There are so many things item to power up your self become a positive people. How to motivate your self become a success is not a difficult things to do. Some from that is :
1.Change your mindset, think positive!
All will be existed by change your mindset. You’ll never feel happy if you only think that all be worst. Just like James Allen says “ Everything what people do is direct reaction from what they thinking, somebody can get up with two legs and get an activities because of their thinking about. And also someone can be sick and heal because of their factor thinking”
2.Think today for better tomorrow.
What you can do now, to improve your skill. Make a schedule, what would you do tomorrow, What is the target
3.How NOT why
If something happen, just think how to change this bad condition to be good condition not only why this can be happen. Although why is still needed to analyze, and not repeat in the next time
4.MYOB
people say bad things of you, just let it be! Because they can talk negatively, because they are negative people. Only can spread virus to knock down others
5.Forgive but not forget
Forgive what you have done, but don’t forget if you had any mistake in the past, just take the philosophy on it.
“Future is when they believe what nice dream come true”
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Power to Success
Create Your Work Life
1. Keep work in perspective - leave work on time.
2. Change a routine task - develop a new process. Instead of handling your e-mails as you get them, set aside specific times during the day to respond.
3. Set boundaries - you don't have to attend every meetings you are invited to or sign up for every project. Choose the meetings you can add value to or benefit from.
4. Manage your stress - identify what causes you stress and how it affects you.
5. Take time out - close your door (if you have one), call forward your phone, turn off your e-mail, take a walk. Use this time "during your work day" to prepare for a big meeting, a presentation or work on a project.
6. Delegate - are you spending too much time on the administrative process of your job and not utilizing your skills to benefit your long-term goals and your company's goals?
7. Work/Play Balance - what did you enjoy doing during the summer that you want to continue (going to the movies, playing tennis, volunteering, spending time with your kids, seeing friends, etc.)? Put it on your schedule.
Need Success
Success is different thing to different people.
It may be making a million dollar from business venture.
It may be achieving the position of influence and respect in one's corporate career.
It may be climbing the tallest mountain in the world.
It may be simply being happy at whatever one is doing, no matter how insignificance it may be to other people.
It may be to fulfill one's passion of pursuing a hobby as a career, such as cutting the first music album or publishing the first book.
I have seen people in high corporate positions, living unfulfilled life year after year engaging in the rat race, only looking forward to retirement in the distance future.
I have seen hawker store helpers who seem to live simply but happily, always serving customers with joy and passion.
I have seem people who quit from a successful corporate job to teach yoga, go teaching, be a writer or painter, etc.
Are they successful?
The real question you should ask yourself is, does it matter whether you are successful or not?
If the answer is yes, then the next question is: Who does it matter, yourself or other people?
Most people wanted success not for themselves, but for others.
It is hence important to ask yourself: What kind of success do you want?
Are you asking deep inside your heart how you define success?
Is your definition of success dependent on other people's perceptions?
I always remember and concur with what the singer, Kit Chan said about success: "Success is the courage to pursue one's dream boldly". Despite this inspiration verse being over used and may even sounds like a cliché, I like the beauty of its simplicity.
>From more than twenty years experience of pondering, searching and achieving varies level of success, I have found that success is never a static concept. It takes different forms at different stages of one's life. While success can have many definitions, the sure fire way of failure is to be too mindful of how others perceive and judge our success and failure.
This is unfortunately the weakness of many people. Few people dare to be different. Most people tend to like to bask in the comfort of being among the majority, doing the things that most people do and feel accepted.
It is human nature to want to feel accepted. After all, who wants to do anything that receive disapproval from everyone else? On the other hand, the need to conform to the majority view is often the killer for individuality. If one is afraid to be different, how can he ever achieve anything outstanding?
The mainstream media likes to portray "successful people" as someone who has characteristically achieved certain level of wealth, power or fame in the society. And so people without a critical thinking mind, or the so-called unenlightened, would elect the pursuit of wealth, power and fame as the ultimate life goals.
There is no greater misery than being trapped within the conventional perception of success.
How many in high corporate positions find it almost impossible to free themselves from the bondage of the endless energy-sapping ego games in the corporate world, regardless of how much their inner-self detest it?
People who are more spiritually attuned started searching inward to ask what they really want in their life. Their drive and courage to find true freedom eventually prompted them to take bold and criticism-defying actions to embark on a new direction in life.
