The Power of Positive Thinking

Have you ever wondered why some people are more successful than others and why some people are happier than others?

Are they all more capable than us or Do they have all that they want in their lives? No, None of these. There is only simple answer to this question is: Positive thinking.

Positive Thoughts

So what are positive thoughts? As you may all know that our brain is made up of innumerable neurons and our body contains a lot of hormones to perform each day to day functionality. You may be thinking that I am heading towards an answer saying it has to do with your genetic makeup. But No, thoughts have nothing to do with your body/brain. They are “self cultivated”. Remember happiness is a state of mind.

From my own personal experience, I have seen a lot of people who have everything in life but are never happy. They do not seem to smile or bring smile to someone else face. They are always engrossed in criticism, depression, comparison with others and are generally introverted and shy.

Before I get into further details, I read a very good article and this is something I recall every time I am in a difficult situation. And here goes the gist. [If you would like to read more, check the site http://www.netscientia.com/perspective.html]

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend an idealogical meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married ... you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada. If you can read this article of perspective, you are more fortunate than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all. Of course, as I see the world today, perhaps that's not such a bad thing.

Now let me get into positive thoughts. According to me positive thoughts are

·         Optimism towards everything in life

·         To see happiness in everything

·         A clear and kind speech and activity

Why are some not positive?

I would blame it on the person and the environment.

·    If you grow up in an environment where optimism, happiness does not prevail, then you are expected to catch some of it. Your parents are your first teacher and you learn the most in your life from them. If even one of them is not a positive thinker then you are expected to have some traits.

·    Or there could be some who inspite of repeated attempts would have never tasted success, which I call in God’s hand. For example, you cannot control some body’s death or illness. But I believe that apart from that all other stress can be handled by human beings.

·     But there are also who are never happy. This is what I called Self Cultivation. They would seem to have everything in life but would compare with others and bring themselves down. These people are also depressed, which they never agree or never get treated for. Can you believe this? A person who has everything in life but still complaining? Why would he/she do so? Clearly a case of depression.

·     Maturity plays an important part. The older you grow, you would have been through a lot of ups and downs. You would be able to separate milk from water. You would be able to accept things that were unacceptable to you at one point of time in life. You thinking process should be much clearer.

·     Fear for everything is equally fatal. Some people fear almost everything. It is still unclear if fear causes negative thoughts or vice versa but it should be understandable that you need be bold enough to survive in this competitive world

How to cultivate positive thoughts?

Being a big advocate of positive thinking and having implemented these in difficult times, here goes to my how-tos.

·     Remember first, it is all in your hands. Your brain processes what you think. There are a lot of things in life to be happy about. As T T Rangarajan of Alma Mater says in his 52 thoughts “start a fresh morning”. If you see that one of your family members had left an emptied cup of coffee on the table without placing the cup in the sink. From today, do not shout. Understand that you gain nothing by shouting. It has been proven again and again, that shouting can never solve anything. A person may develop temporary fear after your shout but it would become invaluable the next time. The only thing left would be your health in shambles. Try to place the cup in the sink and gently tell the family member that you have done it today and from the next time, he/she should be careful. You may still not see any change tomorrow, but believe me, your love for your family member will definitely bring about a change very soon.

·     God and prayers solve everything. Why do we go to a temple, is not God everywhere? Is he not in your home? Again as T T Rangarajan of Alma Mater has said in 52 thoughts that, Temple is a place where positive thoughts are collected. There is a big difference between praying at home and at temple. A temple is supposed to contain positive vibrations and as you may know that all particles in this world are made of vibrations. It is a place where positive vibrations get transferred to you. The more you become spiritual, the more you will understand others and the more happy you will be with little things in life. I am a big example myself. With so many hardships in life, I am today a proud mother of two beautiful children. I still find it hard to believe that with the little I had and with the grace of God, I have brought them up successfully. I have induced some of my values in my children and I hope this will be a weapon which will help them succeed in future.

·     Comparison – Needless to say, when you are happy you feel on the top of the world. But when things do not go per your wish, it is not right to compare with others and complain. Remember no two people in this world are same and no two people grow in the same environment. Your brain and physical body is made in the 6^th week of pregnancy. The neurons at that stage develop around 100 per minute and your brain is made up of millions and millions of neurons. The entire structure is made and done before you are born. Though only 75% of your brain development is complete, the rest 25% of the brain develops during your early years. Accept your life and near and dear ones as they are. Start liking them from your heart, then you will see the real people. Sometimes you are so engrossed in others that you do not find anything about your family members fascinating at all. Everything about them irritates. Believe me, there is only Yes or No. If you keep complaining about something, it only and only means that you do not like that thing. It can never be the case that you complain and still like something. As I said before, there is only a Yes or a No.

·     Yoga has proven to be a major stress reliever and the Art of living classes rejuvenate your entire thought process. 30 minutes of yoga a day keeps your body and mind clean.

·     Remember that anything negative you say or do affects your family members. Some people would have crossed all levels that they wouldn’t be able to see that at all. If you are one of those who does not see your negative thoughts affecting family members, you need immediate medical attention. Your family members should make proper efforts to take you the right physician. More importantly if you are in place with children be more careful. Children learn the most from elders between the age 2-15. In fact they learn what ever they see. You need to set an example.

·     Any other form of exercise helps. Sometimes keeping one busy also helps. Your brain produces hormones when you are practicing yoga or doing exercise. These hormones have scientifically proven to keep a person happy.

·     Move out of negative environment. Is this is the best way? Sometimes Yes and sometimes No. Older people affected with depression and pessimism are much more difficult to treat than younger ones. My daughter tells me that positive thinking and a good environment has completely changed her life. Why I say sometimes ‘No’ is, you can change some of them.

·       And most important of all, you are your own judge. Self assess. If you have uttered negative words or fought with someone. Now is the time to take control. Try this, count the number of instances in a day when a negative thought passed by your mind or you did/said something that is not actually supposed to be done. If you count is more than one per day, you need help. Either start with Yoga/Meditation and take a spiritual path.

Benefits of positive thinking

·         A happier you and your family

·         Increased life span

·         Lower rates of depression

·         Better well being – physical and physiological

·         Better capacity to cope up with stress

·         Reduced heart diseases.

·         A better life for you and your loved ones.

·             And most important of all, better judgment of a situation or a person.