When something bad happens to a person, feelings and reactions to the said event should be expected. These reactions could easily distinguish the pessimist – who thinks negatively about the situation and the optimist – who sees that something good could come out from the experience.
The situation and outcome could be the same for everyone but the reaction and the perception of the said situation could spell big difference on how they use the said outcome.
A good example on how difference in thinking could alter the outcome would be the “half empty, half full” scenario. When a pessimist sees the glass and declares “half empty” his perception would suggest that the glass is not useful anymore since half of the water is already gone.
On the other hand, an optimist would declare “half full” and would see different alternatives on using the remaining water. The pessimist would go on complaining about the half empty glass of water while the optimist sees an opportunity and even a challenge on how to use the half full glass of water.
Benefits of Positive Thinking
As already indicated, positive thinking could help you see chances even during bad situations. But there is more to positive thinking rather than getting the best out of every given situation.
It is already a popular observation that positive thinkers tend to be more productive compared to negative thinkers. Because they always see opportunity in every event, they can make use of what they have to achieve and what is asked of them. Negative thinkers could never achieve this type of success since they will stop their quest for success if they encounter a factor that will stop them from achieving their goal.
Curiously, positive thinkers tend to live longer. A research conducted by Mayo Clinic suggests a better lifespan of positive thinkers compared to negative thinkers. A lifespan of 19% more has been recorded on positive thinkers. Because of their happy disposition, their lives is a lot easier compared to negative thinkers who seemed to have seen bad things happening to them their entire life.
Transferring from Good to Bad Thoughts
If you are always thinking of the bad things that happened in your life and have been a negative thinker, do not worry – there is still a chance to transfer from being a pessimist to becoming an optimist.
Becoming an optimist is not something that you are born with; it is something that you are conditioned to think of which ultimately becomes a habit. It could be challenging at first but, through persistence, you could become a positive thinker in no time.
Becoming a positive thinker is knowing what NOT to do. It is commonly thought that becoming an optimist is all about self affirmation – if you praise yourself enough, you become an optimist since you know you can do things better. But that could only lead to more frustration because you are still thinking negatively. What you did was add positive thoughts to your negative thoughts.
What you should do is to erase those negative thoughts. Whenever you realize something is wrong, do not dwell on that factor but look for other things that could help you get back on track. When you erase negative thoughts instead of stacking them with positive ones, you get to be more optimistic in life.
Optimism and Anger Management
Anger and negative thinking could always be related. When you always see the negative side of things, you easily get frustrated which could easily transform into anger if you are constantly being hounded by negative thoughts. Managing your anger with a negative outlook in life will never work. It might even do more damage since you will never achieve any positive results.
On the other hand, positive thinking could help you soothe your negative emotions. By thinking positively, you could still see hope even though things could get bad and even worst. Positive thinking could encourage you to do better since things will eventually work on your way as long as you work on it.
Anger will never lead to something good. But positive thinking is one of the key solutions for proper anger management. Always have a positive outlook in life so you do not end up constantly frustrated and angry.
