Edit Your Thoughts, Think Positivity

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” ~Winston Churchill

Written by Kevin Tyler Smith. You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook

Some people take optimism for granted and some are unaware of the true power it wields.

Believe it or not, positivity holds a greater power that allows people to do the extraordinary.There are many people throughout the world who live by positive thinking and have achieved a ton of success by making it a lifestyle habit.

You too can begin reaping the benefits and change your life for the better by seeing the good in everything around you. At a personal level, positive thinking can transform your life, your health and renew the passion and joy in your life.

Here’s how to start and how you can grab the advantages for yourself.

The Health Benefits

Studies show that positive thinking can boost the recovery period of individuals suffering from certain conditions and illnesses. It does not cure the illness, but the symptoms can greatly lessen. Optimism has also been proven to protect the heart from strokes and cardiovascular disease. Details of this unique study can be found here.

People can usually resume work and other normal daily activities by thinking positive. This is explained by the surge of mood and hormones that are created in huge volumes whenever people get stressed. Stress hormones are eliminated, therefore giving people that extra boost.

People can also perform better in physical activities by thinking positive. Athletes are constantly doing visualization exercises wherein they think or dream about winning competitions or breaking records to help them get closer to their goals. The positive imagery gives them a good sense of achievement as they visualize themselves in action. Coaches are always giving athletes motivational tools and speeches to help them develop positive thinking and use it as a lifetime habit.

Deal with Different Challenges

No threat or challenge will seem insurmountable if a person begins thinking positively. It is important for individuals to recognize their strengths and weaknesses, thereby adjusting to the different demands of a given situation. Individuals will have to go through various circumstances in life, but thinking positive will help them get through the hurdles faster. They also get to learn more from the process and experience exponential growth.

Motivating Others

Being optimistic will spread the good mood to other people. Leaders are well-known to be quite good at thinking positive because they can trigger others to also do the same. It’s contagious. A group can perform better by being optimistic and achieve greater things over time. It is important to always have that winning attitude. You will find that more people will have an affinity to get closer to you all the time as they also try to adopt the characteristics and habits you possess.  If you want others to achieve more, even your own children or friends, stay positive. Because of this healthy attitude, you will gain more friends at a rate beyond your wildest expectations.

Self-Confidence

Being optimistic will give you that extra boost to believe in your own physical and mental strengths. You will gain more self-confidence and achieve more at work and in the home. You can expect promotions, extra jobs, more money and a happier and contented family. You can also experience success in other life roles such as being a parent, a friend or a boss. Self-confidence goes hand-in-hand with thinking positive because you always know that things are excellent around you, regardless of the temporary setbacks.

Affirmations (a small assignment of reinforcement)

For any positive thought to have the best chance at being truly effective, support it with a driving reinforcement. This reinforcement comes in the form of an affirmation.  Positive affirmations are statements about some outcome you wish for, which give those positive thoughts meaning.

Following is an abbreviated list of affirmations from Evelyn Lim who is a Vision Board Counselor, Intuitive Consultant and life coach. You can recite these affirmations to yourself daily according to specific outcomes:

For Abundance:

• All things I want and need come to me
• I always receive more than I need
• I have a bank account with more than enough
• I am an abundant person
• I create abundance in all that I say and do
• I accept abundance
• I welcome, and am open to receive all abundance that comes
• I draw abundance to myself today and every day

For Success:

• I am successful
• Everything I do turns into success
• I am filled with success
• Success comes effortlessly to my direction
• My success is contagious, other people like it, seek it and respect it
• I attract positive-minded people to me; I draw all things positive to myself
• I am very fortunate to work at what I love to do
• I make powerful and enjoyable business relationships and many of my business contacts are now my friends

For Self Esteem:

• I am sure of my ability to do what is necessary to improve my life
• If I make mistakes, I am able to give myself the benefit of the doubt
• I am able to take risks and try new things without fear
• I feel good about the way I do my job
• I have compassion for myself and the way my life has developed
• I am deserving of all the good things in my life

For Health:

• I am glowing with health and wholeness
• I behave in ways that promote my health more every day
• I deserve to be in perfect health
• I am highly motivated to exercise my body because I find exercise as fun
• I love nutritious healthy food, and I enjoy eating fresh fruits and vegetables
• I am healthy since my practices are healthy
• I let go of the past so I can create health now
• I create health by expressing love, understanding and compassion

Editor’s note: Just for fun,  take this 1 minute survey to determine what kind of thinker you are. The question is, will you be surprised at the result?

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*photo credit: Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten