Health and Wealth - It’s All in Your Mind (The Power of Positive Thinking)
Growing up, like most kids, I didn’t have a true appreciation for those who exhibited positive attitudes. When my parents would tell me to stay positive and look for silver linings when disappointing situations outside of my control arose, I thought it was simply a well-mannered attempt to try to stop me from complaining. However, as I got older, not only did I start to truly value the benefits of a positive mindset, but I became intrigued when I heard stories about people who achieved amazing accomplishments and attributed their success to positive thinking. While the majority of the population believes there’s a link between positivity, productivity, sense of fulfillment, and overall happiness, there’s also scientific evidence that suggests our imaginations and actions are intertwined.
What types of people would you prefer to spend your time with? Do you tend to gravitate toward folks who are typically in good moods and have a positive outlook on life or do you find yourself drifting to those who always have something negative to say about another person, their job, or the world in general? I’m willing to wager that the majority of the population would prefer to be around those who emit some form of positive energy whether it’s through a thoughtful conversation, a kind act, or simply a smile.
Think back to who was voted Mr. or Miss Popularity back when you were in high school, or who was known as the “life of the party” at social gatherings. These folks typically have characteristics that can be described as friendly, fun, outgoing, and welcoming. They undoubtedly possessed the ability of holding a conversation with anyone. I can’t recall a time where I’ve witnessed or even heard about the “life of the party” being a grumpster who sat around complaining, insulting and belittling others, or had a “who cares” attitude.
Personally, not only do I find being around people with positive mind patterns to be enjoyable, but also refreshing and motivating when I feel the negativity of others closing in around me. One of the most positive people I ever met was a groundskeeper at the college I attended in Pittsburgh. He was always smiling, greeting students on their way to class, and wishing everyone a great day. Even when breaking his back shoveling extremely heavy snow from the walkways while icy precipitation was still coming down, he would always pause to greet the nearby students with a genuine smile on his face. The students nicknamed him “Happy.” When arriving on campus or transitioning between classes, students would scan the landscape in hopes he was around. However, there were some students hellbent on having a crappy day everyday and would make snide comments about him. Once I witnessed this type of behavior, I steered clear of these individuals whenever I could.
Unfortunately, negativity in the workplace can be a bit harder to avoid as you don’t always get a choice of who you work with. There are some people who made up their minds long ago to think along the negative end of the spectrum. At other times, the work environment itself can promote thought and behavior migration from positive to negative. A workplace that sustains elevated levels of internal politics, favoritism, backstabbing, credit thievery, and criticism (to name a few) can be detrimental to the longevity of the organization, but also the mental health of its employees.
Back in my retail days, I worked with an individual whose actions were absolutely draining. Everyone was out to get her at all times. Whenever something went wrong, even if it was trivial, someone in the store was going to pin it on her because no one could see passed their jealousy of her. She spent a large portion of her shift creating non-existent problems between associates in an attempt to sway folks to support her egotistical agenda. It was a relief when our schedules didn’t overlap, but even then, the toxicity of the turmoil she created the day before was still actively breaking down the harmony and productivity of the store.
It’s my belief that all of us want to live our lives with positive thoughts leading our mind patterns, but it can be difficult as life appears to be full of less than desirable detours. Those who appear to be the happiest and most successful are those who genuinely see silver linings in less than optimal situations. It’s for this reason we are drawn to stories where against all odds, people stayed positive, never gave up, and ultimately achieved their dreams. You hear about these stories spanning all walks of life from the “never say die” positivity and perseverance of sports stars like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant to medical patients who learn to walk again in spite of their doctor’s cynical diagnosis.
Many folks know the story of Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. It is said that Edison experimented with thousands of different filaments for the light bulb. Just imagine if after a couple thousand attempts (or even a couple hundred attempts) Edison said, “forget it, I’ll never get this to work.” Instead, Edison described his work with the following statement: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
A lesser known success story of positivity is that of Walt Disney. At a young age, Walt Disney was told by his boss that he lacked creativity and was fired from his job at a local newspaper. At the age of 21, Disney and artist Ub Iwerks started a small animation business which later had to file for bankruptcy. Disney was barely scraping by to pay his bills and ate dog food to survive. Essentially spending his last dollar, he relocated to Hollywood in hopes to make his dreams come true. He experienced rejection after rejection being told that Mickey Mouse would never amount to anything. Yet, Disney remained positive and persevered in his passion. Today, the Disney name is known worldwide and currently owns such brands as The Muppets, Lucasfilm, Marvel Entertainment, Hulu, Pixar, ABC, ESPN, and 21st Century Fox.
