The Benefits of Positive Thinking

First of all lets understand what is positive thinking. Positive thinking only means approaching life with a positive outlook. That being said it does not mean you have to ignore potentially harmful situation that can impact your life adversely. The individuals with positive thinking do not allow negative events in their life to hold them back or prevent them from enjoying life. They take life as it comes. They don’t grumble or resort to saying poor me, poor me. They deal with life challenges with courage and maturity. They understand the futility in being negative or pessimistic. They focus on the positive aspect of life and train themselves to ignore the negativity around them. They entertain positive thoughts to help themselves experience the peace of mind. They consciously replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts and refrain themselves from constantly complaining about others’ attitude or behaviors. They aren’t naïve. They do possess the courage to tell people the truth but at the same time they stay away from controversies and negative influences of others. They know that if they stand in the rain they will get soaked.

The benefits of positive thinking:

· You experience peace of mind

· Helps in building a positive attitude

· Helps in building self-confidence

· Reduces stress

· Better emotional health

· Better physical health

· Better resistance to cold

· Increased life span

· More friends

· Less drama in life

· Less aggravation

· Minimum issues in life

· Less anxiety or worries

There are several other benefits of positive thinking. Positive thinking leads to positive actions. Positive thinkers are well prepared for adversities. They are fully aware of the fact that good and bad things are part and parcel of life. To them, what matters is how you look at adversities. How you tackle ups and downs in life and what you learn from your experiences. They are always open to learning and experiencing life with a positive attitude. Remember, if you practice negativity you become a negative person, and when you practice positivity you become the positive person. You have a choice whether to become a negative person or a positive person.

I know a gentleman, Mike, he stands out for his positive thinking. He has inspired many people in his life. Almost, everyone seeks his company. You will never hear him talk ill of others. He never holds grudges even against those who have harmed him in one-way or the other. He is vibrant and demonstrates lots of positive energy. It seems he gets up on the right side of his bed every morning. He never allows circumstances dictate his behavior or his moods. He is always at peace. When asked about the benefits of positive thinking, he said that it has strong positive impact on his physical and mental health. His positive thinking helps him feel good about himself, and it boosts his self-esteem. He does not feel stressed, anxious or depressed and has no worries. It encourages him to take care of his health including exercising and eating nutritious food. His positive thinking forces him to stay away from negative people. Also, it helps him build a long lasting relationship with others and create a positive atmosphere around him.

Mike had a troubled childhood. His parents separated when he was barely 9 years old. His dad was an alcoholic. His parents fought day in and day out. Mike was scared of his dad’s temper. He became subdued and wasn’t able to make friends. He was always worried and had difficulty trusting people. Even in normal situations he would become defensive and demonstrate negative attitude. He always imagined the worse. So how did he transform? One time, his dad brought a self-help book with him when he came home from inpatient rehab and surprisingly asked Mike to read it. Interestingly, Mike liked the book. He realized that the key to living the good life was learning to think positively. Thereafter, he worked hard to transform his outlook toward life. Mike’s transformation inspired me to encourage my patients to work on changing their negative attitude and developing a positive outlook toward life. So far the results are amazingly encouraging and fruitful.