Negative Thinking vs. Positive Thinking
Negative Thinking vs. Positive Thinking
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.” –Buddha. Owning my own business has led me to read many books over many different topics, including books geared toward motivating the reader to succeed and teaching the reader how to motivate others. According to almost every motivational book I have read, motivation starts with positive thinking. I believe that my cup is half-full, I keep an open mind about most things, and I believe that out of every bad situation something good comes of it. I guess you could say that I am an optimist. Pessimists on the other hand believe that their glass is half-empty and automatically expect the worst outcome when situations arise. Your attitude towards life can greatly affect the reality you create for yourself, whether you are an optimist or pessimist. (Videnieks) Countless thoughts run through our minds each day. “Research says that 80% of them are negative, and that we remember the negative thoughts because it is hardwired into our DNA to do so.” (Goldsmith). It is not difficult to figure out that negative thoughts bring an over-all negativity to our lives. I guess you could view negativity as having a snowball effect considering one negative thought typically leads to another negative thought, and so on. Negative thinking can produce negative consequences when it comes to not only our mental health but our physical health as well. Negative thinking causes a decreased flow of endorphins within the brain, a lack of self-confidence, a poor self-esteem, poor judgment, increased levels of distress, higher levels of depression, poor back posture, and an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. These are just a few of the proven consequences of negative thinking. Often factors that affect a person’s
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.” –Buddha. Owning my own business has led me to read many books over many different topics, including books geared toward motivating the reader to succeed and teaching the reader how to motivate others. According to almost every motivational book I have read, motivation starts with positive thinking. I believe that my cup is half-full, I keep an open mind about most things, and I believe that out of every bad situation something good comes of it. I guess you could say that I am an optimist. Pessimists on the other hand believe that their glass is half-empty and automatically expect the worst outcome when situations arise. Your attitude towards life can greatly affect the reality you create for yourself, whether you are an optimist or pessimist. (Videnieks) Countless thoughts run through our minds each day. “Research says that 80% of them are negative, and that we remember the negative thoughts because it is hardwired into our DNA to do so.” (Goldsmith). It is not difficult to figure out that negative thoughts bring an over-all negativity to our lives. I guess you could view negativity as having a snowball effect considering one negative thought typically leads to another negative thought, and so on. Negative thinking can produce negative consequences when it comes to not only our mental health but our physical health as well. Negative thinking causes a decreased flow of endorphins within the brain, a lack of self-confidence, a poor self-esteem, poor judgment, increased levels of distress, higher levels of depression, poor back posture, and an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. These are just a few of the proven consequences of negative thinking. Often factors that affect a person’s
Cited: Goldsmith, Dr Barton. "Saying NO! to negativity." Tweed Daily News (2009): 25. Videnieks, Monica. "Power to the positive." The West Australian 14 November 2006: 1.