The Dangers Of Positive Thinking

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Positive thinking has become one of the most popular phrases of our time. But what happens when you find yourself in a situation that makes it difficult to “Think Positive”? In these times, when things just don’t seem to be going right, being told to “Think Positive” just doesn’t work. If we try to think positive in these situations, we know that we are trying to fool ourselves. This can then actually make us feel more negative about the situation.

So what’s the answer?

One way of dealing with a bad situation is to analyze it properly and see how bad things really are. Much of the time—especially when we are depressed—we feel that the situation is much worse than it actually is. If we take a close look at a situation and ask ourselves “What is the worst thing that could happen?” we can find that the worst thing is really not so bad after all.

We find that we will still have the things that really matter such as a place to live, food to eat, and our friends and family. But more important—when we have all the things just mentioned—is that we will still have the means to move from the bad situation to one that is more positive.

In the end, the whole point of looking at the situation and seeing how bad things really are is to move away from relying on our feelings and moving toward a view of the world or situation on the facts as they are. What we need in these types of situations is not to “think positive” but think less on the negative side—to see our problems for what they really are.

And once the situation has been looked at closely, we need to use the proper words to describe it. Don’t call something a disaster when it’s just an annoyance. Or don’t think of something as a tragedy when it’s just a minor setback. Once we take this objective look at our problems, we’ll find that they aren’t such a problem after all, and can be overcome. And then we realize we can find the positive in the situation—by looking at the negative first.

Steve Bentham runs the website http://inspirationinsights.com a website dedicated to inspiration, motivation and personal development. This article is an abridged version of Stop Trying to Think Positive which can be found on the Inspiration Insights website

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Thought Awareness, Rational Thinking and Positive Thinking

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These three related tools are useful in combating negative thinking. Negative thinking causes stress because it damages your confidence that you are equal to the task you face.

Negative thoughts occur when you put yourself down, criticize yourself for errors, doubt your abilities, expect failure, etc. Negative thinking is the negative side of suggestion – it damages confidence, harms performance and paralyzes mental skills.

Thought Awareness

Thought awareness is the process by which you observe your thoughts for a time, perhaps when under stress, and become aware of what is going through your head. It is best not to suppress any thoughts – just let them run their course while you observe them.

Watch for negative thoughts while you observe your ‘stream of consciousness’. Normally these appear and disappear being noticed. Normally you will not know that they exist. Examples of common negative thoughts are:

• worries about how you appear to other people
• a preoccupation with the symptoms of stress
• dwelling on consequences of poor performance
• self criticism
• feelings of inadequacy

Make a note of the thought, and then let the stream of consciousness run on.

Thought awareness is the first step in the process of eliminating negative thoughts – you cannot counter thoughts you do not know you think.

Rational Thinking

Once you are aware of your negative thoughts, write them down and review them rationally. See whether the thoughts have any basis in reality. Often you find that when you properly challenge negative thoughts they are obviously wrong. Often they persist only because they escape notice.

Positive Thinking and Affirmation

You may find it useful to counter negative thoughts with positive affirmations. You can use affirmations to build confidence and change negative behavior patterns into positive ones. You can base affirmations on clear, rational assessments of fact, and use them to undo the damage that negative thinking may have done to your self-confidence.

Examples of affirmations are:

• I can do this.
• I can achieve my goals.
• I am completely myself and people will like me for myself.
• I am completely in control of my life.
• I learn from my mistakes. They increase the basis of experience on which I can draw.
• I am a good valued person in my own right.

Traditionally people have advocated positive thinking almost recklessly, as if it is a solution to everything. It should be used with common sense. No amount of positive thinking will make everyone who applies it an Olympic champion marathon runner (though an Olympic marathon runner is unlikely to have reached this level without being pretty good at positive thinking). Firstly decide rationally what goals you can realistically attain with hard work, and then use positive thinking to reinforce these.

Stephanie Loebs is the executive director of Williamsburg Place, one of the top drug rehab clinics in the nation. Williamsburg Place aids those who suffer from drug and/or alcohol addiction, and specializes in caring for health care professionals. For over twenty years Williamsburg Place and its joint rehabilitation center, the William J. Farley Center, have helped thousands of people from all walks of life take back their lives and overcome substance abuse.

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Positive Affirmation - Let me dissect what it is today.

Affirmation is defined in the dictionary as 'the assertion that something exists or is true'. It does not matter which dictionary you choose, the definition will be pretty much the same, which brings us to the topic of positive affirmations. You may have heard people mention affirmations and how they were implementing their use in their lives, and you may have been interested, but just did not know how to start using positive affirmations in your life.

It is really pretty simple to start using the power of affirmations in your life. Basically, you just write something positive and specific in regards to an issue you are trying to resolve in your life. So what is an affirmation that you can begin with? Here is an example.

Let's say that you are having an issue with being confident. An example of a daily affirmation that you could implement is 'I am confident'. Notice that you do not say 'I will become more confident', but rather 'I am confident'. You state your affirmation in the present tense, as if it has already come to pass.

You do not have to wait until you are in a specific space or place to put your affirmation to work. You should use it as often as possible, and especially when you are dealing with your particular issue. Whenever you get a break during your day, for instance, take a moment to implement your current positive affirmations. A good daily guideline for using your affirmations is when you wake up in the morning, during your breaks throughout the day, and before going to sleep at night.

Here are some examples of affirmations to help get you started:

* I am prosperous in everything that I do.

* I am creative and resourceful

* I can do anything that I put my mind to

* I do not allow others to define who I am

Anyway, you get the point. The sooner you get started, the sooner your positive affirmations will take hold in your life. So go ahead, choose a few affirmations today.

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