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Thursday, April 1, 2010

The Powers of a Positive Attitude

I am going to ask you to something very weird right now. First of all, I want you to listen to your thoughts. Now tell me, what do you hear? Would you label them as positive, or negative?

Now let's say you are walking down the street with these thoughts. Do you think anyone who would meet you would be able to tell what’s on your mind?

The answer to the first question is up to you. But, the second answer can be pretty generic. Although people will not be able to tell you exactly what you think, they will more or less have an idea of how you are feeling.

Here's another question. When you enter a party filled with friends, do they all fall silent as if something

terrible had happened? Or does everybody there perk up as if waiting for something exciting to happen?

The answer to all these depend on your frame of mind.

Thoughts are very powerful. They affect your general attitude. The attitude you carry reflects on your appearance, too – unless, of course, you are a great actor.

And it doesn't end there. Your attitude can also affect people around you.; the attitude you carry depends on you.

It can be either positive or negative.

A positive attitude can have a filling effect. They are invigorating. The people around the person with positive thoughts are usually energized by this type of attitude; a positive attitude attracts people.

Negative attitudes, on the other hand, can have a sapping effect on other people. Aside from making you look gloomy and sad, a negative attitude can turn a festive gathering into a funeral wake.

We can also define attitude as the way of looking at the world. If you choose to focus on the negative things in the world, more or less you will develop a negative attitude. However, if you choose to focus on the positive things, you are more likely to develop a positive attitude.

You have much to gain from a very positive attitude. For one, studies have shown that a positive attitude promotes better health. Those with this kind of attitude also have more friends. Projecting a positive attitude also helps one to handle stress and problems better than those who have a negative attitude.

A positive attitude begins with a healthy self-image. If you love the way you are and are satisfied, confident, and self-assured, you will also make others around you feel the same way.

If you want to have a positive attitude, you have to develop healthy thoughts. This is probably very hard to do nowadays since, all around us, the media feeds us nothing but negative images. It is said that for every 14 things a parent says to his or her child, only one is positive. This is saddening.

If you want a healthier outlook in life, you need to think happy thoughts, and you have to listen to positive things as well. So, what can you do? Well, for starters, you could read positive books and magazines, surround yourself with positive people and set realistic goals and pursue them. All these activities fill you with positive stimuli, which in turn promote a positive attitude.

Although it is impossible to keep ourselves from the negative things around us, we can still have a positive attitude by focusing on the good things - the positive things in life.

This new positive attitude you now have can be of benefit to other people. Sometimes when other people feel down, the thing most people do is try to give them advice. But sometimes, all they need is somebody to sit by them, and listen to them. If you have a positive attitude you may be able to cheer them up without even having to say anything.

You do not have much to lose by adopting a healthy, positive attitude. Studies have shown that such an attitude actually retards aging, makes you healthier, helps you develop better stress coping mechanisms, and has a very positive effect on all the people you meet every day. So, what's not to like about a positive attitude? Adopt one today.

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