Positive Thinking: Everything you have always known about positive thinking but were afraid to put into practice

If you do not get rid of negative thoughts straight away, they begin to grow and get out of proportion. Listen to yourself thinking. You will be surprised by your tendency to think negatively whenever a particular situation arises. Make a point of never thinking a negative thought to the end. As soon as you find yourself going off on the negative thoughts track, say ‘STOP’ in your mind and replace them with positive thoughts.

Here are some classic negative thoughts and some ways of re-thinking them positively.

• Making a strength out of a weakness

Negative ‘God, I wish I didn’t have to go to this party tonight. I never know what to say to new people.’

Positive ‘I am looking forward to going to this party tonight and meeting some interesting people. I like other people and I’m a good listener. Other people enjoy talking to me.’

• Stop being a victim

Negative ‘I’m annoyed/anxious because my boss has still not told me whether I’m going to get that salary increase.’

Positive ‘I deserve my salary increase. I have allowed enough time for my boss to make up his mind, therefore I can confidently go and ask him about his decision today.’

Negative ‘I feel cheated. My cleaning lady never does the windows.’

Positive ‘My cleaning lady is doing a good job except for the windows. I can point out this fact to her in a friendly but clear manner.’ (If your cleaning lady comes into the house while you are away at work, leave a note or ring her up. Unless you speak about it, nothing will change.)

• Looking after yourself

Negative ‘Life has passed me by. Nothing good ever happens to me.’

Positive ‘Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Today things are different. I have decided to treat myself to a little luxury (walk in the country/cinema/sauna/nice meal), I deserve it!’

Negative ‘I’m totally shattered, but I can’t relax because I still have to do the dishes.’

Positive ‘I am in control. I decide when I want to do the washing up. I’m tired now, so my priority is to rest. I deserve it. The washing up can wait until later/ tomorrow/next week.’

• Self-image

Negative ‘I’m afraid of the presentation I have to give next week. Everyone will be watching and I’ll be totally flustered.’

Positive ‘I’m well prepared for my presentation. I know what I want to say and I look forward to sharing my knowledge with others. Other people are interested in what I have to say.’

(It is obviously important to do your homework. No amount of positive thinking will help you succeed if you have not prepared for your presentation.)

There are a few rules you should observe when you make up your new, positive thoughts.

• Avoid negative phrasing

Don’t say ‘I won’t be frightened’, say ‘I am calm and relaxed’; in other words, think about what you want, not about what you don’t want.

• Use the present tense

Try and avoid future tense if possible. Say ‘I am confident when I speak in front of other people’, rather than, ‘I will be confident when I speak to others’. Your subconscious mind takes things literally, so if you are talking of something occurring in the future, your subconscious will wait with you for the future, but it is important that you feel confident now in order to feel confident when the event actually takes place.

• Use your new positive thoughts repeatedly

You will see that the old negative thoughts keep cropping up when you are ‘not watching’. Old habits die hard, and you will have to persist in replacing them every single time you catch yourself. You will see, though, that eventually your efforts are rewarded: positive thoughts begin to appear automatically, and constructive thinking becomes second nature.

• Start today

In a previous example I stated that your thoughts first thing in the morning determine how your day will turn out for you. Here are a few examples of how you can programme yourself for a successful day.

• ‘I look forward to a good day. I am competent and open to new ideas, and I deal with all my tasks efficiently and easily.’

• ‘I like myself and others. I work well with others, I am constructive and willing to co-operate, and I find it easy to win the co-operation of others.’

• ‘I am an easy-going person. I approach problems in a calm and relaxed manner. I see problems as springboards into new ideas. They help me develop new skills.’

• ‘Today is a day of harmony. I am in harmony with the world around me. I can see my aims clearly and I know that I can reach them easily.’

• ‘Today is a wonderful day that brings me lovely surprises. I’m a lucky person. I attract good luck like a big magnet.’

These are just a few examples. Choose the one that you feel happiest with, combine several, alter them so that they fit your personal situation. Just make sure you follow the rules on page 17.

You may find it helpful to write your positive thoughts down on a piece of paper and read them several times during the day. After reading them a few times you will know them by heart. Keep on repeating them to yourself over and over again so that they become firmly imprinted in the subconscious mind.

A word of warning: when you start repeating any of these positive mottos to yourself you may feel rather silly. While you are saying to yourself, ‘Today is a wonderful day’ this little voice will whisper to you ‘No it isn’t! It’s raining and I don’t feel like going to work.’ These interrupting negative thoughts can come up quite frequently in the beginning. It is as if an old tape is playing in your mind, and the old tape appears to ridicule your new thoughts (‘Who do you think you’re kidding? I know it’s not a wonderful day!’). At this early stage there is a great temptation to give up. Nobody likes to feel ridiculous, not even when they are on their own, but as a positive thinker, you are of course no longer in the league of giver-uppers.

To help you get over this initial difficulty, just use this trick. Pretend that you are playing a part. Pretend you are another person, a new person who is determined and confident, calm and collected. Choose a model and pretend that you are that person. Surely Superman never worries whether his glamorous outfit will materialise or whether he will be left in his underpants when he takes his whirl in the phone booth? Well, just make out you are Superman or Superwoman for that matter. Act confidently, even though your feelings may contradict you. Insist on being right about changing your thought patterns for the better. This first step is just for yourself: before you can convince other people of your new positive image, you have to convince yourself. Here’s how to go about it.

• Stand in front of the mirror and give yourself a winning smile.

• Tell yourself that, from today on, things are changing for the better.

• Tell yourself that you are making a fresh start. Whatever anybody said about you in the past is null and void. From now on you decide what you think about yourself and you choose to think well of yourself.

• Keep repeating your new motto, even if someone beats you to the last seat on the tube. You are not kidding yourself by doing so. You are simply making sure that you preserve your energy. You are about to achieve great things, and you will not allow yourself to be held back by trivialities.

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