The Essence of Being Positive

The Essence of Being Positive...What is Positive Thinking and What it's not.

Life is never like a straight line graph, everything going fine all the time. There are ups and downs, rises and falls, twists and turns. In a way, this adds fun and pain to the journey we call life. So it's a given that we are going to be negative or at least have phases when things don't go as expected.

Understanding Pessimism

So how does one become more positive? It's just not about seeing the glass half full. Become more positive is like an addition sum where add something to what we already know. It's not an escape. So, I am not saying that negativity is wrong. Here is a quote on Pessimism which shed some light on the matter,

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." by Oscar Wilde

In a way, we are all in a metaphorical gutter, muddled in our situations. It is that hopefulness that is the essence of being positive. So if we take pessimism as a kind of Reality seeing exercise, Being positive is just adding a tadka to it. Just a dash of hopefulness to spice it up. This adds flavor to this guttery dish called life- now suddenly things are different and better.

Benefits of Positive Thinking

Of course, There are Benefits of positive thinking and advantages of it as well. Let's list some of them. According to an article by Mayo Clinic, The health benefits of Positivity are tremendous.*1 These benefits touch various areas of one’s life, right from the common cold to improved cardiovascular health. It seems it can also increase one's life span. Personally, I initially thought of it as something that was obvious, but I was wrong. But it’s quite a long story- it has helped me tremendously in my workspace. As an Entrepreneur and Educator, Sowing times when we are waiting for projects and dreams to materialize, it can be quite stressful. A small amount of Faith and loads of positivity have helped move ahead quite successfully.

Attitudes can affect others

So then, Be positive and understand the effect. It’s just not going to affect you, but like negative thinking affect others. Ideas and thoughts are quite contagious. Imagine a negative salesperson, quite the disaster. It would be quite demotivating when business is bad. When there are no sales and fresh ideas or strategies are required, the negativity can block ideas. So the sales person would need to be hopeful, this would help him generate or at least consider ideas to solve his problem of poor sales. This too would have an effect, but now a much positive one.

Positive Thinking is not being delusional

Lastly, Positivity is not being delusional. Positivity can become delusional if we don't keep our expectations and hopes within a boundary of common expectations. According to Lyndelle Palmer Clarke, Dealing with change requires a balance both Negative and Positive ways of thinking.*2 This balance between negative thinking and positivity can be like that of changing hats.

So here is my take on Positive Thinking, I hope you find it useful. Please Share and comment if you like this article. For any feedback, please do email me. Here are some articles, I found useful.

For Further Reading,

Fours Keys to overcoming negative thinking for Good by Melli Obrien.

The Power of Positive Thinking by Remez Sasson

References:

*1, Mayo Clinic Staff. 2017. Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950.

*2, Lyndelle Palmer Clarke. 2018. When Positive Thinking Becomes Delusion. [ONLINE] Available at: https://dailygreatness.co/blogs/be-your-own-guru/49767237-when-positive-thinking-becomes-delusion.