Positive thinking

Optimism and positivism are becoming more and more fashionable. From everywhere we receive messages encouraging us to smile, enjoy and be happy. With such a simplistic and reduced approach, it is logical that many people consider this proposal somewhat childish and naive. Therefore, in the following paragraphs we are going to delve into the basis of positive thinking and explain the many benefits it can bring to our lives.

It’s Monday, it’s raining heavily and you’re late for work. You’ve missed the bus, so you have to walk quickly while trying to keep your umbrella from blowing away in the wind. Suddenly, at a bus stop or in a notebook in a shop window you read a message like: “smile”, “life is wonderful”. This will probably make you even more angry. You would like to be happy, but circumstances do not cooperate.

Even though the message that is so frustrating to you is an incomplete simplification, the teaching it contains is one of the most beneficial we can learn. Life is not wonderful because everything goes your way, it is wonderful when you decide that it is. Smiling should not be a consequence of external events, but rather a daily and personal decision.

Positive and negative thinking

One of the most demonstrated premises in the history of psychology is that we do not see the world as it is, but as we are. Reality is just a set of events that take shape in the light of our thoughts. These are the ones that give meaning to what happens to us, and give it a positive or negative valence.

There are many currents that use this assumption in their therapeutic change techniques. Our thoughts define our mood, regardless of what is happening around us. That is why there are people who are mostly happy and others who are generally dissatisfied. It is not that the former have a particularly privileged life, but that they decide, at every moment, to feed their positive thinking.

We can imagine our mind as a space in which two seeds live: that of optimism and that of negativity. Every day we have the opportunity to choose which one to water and help it grow. But we have to know that, whichever is the most cared for, it will grow stronger until it occupies all of our mental space.

You have the power to choose

Many people will think: “I water the positive when good things happen to me and the negative when things go bad, it’s logical.” It may make sense to you, but it is certainly not functional. Why let your mood drift from external circumstances? Always choose to feed the positive side Well, he is the one who will help you maintain optimism and motivation to move forward.

Wallowing in bad thoughts, settling into the position of victim will not change what has happened to you. On the contrary, it will intensify your discomfort. and it will make you perceive only more negative details. Well, we have to keep in mind that thought patterns feed on each other: the more you think negatively, the easier it is for you to find reasons for frustration and dissatisfaction. And the same thing happens the other way around.

It would be ideal if they began to instill in us the habit of positive thinking from the time we are children. In this way it would be easy and natural for us to perceive the beauty of life and we would develop an attitude of gratitude. We would be able to see the opportunity in every situation and face adversity with confidence and optimism.

However, many times this does not happen and we grow up with a negative thinking pattern. A radar to detect difficulty and injustice and feel like victims of the world. After years of watering the plant of negativity, positive thinking is incomprehensible to us. However, remember that you always have time to change reality with your decisions.

Resolve to let your old patterns die of thirst and begin to feed your ability to perceive the good. You will find that the more you practice, the easier it is for your mind to find the positive. Therefore, do not wait and take the test. No matter how forced it may seem at first, it will end up becoming natural to you.

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