Negative Thinking Never Helps

I've never had someone come up to me and say, "I'm always
negative and it's working out great for me. I can't wait to
get up in the morning!" And yet, positive thinking still has
its skeptics.

Some people tell me that positive thinking doesn't work or
that it's "unrealistic," especially in today's turbulent
world.

"Look around you," they say. "How can you be so positive?"
Well, let me ask you this: can the world be lifted out of
negativity by adding MORE negativity?

The truth is, there are certain things that negative
thinking will do for you. It will make you sick. It will
make you very unpleasant to be around. And, it will
significantly limit what you can achieve.

Let's take a closer look at why negative thinking doesn't
serve us. For starters, we all operate under the Law of
Dominant Thought. Simply stated, we're always moving in the
direction of our dominant thoughts.

Most of us have heard about the "self-fulfilling prophecy" -
that we get what we expect in life. Expect negative results
and, sure enough, you'll produce negative results.

As I'm sure you've found, negative thinking also causes you
to feel more stress and to have less energy. Scientific
studies have demonstrated that negativity weakens your
immune system. How many times have you gotten sick during a
stressful period in your life?

If you're still not convinced about the effects of being
negative, take out a sheet of paper and write down your list
of all the benefits you're getting from negative thinking. I
think your list is going to be very short, if you come up
with anything at all.

Let me make an important distinction here. It's quite
natural for a person to feel sad in response to a tragedy or
the death of a loved one. There's a period of loss and
grieving that differs for each individual, and we don't
expect a grief stricken person to be positive in the short
run.

However, even a person in that situation will not be served
by holding onto their negative thoughts indefinitely. (By
the way, if you've suffered some trauma or have had a
difficult time releasing negative thinking, by all means get
counseling. That's not a sign of weakness. It's a
constructive step to help you move forward in your life.)

Doing What Comes Naturally

From everything I've observed, babies are naturally
positive. They're usually smiling and seem to be enjoying
life. I haven't met any negative, frowning babies. That's
why I don't buy the argument that negative thinking is just
natural.

Those who think negatively do so out of habit. They have
conditioned themselves to think that way. In Western
societies in particular, we've developed the tendency to
focus on minor irritations, even though these annoyances are
only a tiny part of our overall lives. We tend to focus on
the 5% of our lives that are going "wrong"... instead of the
95% going well.

We'll sigh and tell everyone about the traffic jam or flat
tire on the way to work. Yet, we'll never comment about the
miracle of our existence - the billions of cells in our body
that somehow allow our brain to function, our heart to pump
blood or our eyes to see.

We don't appreciate that we have enough food to eat or that
we have a roof over our heads, while there are millions of
people who don't have these gifts. It's no wonder that so
many people think negatively.

The newspaper is filled with negative news. Television and
radio reports dwell on tragedies and crimes. How often do
you read or hear about people helping each other or doing
something positive? Hardly ever. If you do nothing to
counteract this bombardment of negativity, you're going to
think negatively.

At any time, however, you could take control of this
situation. You could stop watching and listening to all of
the negative news and read something positive instead. You
could limit your contact with "toxic" people and make sure
your life is filled with positive inputs.

If you did that, your "natural" inclination would switch and
you'd begin to think positively.

Quick Mental Exercises

I'll show you that you have much more control over your
thinking than you might believe. Try this experiment. Right
now, think about your favorite movie. You might even get a
picture in your mind of your favorite scene in that movie.

Now, let's think about your favorite meal. What is it? A
fresh salad ... a juicy steak ... grilled salmon? Whatever
it is, just think about it. Now that your mouth is watering,
let's move on. Think about being out in a snowstorm, with
two feet of snow on the ground. Can you see the snow and
feel the cold on your toes?

In each case, you were able to control what you thought
about. You could shift your thinking in an instant. It has
been said that positive thinking is harmful because
optimistic people ignore things that can go wrong or are
easily duped and taken advantage of.

In other words, if you expect the sun to be shining all the
time, you're just naive and are sure to be disappointed. But
positive thinking doesn't mean that you ignore reality or
refuse to consider the obstacles that might arise. On the
contrary, the positive person expects a positive outcome but
prepares for overcoming obstacles.

For example, if a positive person is planning an outdoor
wedding, he or she won't use the power of positive thinking
to make sure it doesn't rain on the big day. Rather, a
positive person is prepared with contingency plans, focusing
on things that she can directly control, such as having a
tent available in case it does rain.

By this point, I hope that you're receptive to the idea that
negative thinking won't help us. So, the question is: how
can we change our thinking to become more positive? The
answer, simply stated, is that you must change what goes
into your mind every day.

Start by eliminating as many of the negative inputs as
possible. While you can listen to the news for a few minutes
to catch the important headlines, there is no need to hear
reports of the same murders and bombings over and over each
day. At the same time, replace the negative inputs with
positive stimuli.

Read positive materials on a daily basis. Listen to positive
audio tapes or CDs, or to music that inspires or relaxes
you.

Here's another technique: monitor your everyday language.
When you find yourself beginning to complain or talk
negatively, switch immediately to something positive. Say
something like, "I really have so much to be grateful for"
and start listing some of those things.

Condition yourself to focus on constructive solutions to
challenges, rather than harping on problems or fretting
about things outside of your control. Make a commitment for
the next 30 days. Think about what you want instead of what
you don't want.

Think about what you're grateful for rather than what you
believe is missing in your life. Saturate your mind with the
positive. After 30 days, you can then decide whether to keep
focusing on the positive or to revert to your negative
thinking pattern. I think I know which one you'll choose!

-- Jeff Keller