is not just addressing the physical needs of an athlete or client, but also working on the person themselves. I find from my own personal experiences that having a positive outlook and a working on having a strong mindset has helped me reach my goals and targets.
http://http://www.habit.co.nz/news-and-articles/2017-01-31/the-power-of-positivity
