People often ask me why positive thinking does not work for them. Here is an email message I have received recently:
“I’ve been trying this whole positive thinking thing for about 2 years now with no results. Things actually seen to be getting worse.
“I’m up to my neck in debt and my health isn’t the greatest. I watched “The secret” and thought, “wow”, but after a while of really trying to change my thought patterns, I had to give up on it.”
When this happens, you are probably not doing it right.
The number one reason for failure is that you are too focused on your problems and not on finding solutions. Reading books and articles and watching movies is not enough. You need to take action too, spend effort and strive to succeed.
For positive thinking to work and produce results it is not enough to say a few positive words, daydream for a few minutes, or expect for things to change without doing anything.
Positive thinking is going to change your attitude, and therefore, you actions and your expectations. It takes time for things to change. Positive thinking is some kind of magic that will transform your life instantly.
Positive thinking requires sustained positive action, even when there are obstacles and difficulties.
Why Positive Thinking Does not Work for You
You might think that you have been positive, and yet, you feel that things are not improving.
Like everything in life, positive thinking requires persistence and perseverance. You need to try again and again until you succeed. Rarely things change overnight.
Usually, when people first hear about positive thinking and how it can change their lives, they get excited and elated. However, if they don’t see immediate results, they often get disappointed and discouraged and lose any faith in positive thinking.
To make it work for you, you need to make it your predominant mental attitude, and not something you think about only once in a while.
It is not enough to be positive for a few minutes and negative for the rest of the day.
For some reason, a great number of people think negatively, even if they might not admit it. They focus on the difficulties and problems in their life.
The mind doesn’t like to change its thinking patterns, and often, subconsciously, it sabotages the attempt to think positively. People find it difficult to change this attitude.
You might succeed in maintaining a positive attitude for a little while, but the mind will often revert to its old thinking patterns, and you might not be aware of this happening.
You might be positive for a few minutes a day, but negative for the rest of the day. This will nullify and cancel your positive thoughts.
It’s like starting to build a castle of sand on the beach, but over and again, waves reach the shore and destroy what you are building.
You have to be patient, persevering and attentive to your thoughts, and whenever being aware of negative, depressing or discouraging thoughts, consciously replace them with opposite positive and happy thoughts. This has to be a constant practice.
There is some kind of an erroneous thinking relating to anything that has to do with personal and spiritual growth.
Positive Thinking Is a Habit
Since these topics deal with emotions, thoughts, mind and spirit, which are not tangible, people wrongly think that there are no rules and laws here, and that just reading or believing in some kind of theory is going to change their lives.
This is erroneous thinking. The same rules and laws required for learning a new language or a new trade, building a business or bodybuilding, apply here too.
To get real results, you also need to act on the physical level, do things, work, study and take advantage of new opportunities that can help you accomplish your desire.
Being positive inspires, motivates and encourages, and is most important, but you should not do it just for a few minutes, but for the whole day, and it should be backed by action.
To make positive thinking work, you need to stay motivated, and constantly nourish your ambitions.
To make positive thinking work, you need to be willing to do whatever it takes to get what you want, and not stay passive and wait for things to happen.
No matter how many times you revert to negative thinking, strive to change your thoughts.
It’s like body building. If you wish to strengthen your muscles and build an athletic body, you need to go to the gym regularly. It’s the same with with acquiring the habit of positive thinking.
Positive thinking is a habit, and it takes time implement.
Acquiring this habit does not mean that your life would be smooth, with no hurdles and obstacles. You meet still meet difficulties, frustration and failure.
Positive thinking would not necessarily make you successful and rich. It would enable you to try again no matter how many times you fail. It would mske you seek solutions and believe that you will find them.
It’s a habit that does not admit failure, and helps you get up, no matter how many times you fall.
Words that Express and Describe a Positive Attitude
Here are a few words that describe positive thinking and which evoke positive feelings:
- Bright outlook
- Cheerfulness
- Enthusiasm
- great expectations
- Hopefulness
- Optimism
- Rosy outlook
- Positivism
- Self-assuredness
- Positive impact
- Beneficial impact
You might also like reading Positive Phrases and Sentences to Add to Your Vocabulary