Refusing to allow negative thoughts to control your mind can greatly impact the success you experience in your career, but it’s even more important to avoid negativity for your overall long-term health. Negativity creates stress in the human body and it can manifest in many different ways. Periods of extended negativity have been known to accelerate the deterioration of the human body.
Here are 10 health hazards that are tied directly to stress:
- Heart disease (high blood pressure, heart attacks).
- Depression and anxiety.
- Gastrointestinal problems.
- Obesity.
- Headaches (stress is considered the most common trigger for headaches and migraines).
- Diabetes (stress promotes unhealthy eating, drinking, and raises glucose levels).
- Asthma (studies have shown stress can make it worse).
- Alzheimer’s Disease (studies have shown stress can make it worse).
- Accelerated aging (see the images of Lincoln and Bush below… the start of their 4-year-term [left], the end of their term [right]).
- Premature death.
Some believe in the concept of self-fulfilling prophecies where if you firmly believe something is going to happen (like getting a promotion at work) and you put forth the effort and positive energy, it will become a reality. Likewise, the opposite is believed as well. If you are certain a job offer is going to be awarded to another individual and there is little to no effort on your part to redirect the spotlight to your qualifications, then that will become the reality.
Along the same lines as a self-fulfilling prophecy, there are others who see this topic from more of a cosmic perspective involving infinite realities. These realities could be drastically different from your current reality such as you being a millionaire or an Olympic gold medalist. These realities could also be differentiated by the smallest of details where your day today was exactly the same, except you wore black shoes instead of brown shoes. The idea here is that your thoughts are projected out into the universe and manifest into your physical reality. So, in essence, by focusing on your goal, you are transitioning yourself out of your current reality and into a reality where your goal will be achieved.
While these are interesting theories, you might be wondering what type of scientific evidence exists to support claims that someone can change his or her life by simply imagining a particular outcome. There was some intriguing evidence discovered in a study conducted by Pascual-Leone (researcher at the National Institutes of Health) where two groups of people practiced playing the piano for two hours each day. One group actually sat at a piano and played the keys. The other group sat at the piano but couldn’t touch the keys. They could only imagine playing the appropriate keys. After three days of practicing, both groups played at the same exact level of accuracy. It turns out that from a neuroscientific perspective, imagining an action and performing an action stimulate the same neural pathways.
Dr. Theo Mulder from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences stated in a publication on motor imagery and observable action that, “in the brain, imagination is not separate from action and perception.” This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “imagine yourself being successful!”
A number of other studies have revealed that positivity can help open minds to more possibilities and creativity, increase resiliency and ability to tolerate pain, prevent hypertension, strengthen the immune system, improve cognitive functioning, and battle depression.
So, what are some strategies that you can start implementing today to become a more positive person? Here are 12 solid tactics:
- Stay informed but don’t watch the news (it’s a barrage of negativity 24/7).
- Surround yourself with positive people.
- Surround yourself with laughter (better to laugh than cry).
- Be helpful / show kindness to others.
- Show gratitude (it’s tough to be stressed out when sincerely thanking someone).
- Look for genuine silver linings in less than optimal situations.
- Ask others to call you out when you’re displaying negativity.
- Smile.
- Eat healthy (clearer mind, helps control weight, and higher energy levels).
- Exercise.
- Relaxation and meditation.
- Get enough sleep.
By no means is this an exhaustive list of behaviors to enhance your level of positivity. There are many non-traditional approaches as well such as creating and living your own personal mantra or listening to music at the 432Hz frequency which some believe to provide deep healing of the body and soul along with raising positive energy. It doesn’t matter what strategy you employ. What’s ultimately important is that the strategy works for you.
Negativity is a very destructive force. It can significantly deteriorate your personal and professional relationships, extinguish your motivation to achieve your goals, degrade your physical and mental health, and diminish your overall capacity to enjoy life. It can take a lot of focused work to train your brain to interpret the world in a positive light, but once you establish this ability to the point where it occurs naturally, the benefits can be profound. If you want to live a better life, start by imagining a better life, believing in a better life, and finally align your behaviors and actions to make that better life a reality.
Date Published: 8/11/2020