"Change of diet will not help a person who will not change his thoughts. When a person makes his thoughts pure, he no longer desires impure food."
- As a Man Thinketh
Earlier, we learned how powerful the mind is, includingboth the positive and negative way of thinking. We have found out their similarity - that they both have the ability to construct reality in our lives - and their differences - that positive thinking creates positive reality, while negative thinking creates negative reality. These ways of thinking are continuously fighting over a significant position in the mind, in which the one who will succeed will be taken into action by the individual. Therefore, positive thinkers deal with life's challenges confidently and are more likely to attain success than negative thinkers since they look at everything unconstructively.
Comparing the two kinds of thinking, obviously, what we would prefer more is to possess the positive power of thinking so that we may create a certain and stable destiny. Of course, nobody wishes for life's bitterness. We all want our happy endings, don't we? But whether we like it or not, our minds keep on generating all sorts of thoughts, even those that may cause our failure in the end. We can never stop nor avoid these unhealthy thinking. But don't worry. It is not yet a hopeless case. What we can do is to train our minds to focus on the good things rather than the bad, the happy moments rather than the sad, on what we have rather than what we don't have.
Life is full of surprises and exciting moments that by simply looking at them, we miss ourselves. We are so busy doing unremarkable stuffs out there - in the mirror, on the phone, on the PC, in front of the TV and radio, overtaking, adventuring, and endlessly seeking power and status. This is when car racers feel alive and excited - when they are in a near death opportunity! Imagine that. Actually, that is when we also feel enthusiastic - with adrenalin-pumping, hair-raising, goosebumps-appearing incidents or when one is over excited, can show off, and risks fearful flights - that we cannot see what's real in our lives. We make mistakes. We miss turnings. We lose or forget things. And this is all because we lose reign of our senses. Only when there are accidents, car crash, a thump on the head, a slap in the face, a comment, a synchronized moment, a glance from a beautiful person, song of a sweet bird, the rising or setting of the sun, a shooting star, or the rhythm of the waves do we stop for a second and appreciate and reflect these things with our minds. Time seems to slow down in moments of awe, devotion, speechlessness, and high spirits. We become aware of beautiful, fresh, sweet, shining, and glowing moments that only at these times are we awake, truly alive, and with a calm and serene mind.
They say that we will never really know what we have until it's gone. So, shall we wait for some things to disappear before we appreciate them? Not exactly. In fact, the mind can and should be trained to focus on the brighter things in life, no matter how little or uninteresting they are, so that negative thoughts shall not succeed in creating an undesirable future for us. Nothing is really late for changes. Here are some ways of training the mind on positive thinking:
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Glass is Half Empty
Some of the water spilled. Someone drank from my glass of water. Or there isn't enough water on the pitcher to fill the glass. Whichever reason, still my glass is half empty! It may not be enough for me. It may not quench my thirst fully. And darn that person who drank some of my water! Is this how you react to a glass of water which is half-filled, or in this case, half-emptied? If you are, your mind is full of negative thoughts. You even cursed a person who drank some of the water in your glass which you are not even sure of. You are filled with opinions that something bad has happened to the water. What's worse is, they are not even proven to be true and yet you believe them.
Negative thinking, the exact opposite of positive one, is a way of looking at, not necessarily the bad, but definitely not the good things in life. Everything that has happened is due to some undesirable cause. Or if something is not yet happening, you think of something bad that might take place. Your mind is full of worries, fears, discomforts, and you keep asking questions with what if's.
This kind of thinking is also powerful. It is generated by the mind isn't it? And the mind is empowering, right? Therefore, negative thinking has its own power. Yes, the same power as positive thinking - power to mold our personality, power to shape our future, and power to create our destiny. The only difference is the outcome it will bring about. So, if positive thinking brings positive reality, does negative thinking bring about negative reality? Do you think so? Well, let's see.
