Positive Thinking: A Good Habit to Get Into

I was recently asked by a client if I really believed that it was possible to choose to have a positive attitude.  I answered that yes, consciously choosing to focus on the positive and “reframing”-- or adjusting your mental view of – the negative, is indeed a trait that one can acquire by choice…because, it is, in fact, a habit. The mental habit of choosing a positive, vs. a negative, mental perspective is what separates successful people from non–successful ones.

Situations are just situations. Events are just events. We, ourselves, choose to designate them as “good” or “bad.” We create the feelings surrounding our daily circumstances by our mental perceptions of them. Self transformation begins when we change our attitude about how we  perceive our world. One of the wisest choices a person can make is to begin changing their attitude from a negative to a positive one… to a consciousness of success in all endeavors... by developing the habit of focusing on positive, rather than negative, thoughts.

Every problem, every conflict or crisis, holds within it the potential for growth. Each problem situation presents us with two choices. We can bemoan the situation, affirm that “I knew it would happen,” and add enough negative energy to it that we are likely to see it, or something like it, again. Or, we can look for the positive side of the situation – the side of growth and learning. We can ask ourselves, Why is this situation present in my life right now? Is there something that I can learn from it? By reframing our problems we can turn them into opportunities…opportunities to learn, to grow, to discover our inner strengths. We can also be rid of our problems sooner.

We are all very smart at the subconscious level. We set ourselves up to learn the things we need to learn in life. Most of us, however, don't learn very well when things are going along smoothly. When our lives are “peachy” we tend to drift along, happy to just go along with the flow. We don't pay much attention to our inner growth, to transforming our lives. But when we are pushed up against the wall, when a crisis hits, we dig in our heels and get ourselves through it, finding our inner strength and growing spiritually in the process.

Many of the “problems” in our lives are “lessons” that we help create with our subconscious thoughts. Perhaps we are trying to tell ourselves something. Would it not be better (and certainly easier) to get the message in a more positive way?

We can. But first we must decide to do so. Why not decide today that you are going to break away from the problem/crisis learning pattern....today you choose the learning pattern offered by the habit of positive thinking.

Rita Milios, LCSW, The Mind Mentor, is a psychotherapist, author and speaker from Kissimmee, FL. She can be reached for information regarding workshops or coaching services at ritamilios@gmail.com. Or call Rita at 863-496-72223.