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positive thinking = positive results?

September 11th, 2008. Published under personal development. 1 Comment.

introduction: Do you think that positive thinking really produces positive results? Positive results can be simple things like personal well being, being happy, making the right decisions, performing in your job/career - achieving what you set out to do, living a well balanced life, or just a big smile.

thoughts: The obvious answer is YES right? Well naturally it makes sense once you have read the above - however it is so easy to get caught up in negativity and let it take over. Its just the way we are and for most of us we can’t help that. There are many underlying factors (financial, work stress, relationships, family..) that can bring you down and life isn’t easy all the time. So how do you remain positive when things get you down?

experience: I’ll let you in on a personal experience. About 3 years ago I had developed (from being a naturally positive person) into a depressed, broke and working a full time job that drove me to the ground. The work itself was very interesting and I was earning decent money. The thing that got me down was the fact that how can I be ‘broke’ when I was a professional earning decent money? Why have I let myself get to this stage? And why wasn’t I happy and so frustrated? I was in a relationship that was very unstable (from my part) at the time and I couldn’t give what it deserved. 

Well the answer is fairly obvious too right? and you probably already know this ~ but not for me at the time. I was focusing on the ‘negative’ aspects of my life and completely took for granted the ‘positive’ things about my life. Things like my girlfriend at the time, good friends, good family, good health, and the fact that I had a job! It really clouded my thoughts and I was literally a walking time bomb.

change: During this period I also had the opportunity to travel to remote southern China (remember that remote China is not like big city China) for a work conference and I clearly remember hopping on a shuttle bus with a work colleague to get to our destination. The landscape, scenery and natural surroundings was magnificent. Everyone I had observed had a ’silent’ smile on their faces and looked like they had peace within themselves. They seemed content and relaxed and carried on with their lives without too much effort and worry.

At that moment floods of thoughts came rushing through my mind and the one that really stood out and I believe turned me around was the thought ”And I thought I had it tough” -You see, these people didn’t have the modern luxuries that we have, fancy cars, fancy clothes,fancy lifestyles, fancy nothing - BUT they were happy. And their karma and aura presents that through their smiles.

That thought really stuck in my mind - so much so such that I immediately thought about things that were positive. The first positive thought was of course my girlfriend, closest friends and family. So I quickly grabbed a notepad and wrote down 5 things that I was grateful for.

1. Girlfriend - who loved me unconditionally and put up with my ‘crap’ for so long

2. Friends - no judgement and are always there to listen

3. Family - comfort and values

4. Job that involves travel - not many people my age have the same opportunity

5. Good health - I am an active person who loves sport and can still play the sports that I love!

So 5 simple things that I have completely overlooked as part of my daily lifestyle in my modern world! Things I took for granted and they are obvious too. But not so when you are clouded with negativity! Instantly these 5 simple things put a big smile on my face - something I don’t do as often as I should.

During my entire time there (2 weeks), When I woke up in the morning I reached for my notepad and wrote down 5 things that I was grateful to have. It made me smile and set me up for the day. I changed the way I was thinking. I still do this today except I have hard-wired myself to think positively and just to remind me of how lucky I am to have what I have and they don’t have to be material things. Just simple things that trigger ‘positive’ thoughts.

today: today I am a successful full-time Internet Marketer and over the last few years have developed valuable and essential skills along the way. The learning curve although steep and fast has enabled me to work from any location in the world - from my laptop. I am not broke or depressed! I am living in one of the busiest cities in the world (Sydney) - the lifestyle I once described as ’chaos’ is now at peace with me.

relevance: So you are asking what’s the relevance here? Well think about it. If you haven’t figured it out then I’ll highlight some key points for you:-

• No matter where you are physically or whichever environment you are in - you have FULL control of your thoughts.
• You can choose to think positively - and for every negative thought that enters your mind, counteract them with 3 positive thoughts.
• Once you change your mindset  - you can then suddenly solve problems that you couldn’t see solutions to.
• You can only love and care about others once you learn to appreciate and love yourself.
• You can only help others once you help yourself.
• Being positive produces positive actions - if you had a tough decision to make - The best decision made would be whilst you are at your best.
• Just do the best you can - that’s what’s only expected from you.
• Being positive helps you deal with the tough times and naturally it will help you along the way.
• In order to suceed in your career you have to be at your best in terms of mindset.

task: Oh so you thought you can get away without any participation? Well you are wrong! I have a simple task for you. I want you to write down 5 things when you wake up in the morning - the things that you are grateful to have. It can be anything. Things like my examples, material things, things that you admire, or even things you aspire to do and be.

share: Do the task for 2 weeks every morning on the way to work or when you are having breakfast and see if it changes the way you think and feel. Be creative and try not to use the same points twice. You will be surprised on how limited your list will be! So stretch your imagination. Even if you are a naturally positive person I encourage you to do the same as sometimes we can have a bad day too - and I find it helps. It is something you can apply throughout your entire life.

invite: I invite you to leave comments and share your results. Looking forward to positive all round!

result: Hopefully by applying this simple task you will eventually hard-wire your mindset into a positive and healthy one that can conquer anything!