Negative thoughts, as how we have described in an earlier chapter, are due to mistakes, unpleasant incidents, embarrassing moments, and wrong decisions that have been experienced by the individual. Similar to plant seeds, these unlikable ideas were buried deep in his minds. As they grow and flourish, they remain hindrances in his ability to be someone and to do something. This is where his fears start to develop, slowly take over his strengths - physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual - and eventually, remove his self-confidence and trust in himself. Then, from here, it wouldn't be far until he starts saying the words that would destroy his dreams, I can't, and worse, acting the unwillingness it implies, I won't.
Usually, we prefer to stay in a place where everything is safe and secure and where dangers are low and minimal. For instance, one may avoid joining competitions because he knows he can't win. Or instead of courting a gorgeous girl, one settles to be with someone not so pretty because he knows he can't win over the prettier girl. But this is also where we realize the vastness of our limitations. Because of this, we can conclude that we have already lost even before we begin, and we already failed even before we tried. What we don't usually know is that the greatest failure in life is not losing, but not trying at all. After all, who knows? No one can really say what could happen in the competition or with that gorgeous girl until he tried, right?
This is the power of negative thinking. It makes one unattractive because he believes that he can't be good-looking. It gives one an awful future because he believes that he can't find a job and earn enough money. It lets one stay single and alone because he believes that he can't win friends or find true love. And because he can't, he won't. Remember? Mind power implies will power. And since the mind power is negative, the will power is reluctant.
Funny how ignorance sometimes can be blessings in disguise because it becomes a way for someone to keep on trying. There are instances where people say, "I really don't understand the question. So, I just guessed my answers," or "I know I'm not good at speeches so I wrote what I have to say and will just read it in front." Because of simple and little ways of attempts, we can say that these people are more superior and will likely to succeed farther than those who don't try at all.
Negative thinking, the exact opposite of positive one, is a way of looking at, not necessarily the bad, but definitely not the good things in life. Everything that has happened is due to some undesirable cause. Or if something is not yet happening, you think of something bad that might take place. Your mind is full of worries, fears, discomforts, and you keep asking questions with what if's.
This kind of thinking is also powerful. It is generated by the mind isn't it? And the mind is empowering, right? Therefore, negative thinking has its own power. Yes, the same power as positive thinking - power to mold our personality, power to shape our future, and power to create our destiny. The only difference is the outcome it will bring about. So, if positive thinking brings positive reality, does negative thinking bring about negative reality? Do you think so? Well, let's see.
Negative thoughts, as how we have described in an earlier chapter, are due to mistakes, unpleasant incidents, embarrassing moments, and wrong decisions that have been experienced by the individual. Similar to plant seeds, these unlikable ideas were buried deep in his minds. As they grow and flourish, they remain hindrances in his ability to be someone and to do something. This is where his fears start to develop, slowly take over his strengths - physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual - and eventually, remove his self-confidence and trust in himself. Then, from here, it wouldn't be far until he starts saying the words that would destroy his dreams, I can't, and worse, acting the unwillingness it implies, I won't.
Usually, we prefer to stay in a place where everything is safe and secure and where dangers are low and minimal. For instance, one may avoid joining competitions because he knows he can't win. Or instead of courting a gorgeous girl, one settles to be with someone not so pretty because he knows he can't win over the prettier girl. But this is also where we realize the vastness of our limitations. Because of this, we can conclude that we have already lost even before we begin, and we already failed even before we tried. What we don't usually know is that the greatest failure in life is not losing, but not trying at all. After all, who knows? No one can really say what could happen in the competition or with that gorgeous girl until he tried, right?
This is the power of negative thinking. It makes one unattractive because he believes that he can't be good-looking. It gives one an awful future because he believes that he can't find a job and earn enough money. It lets one stay single and alone because he believes that he can't win friends or find true love. And because he can't, he won't. Remember? Mind power implies will power. And since the mind power is negative, the will power is reluctant.
Funny how ignorance sometimes can be blessings in disguise because it becomes a way for someone to keep on trying. There are instances where people say, "I really don't understand the question. So, I just guessed my answers," or "I know I'm not good at speeches so I wrote what I have to say and will just read it in front." Because of simple and little ways of attempts, we can say that these people are more superior and will likely to succeed farther than those who don't try at all.
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