In takes a considerable amount of courage because their friends, colleagues, spouse, or parents would likely not approved of what they choose to do. Nevertheless, with enlightened faith, they forge ahead to pursue their dreams. With unwavering determination, they finally find the real success in life, which brings them true happiness and fulfillment. To them, they are "retired" because they are no longer working for a living. Instead, they are indulging in a hobby or passion and make a comfortable living out of it.
As for those who are deeply entrenched in the trapping of corporate "success" and perks, it is rare that many would take on a route of enlightenment. Instead, they would usually motivate themselves further to strive harder, become more politically savvy and meaner, so that they are able to acquire whatever status and wealth that society expected of them. So they thought.
The undeniable reality is, their soul is dying inside. They may know it, for which they choose to ignore because the "price is simply to high to let go". Or, they may not even be aware, having been hopelessly hypnotized by the society's definition of success, and totally oblivious to the nagging voice within.
It is not difficult to observe this irony of life simply from the amount of information in the media about retirement planning.
The reason why everybody is talking about retirement is because "work" is being defined as something unpleasant and something which people will choose not to do if they can afford to. Pursuing hobbies do not fall into the category of work. Hence, everybody is planning long and hard to "hopefully have enough to retire one day". Some invest their hard earn money in unit trust investment, having tremendous faith in the fund management experts. Some who do not foresee themselves able to ever earn enough to retire will resort to buying TOTO, Big Sweep or 4D. These are the perfectly legal means of achieving the goal of retirement. I really respect these people who, despite being disadvantaged in the competitive game of life, never give up on the chance to find improvement in their life.
So, what is your definition of success?
Are your goals of success meant to gain applauds and admiration from others?
Or to bring fulfillment deep within your heart?
Or simply to stay safely among the mainstream lifestyle of the society?
Defining success is far more difficult than attaining it. People often chase after their tail for success, always seems to be reaching but never. Many had spend a considerable number of years achieving what they started out to do but find little meaning or fulfillment when they finally reached their goals.
If you have not ask yourself this question because you are "too busy", it is worthwhile to give some priority to it now.
If you have long been dissatisfied with you job, it is a tell tale sign that you may be climbing the wrong ladder of success. It is a poor choice to numb yourself to the situation.
Everyone have within his reach to live a successful life, if only he can define it.
New Prespective
One of the most common themes that I see my fellow path walkers struggling with these days is expectations vs. reality. You know, as in having your expectations being completely out of wack with what you are actually living? While it’s a year-round task to keep the expectation demons under control, it’s an even greater challenge as the holiday season approaches.
Why not take a few moments before the holidays are upon you and shift through your thinking about expectations? Remember, life isn’t like what we see on TV, and in Hallmark commercials. The media goes into overdrive to sell us the illusion of happy, well-adjusted families, getting along perfectly and sharing in holiday yule. But how many families are actually living that? The images we see on TV are of paid actors, working off a carefully crafted script, with the advantages of many rehearsals and retakes. If the director doesn’t like how it looks, they can yell “cut” and a rewrite or reshoot follows. When the final product reaches our view space, it has been edited, re-edited, scored, and polished. Most of us forget that this simply isn’t reality. And it leaves us with a final picture that creates a very unrealistic expectation.
So stop for a moment and catch yourself. What expectations do you have around the approaching holidays? Do you expect everyone in your life to get along? Like you see on TV? How has having these expectations effected your previous holiday experiences? Is it reasonable to continue to hold yourself invested in this outcome? Look around at the very makeup of the people involved. Do they like and appreciate each other on a year-round basis? Is respect a word they understand? Possibly yes, but more likely no. Wouldn’t it be nice if all the “players” at your holiday table were willing, rehearsed, well paid professionals like we see in the commercials portraying an ideal family? Unfortunately, they are not. And the same tensions that exist in these relationships during year long, day-to-day life continue to exist on the holidays. They may even become magnified as different sets of expectations begin to collide.
I have seen some very reasonable people set themselves up with some highly unreasonable expectations when it comes to holidays. It is an emotionally charged time to say the least. So this year, why not try something different? Move yourself from out of the passengers seat and into the drivers seat in your own ‘car of expectations.’ Make a plan to evaluate your expectations now, before the added stress of holiday pressure takes hold. Ask yourself if it is fair and reasonable to expect new behaviors from those who are not capable of demonstrating any on a daily basis all year round? See them, like yourself, as having their own unique filters and expectations. Are you a willing or unwilling participant in fulfilling anothers’ expectations? If the communication lines are open, have a discussion with them about what their expectations are, as well as yours in advance. This is not to “win” them over to your line of thinking, or vice versa. Not at all. It is more of a sharing and research mission. A chance for you to see what areas of overgrown expectations need to be scaled back, pruned and adjusted for your own personal mental health and soul growth.
