Positive Thinking?

No Limits | The Freedom Blog™

Positive Thinking?

Written by Steven Griggs | stevengriggs.com

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”                                                                                                                                                                                           Winston Churchill

“You’ve done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, unstoppable determination.”                                                                                                 
Ralph Marston

I don’t believe in positive thinking.

I know I am sounding like a heretic and that everyone agrees that you should “Think Positive!”, “Put a Positive Spin on It!” “Change Your Attitude”, etc., but I don’t.

I just don’t believe in positive thinking

If you have to say it or think it, you aren’t. 

Saying the words “Think Positive” affirms that you are not positive at all and works to reinforce all the underlying feelings you are carrying that aren’t positive. Your subconscious programing rises up to defend its feelings of limitation.

You can’t change sub-conscious programing or limiting beliefs by overwhelming them with conscious, positive thoughts.

It just doesn’t work.

Trying to think positive is trying to overpower the problem from the outside. You are simply painting a smiley face over your true feelings. 

Please understand that I am not against trying to feel and stay positive. Its the natural way to live. Being detached and accepting allows you to be positive without having to do anything. You ARE positive.

I used to believe in thinking positive. I would always to try to look at things from a positive perspective and try to change my mind if I felt negative but it never seemed to really change anything.

Over the years as I worked on myself I found that there are various ways you can address negative feelings and replace them with positive feelings, although I feel that while all these ideas help and overall do improve your positivity, the best solution is to address and remove the underlying limiting beliefs that block you and hold you back from achieving your goals.

I address limiting beliefs in an upcoming article.

In the meantime there are several ways to increase your positivity.

Here are 4:

1.  Learn to detach.
2. Monitor your thoughts and self-talk.
3. Be physical-walk, ride or swim.
4. Limit negative input

Learn to Detach

This is a crucial step in becoming self- actualized which was defined by Abraham Maslow as "the full realization of one's potential".

Detachment means being detached from the outcome. Not that your plans or intentions aren’t important but you cannot attract the things you want into your life if you hold a rigid attachment to your desired outcome. You block it. You have to let go and know that your desired outcome is coming. I will talk more about this in upcoming articles.

You have to be serene in the present moment and accept “what is” right now and not be frustrated and angry that “what is” now doesn’t match what you expected or wanted.

The best way to start becoming detached is through meditation. 

Monitor your thoughts and self-talk

Listen to your self-talk and monitor your use of words like “can’t” “never”, “won’t” “unable”. Replace them with “can”, “able” and “will”. This also applies when you are talking to other people. Censor yourself. Watch what you say (and think) at all times.

A trick I have used when I hear myself regurgitating some situation or rehashing some ancient hurt is to tell myself  “Cancel!” and I picture the thought dissolving like shaking an Etch a Sketch. Sometimes I have to repeat “Cancel” several times but it does work to stop negative thoughts and allows you to move on to better thoughts.

Be physical-walk, ride or swim

This seems obvious but I can’t stress enough how helpful it is to get outside and take a walk or go for a bike ride. I also recommend jumping in lakes and streams (or oceans) whenever possible.

Being outside helps you reconnect and regenerate. Find water to jump in.

Limit negative input

Don’t watch the news on TV or read local newspapers. If you do read the papers be careful and don’t buy in to the negative articles.

I like to follow financial news so I read the Wall Street Journal and the business section of the New York Times every morning. I have learned to censor out the constant negative headlines because I understand how the system works and I believe very little of what I read. I am basically gathering information.

Also watch the people you hang out with. Negativity is very tricky, it can be stealthy and creep over you. Also, if you pay attention you’ll notice that negative people seek out powerful, positive people and feed off their energy, a bit like vampires. 

It also works the other way. You may also find yourself seeking out dysfunctional people and getting a boost yourself by watching them......

Be aware.

Of all the above techniques I have discussed above, the most important one to master is detachment.

Learn to detach and you will see a huge change.

As you learn to step back from the constant emotional engagement that many people think is “normal”, you will become lighter, happier and…… more positive.

www.stevengriggs.com