POSITIVE THINKING, POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Do you tend to see the glass as half empty or half full? You have probably heard that question plenty of times. Your answer relates directly to the concept of positive thinking and whether you have a positive or negative outlook on life. Positivity doesn’t always refer to simply smiling and looking cheerful, however positivity is more about one’s overall perspective on life and their tendency to focus on all that is good in life. Positive mindset as the tendency to focus on the bright side, expect positive results, and approach challenges with a positive outlook. Having a positive mindset means making positive thinking a habit, continually searching for the silver lining and making the best out of any situation you find yourself in.

Positive attitude means positive thinking. It is optimism and maintaining a positive mindset. It is a mental attitude that focuses on the bright side of life. Having a positive attitude does not mean you are dismissive of problems and concerns, while others who are pessimistic or downbeat are more mature and realistic in the face of undesirable circumstances. A positive attitude helps you cope more easily with the daily affairs of life. It brings optimism into your life, and makes it easier to avoid worries and negative thinking. If you adopt it as a way of life, it would bring constructive changes into your life, and makes them happier, brighter and more successful.

A positive attitude is driven by a belief that successful outcomes and solutions to problems are often influenced by optimism. A person with a positive attitude can still feel the tug to be negative; however, he or she succumbs to it less often. Maintaining a positive attitude is a learned skill. If your attitude is easily affected by circumstances, try practicing “conscious positivity”. When you don’t quite feel like being positive, be excited for others’ achievements. Have fun playing cards when you are losing. Be friendly to others you don’t know. Motivate others by saying something positive. Avoid letting others’ negativity bring you down. Lighten the mood where you can.

Do you know positivity has some health benefits? Yeah! Some of the health benefits of positive thinking can range from a longer life span, to less stress, lower rates of depression, better stress management and coping skills, and lower risk of cardiovascular disease-related death, increased physical well-being and a better psychological health.

It’s not a coincidence that some of the world's most successful people share similar character and mindset traits when it comes to positive attitude. I will be briefly sharing just six of these power traits;

Persistent: People who are positive are always hoping for something better, something more. They don’t give up at the first sign of a challenge. They believe there’s always a way around any obstacle and that helpful people and opportunities will show up. This translates to grit or persistence. When you’re willing to stand up, no matter how many times life gets you down, you’ll be a winner. Sooner or later.

Decisive: When you choose to think positive, you are deciding to take control of your thoughts and your life. And that’s always a good thing.

Courage: You need to be brave to be positive. It’s not easy to go against the norm and to stay positive in a world that loves negativity. Look at it this way, dreamers, innovators and world–changers are courageous. They are positive thinkers who focus on the possible. So when you think positive, you’re in good company.

Responsibility: It’s impossible to stay positive when you blame others for everything little thing that happens to you. Positive thinkers aren’t afraid to take responsibility for their lives and their choices. When you do this, you’re operating at full power. It gives you immense control over your ultimate destiny.

Solution oriented: When you’re positive, you are naturally drawn to outcome based thinking. You’re interested in the results. This is why positive thinkers are very solution-focused. The second they understand something needs to be fixed, they go out and find ways to fix it. They don’t spend endless hours analysing a problem and feeling bad about why something didn’t go the way they wanted it to.

Adapt: Adaptability is a critical trait for success and happiness. Unhappy, negative people think about their failures, mull over them and give up. But happy, successful people face failures, learn from what happened and adapt so they avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

I would conclude with the quote of Noam Chomsky who said “Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.” We therefore would be doing a lot of good to ourselves and the society at large if everyone decides to build that positive thinking that would translate to emitting positive attitude wherever we find ourselves.

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