Give yourself permission to try new things and grow. If your past holidays have not been joyful, than sit and examine why. Chances are your expectations were not meeting the reality of the situation. Or perhaps someone’s expectations of you were unreasonable. Remember, you can never control anyone else, souls were given the free will to control themselves. It is part of Universal Law. So make a conscious decision that the only person you can change is you and formulate a new, more realistic plan. Be in your own driver’s seat. You may even decide that what you really need and want isn’t the smell of a decorated pine tree sitting beside the glow of a warm fireplace, but rather, a suntan, a warm beach and the smell of Hawaiian Tropic. And that’s ok.
If loneliness is your chief complaint about holidays, then the fastest way to healing is to find some others who are even lonelier than you are and be with them. Adjust your expectations and embrace the idea that you are really a member of the world family, and a valuable one at that. Volunteer your time, which you likely have an abundance of, to assist with the many and varied roles needed during holiday seasons at shelters, children’s agencies, assisting the elderly and the infirmed. Consider starting your own tradition of inviting in other dangling friends. Or plan a yearly hike of introspection. Deliver homemade cookies or plants at a nearby hospital. Don’t have anyone to shop for? Contact your town’s social services department and offer to become an “angel” for someone in need. Call your far away friends and leave them happy messages of gratitude that they are a part of your life. Visit a church. Serve coffee at a rest area. Volunteer to pet sit. The possibilities are endless if you are willing to shift your focus.
Holidays can be stressful, emotionally charged events, but they are also just another day on the path of your earth mission. And that means growing and understanding. By examining and adjusting your expectations to better fit your reality, you are committing a very loving act toward yourself. There is no limit to what you can discover about yourself with this approach. And as a wise person once said, “you cannot hold water in a clenched fist.” So take a deep breath, relax, and let go. You will find that your holidays and every days are easier and enriched by becoming more aware of your expectations and how they fit the reality of where you are. It’s not only a good idea to understand and monitor your expectations, it’s a downright necessity for peace of mind. And remember folks, we don’t really need one day a year to tell those we love how we feel about them. It can be done anytime...
Secret Sequel
When the Secret DVD was first released, and when people heard about it on Larry King and Oprah, everyone wanted a copy. I bought mine 5 minutes after seeing the trailer and I loved it. My eyes were opened. I still count it as one of my favorite movies.
Lots of people got really excited about it.
"At last", they cried, "NOW I understand. All I have to do is focus my thoughts on what I want, and change the language in my head. I can manifest ANYTHING I think about. As long as I think about it hard enough and long enough".
"I want to get results...and fast. I shouldn't have to wait for months or years to achieve my dreams. I am going to practice LOTS of visualizing and positive self talk. I'll get my Dream Life...NOW"
They eagerly watched The Secret over and over in anticipation that this would bring them their goals. They visualized their goals all day long. They made Vision Boards and Lists of Goals. They kept a Gratitude Journal.
Now these are all extremely useful tools. Use them.
But does only this really work? Is it possible just to manifest things just like this? Really?
This is where The Secret falls short. When you watch it you get the expectation that you can manifest your dream out of nowhere. That belief and faith will automatically bring you what you want. Well...yes, and..no!
You MUST take action.
Mike Dooley says: "Thoughts Become Things"
A friend of mine Gideon Shalwick's has a great quote that he uses: "Thoughts are only potential things. They become things only through specifically directed action."
The Secret DVD only briefly mentions taking action. But it needs to be really spelt out.
Focus on your goal. Visualize it with feeling and excitement. Repeat it in your head or out loud. But here is the important missing bit ..... every time you get a little idea just popping into your head about ways to get closer to what you want, you MUST act upon it. (Bob Doyle says: "You might get some inspired idea of some action to take".) That little idea is The Universe responding to you reaching out saying..."This is what I want".
Being focused and thinking constantly about your goals is important; you must focus on what you want. (John Assaraf says: "You become what you think about most but you also attract what you think about most").
