More than any time in the past the need for positive thinking is not only desirable but necessary.
In my training courses I nearly always include a small section about how we think about the skills we are learning and practicing; a consistently positive attitude towards giving a presentation for example makes a huge difference to your performance on the day, even if it’s just changing your belief from “I’m not very good at presentations” to “Every time I practice giving a presentation, I’m getting better and more confident”.
Two sources inspired me to write this post. The first was from a request by a multi- national company to deliver a course on positive thinking to combat the negative atmosphere induced by restructuring and layoffs. The second source of inspiration came from a friend who told me an interesting story. He related how for many years his principle view of life was one of negativity, believing that everything that happened to him was caused by external forces which inevitably drove him to complain incessantly. As a consequence, people didn’t want to be around him and professional opportunities quickly dried up.Then one day someone asked him if he had read “The Secret”. After reading this book and completing changing his attitude to one of positivity and self responsibility, his life changed completely in only 15 days!
One of the most empowering beliefs we can hold is that at some energetic level we are the cause of everything that happens to us. Quantum physics is now demonstrating how this is so and adding weight to how the ‘Law of Attraction’ actually works.
A thorough explanation of the workings of this Law is not the objective of this post. What I wanted to explore however is how just a small change in the way we think can start to bring changes into our life.
At the end of the day, the most important thing is how we feel in each moment. Everything we do freely, we do because we believe we will feel better in the doing/having of it. This is the impetus which propels us forward and is responsible for all types of growth.
So if we want to feel good, why would we choose to think thoughts that make us feel bad? You see, that’s the key – when we know we can control our thoughts, we can control how we feel which leads to feeling more positive, which leads us to better interactions with people, which may lead to opportunities through people to improve our current situation. Cause and effect.
So how can we get on the path towards thinking more positively?
Let’s take some typical beliefs and change them from negative to positive whilst retaining their believability:
I’m not very good at speaking in public – every time I speak in public I’m becoming more confident
The economic crisis is so bad I could lose my job – Instead of worrying about losing my job, I’ll concentrate on doing the best I can at work
Nothing ever works out for me – from now on I’ll do my best in everything (I can’t do anything else) and hope for positive outcomes
I’m fed up of not having enough money to do the things I want – Let me think about the things I can take pleasure from that don’t need money to do them.
It’s difficult to find business in this current economic climate – if other people in my profession are getting business, why can’t I? What are they doing differently? How can I imitate them?
The first step is being aware of how you are thinking and how this is making you feel. Analyse your thoughts and if they’re not serving you, get focused and start working on the discipline of changing those thoughts around so they DO serve you, firstly in the sense that they make you feel better. Further down the line, you will see how these new thoughts serve you by what’s coming into your life. OK, it means you have to make an effort, but if you have had the habit of thinking negative thoughts for a long time,changing that habit WILL require an effort.
Even for those sceptics who don’t really believe how what we think can affect our lives, I always say, OK, I respect your view, but why would you choose to worry and think thoughts that don’t make you feel good, when you can just as easily think more better feeling thoughts? It doesn’t make sense!!
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Secret-Rhonda-Byrne/dp/1847370292/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350373159&sr=8-1
