The power of positive thinking

Positive thinking is a thought process, where an individual thinks only positive. In other words, he does not allow any negative thoughts to enter his mind. There is tremendous power in positive thinking and it does help a person to get elevated both materially and spiritually. Some people laugh at this idea and call it highly hypothetical. But this is a fact. The mind is the supreme executive of the body. It is not merely the anatomic collection of grey matter and white matter but something beyond that. The overall consciousness, intellect and alertness which makes a person’s entire being is something more and that is his mind. It is the mind which governs the entire consciousness and thought process of a man. Directly it is responsible for the power of thinking, decision making and feelings of a person. Indirectly it governs all body functions through stimulating the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems (responsible for involuntary functions of body). Positive thoughts keep the mind relaxed and calm. This improves the decision making ability of a person thus helping him to be successful in worldly matters. In face of adversity one with positive thinking does not get disturbed readily. He tries to think of a solution with a cool mind. If spiritually inclined, this person may accept everything as God’s will and wait patiently for the situation to change while carrying out efforts for the same, simultaneously. Whatever happens, he does not get stressed out hence always remains happy and healthy. The working of one with a negative mind set is altogether different. He always thinks negative even before the work has started. Because of negative thoughts, he has many apprehensions and anxiety. Due to this, he is not able to focus well on the work at hand. This affects the quality of work, resulting in failure. The failure to succeed generates more anxiety thus creating a vicious cycle. All this affects his physical health also. Every human being consciously or unconsciously influences others. The one with positive thoughts shall always influence others positively and gain their admiration and respect. Thus one should try to develop positive thinking. It is not very easy. Human mind is very unstable, excitable and inattentive most of the time. One can try to keep the mind thoughtless even for a minute and see how difficult it is. It has to be reined in. In everyday situations one should try to look at the positive aspect of various affairs. One can look at a half filled glass and say, “it is half filled”, instead of calling it, “half empty”. Regarding colleagues, friends and family members, an individual should attempt to look for only positive things in them. This attitude will make a person feel always happy and also help him gain more respect from people around. The relations with others will also be strengthened which is a requirement for mental relaxation and happiness. Even if there is a problem, it should be thought that this could have been worse. With a positive mind set, an individual can go about solving the problem. Because of his positive thoughts, he feels confident that things will change for better. One with positive thoughts knows that as night is always followed by day, so is the cycle of life. Bad times always change into good times. The adverse situation does change into favourable one, sooner or later. Being happy in other people’s happiness is also an attitude which helps in improving positive mentality of an individual. One should attempt to be happy on joyous occasions and achievements of others. Reading good literature, inspiring stories of courage, valour and success against odds, are helpful in developing positive thoughts. Meditation is a very good tool to help a person strengthen his mind and have positive thoughts. Before sleeping, it is good to do self analysis daily. A person can think as to where he was negative in his thinking and try to correct that another day. By all these efforts, gradually one can get rid of his negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts. Once the mind is full of positive thoughts, a person can realize as to how confident and powerful he will become in his life. It is therefore vital for every person to try to keep his mind surcharged with positive thoughts always for his self development. rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk