The Truth About Positive Thinking And How To Make It Work For You
By Denise Cavassa, CMA September 7, 2010; November 28, 2010
It is my experience that “positive thinking” is misunderstood by the masses to permit an avoidance of personal responsibility – similar to how people think that praying for The God Energy to fix a situation while they sit in front of the TV and take no action themselves is going to make a difference. Many people misuse the concept of positive thinking to support their laziness in terms of how positive thinking does/does not work for them. There’s a reason for the adage: “God helps those who help themselves.”
Our society has decayed into the “blame game” of it is everything and everyone else’s fault for one’s failures to succeed, all while wanting a quick fix by taking a pill. This habit is supported by belief systems that one must suffer in order to have valuable experiences and achievements — as if this will bring some sort of spiritual reward when virtually all spiritual philosophies offer paths of fulfillment through dedication and joy.
Positive thinking is actually the practice of committing to one’s personal power and taking the action and responsibility to honor it.
The power of positive thinking is exercising the discipline to keep your focus on taking positive actions for the outcome of what you desire to create. This is realized by training and keeping your thoughts tuned to strengthen your ability to uphold the commitment to achieve your goals by taking positive action.
Like exercising muscles, exercising your thoughts becomes easier with repetition. Below are tips to make positive thinking work for you.
1) Choose Realistic Goals. This may be the most important aspect of positive thinking. There is NO way you can think yourself into or out of anything without taking the necessary steps to foster a healthy outcome. For example, you cannot think away excess weight without exercise and a healthy diet. Wishing or praying to lose weight won’t work without intelligent action.
a) Create empowering goals and a realistic time frame to achieve them.
b) Make the commitment to reach small goals along the way to your ultimate goal. This practice sets up the experience of “winning achievement” which fuels your motivation and ability to remain committed to your goals.
2) Take Responsibility.
a) Understand that you are the catalyst for the outcome because how you deal with situations creates your power in the present and the future.
i) How well do you trust yourself to handle situations that arise? How well do you handle disappointment? Can you “roll with the punches” and get back up on your feet? What do you need to improve these skills?
(1) Do you need to develop/strengthen your confidence? (Confidence Building Techniques)
b) Your ultimate commitment is to continue to be proactive rather than quitting when what you desire isn’t the immediate result from your first set of actions. Remember:
i) Life is a journey, not a destination. Each action you take will bring you to opportunities to learn what/what not to do in the future and which permit you to grow as a person.
ii) If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. There is no quick fix. Instant gratification is not an option. As with everything, your commitment and diligence is the key to your success.
3) Do everything to support your success.
a) Research a variety of techniques to keep your focus, stay inspired, and prevent boredom. The internet is a fabulous tool that makes access to information easy and almost instantaneous.
b) Utilize motivational websites, blogs, and daily services to support your process. There are a multitude of free options.
c) Some of the best forms of positive thinking are affirmations. Use them to condition yourself to stay focused, motivated, and capable of achieving your goals.
4) Basically, the keys to the successful use of positive thinking are to:
a) Take responsibility for what you can do/are doing and don’t look for reasons “why not”.
b) Don’t play the “blame game,” which is just a bad habit to avoid your own responsibilities, which disempowers you.
c) Don’t be lazy; make an effort. Even the smallest effort can lead to great strides on your path to success.
Positive thinking is a tool for making choices about your “self”: self-esteem, self-determination, and self-discipline. You can choose to deal with situations and circumstances from a miserable perspective or from prosperity consciousness. Your choices affect how everything and everyone relates to you in your world and how you relate to them. An answer to the question of what positive thinking is can be, “What type of person do I choose to be?” Another answer can be, “Is my cup half empty or half full?” I choose to answer, “My cup runneth over.”
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