But unless you DO something you are just a dreamer. Unless you ACT, Nothing will become.
"The Science of Getting Rich" was the little book which inspired The Secret DVD. In this book, Wallace D Wattles wrote:
"... man must not only think, but his personal action must supplement his thought. By thought you can cause the gold in the hearts of the mountains to be impelled toward you; but it will not mine itself, refine itself, coin itself into double eagles, and come rolling along the roads seeking its way into your pocket. Your pocketbook is not going to be transformed into Fortune's purse, which shall be always full of money without effort on your part. This is the crucial point in The Science of Getting Rich; right here, where thought and personal action must be combined. There are very many people who, consciously or unconsciously, set the creative forces in action by the strength and persistence of their desires, but who remain poor because they do not provide for the reception of the thing they want when it comes.
BY THOUGHT, THE THING YOU WANT IS BROUGHT TO YOU; BY ACTION YOU RECEIVE IT."
And you must act NOW. Do not wait until you are in the perfect situation, the perfect job, the perfect relationship. NOW is the only time you have. My friend Sherry who works in my local Organic Fruit and vegetable shop told me this the other day:
PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
The Past is History
The Future is a Mystery
The Present is your Gift: Do It NOW
Put your whole mind and strength and act to the very best of your ability in the situation in which you presently find yourself. Do your absolute best in your current job today to provide service for your customers, your employer and your work colleagues. Be the best person you can with everyone you meet. Look after your health today as if your body was a sacred temple (it is).
Make every day a successful one. A successful day is when you have done the best you can, when you have been as efficient as you possibly can. You know if you have dallied around and wasted time and energy - having days like that actually take energy from you, disconnect you from The Universe. They don't feel good; YOU don't feel good.
Make very day a winner.
Now this doesn't mean that you should work yourself to the bone, working late with long hours and running around after the whims of other people. That is not successful.
If your days are ALL successful, you are moving in the right direction. Keep holding a clear image in your head of what you want, while being deeply grateful and The Universe will respond to you and bring you closer and closer to your dreams.
So - Does The Secret Really Work?
Well yes, and..no! It has made us aware that we can consciously use our brains to focus our thinking and putting our intention towards where we want to go. And as you change on the inside, you expose yourself to larger possibilities, BUT, when those possibilities come along, then this is the time to ACT.
Have a fabulously successful day.
copy paste from Winsome Coutts
Self Improvement
Every one of us is involved in some for of self improvement or personal development. This is true of you whether it is something you currently realise or not! If you have any desires, dreams or goals then you are striving to better yourself, your environment or your world and this we call self improvement.
However, there is one key area of your life that stops you from progressing in a fast and effective manner towards your desires, dreams and goals. I will now highlight this obstacle and show you how to effectively remove it forever so that you can create the life you want!
One of the worst things you can do when you need to motivate yourself to reach your long held goals and dreams is to criticize yourself. This is a pattern that has been taught to you since you were very young with school tests, grading, placement in your class and class evaluations. Teachers, parents and peers constantly compared you to others as if that was a way of gauging your true worth. This kind of personal evaluation probably continues to this day with employment superiors over-viewing your work, progress and most likely conducting some form of personal evaluation.
This view of assessing your strengths and weaknesses, although probably well-intentioned, has set a pattern within your own mind for self-criticism and self-doubt. Are you in a perpetual state of comparison? Do you find yourslef comparing how you perform to the performance of other people? Do you beat yourself up for not having attained the same level of success as those around you or those you view from afar? Are you disappointed in yourself when you fail to achieve exactly what you set out to achieve in the time you gave yourself?
Being self-critical can cause untold damage in your life. Criticism, regardless of what area of yourself or your life you have focused it, has a ripple effect that damages all other areas. By believing you are less than you should be you are sending a very strong message to your subconscious mind that you are just not good enough. Such a belief halts your progress towards your desires. It leaves you feeling frustrated and extremely unhappy. If you are really and truly not good enough then how could you ever change anything? If you are not good enough then there can be no way for you to change yourself, your circumstances or your life.
The first step to overcoming this self-defeating pattern of thinking and feeling is to become aware that it is there. Look carefully at yourself and how you interact with yourself internally. Notice when you have a tendency to berate yourself. When you notice yourself comparing your behaviour, talents, abilities or results to those of someone else immediately stop. Only judge your own performance. If you must compare yourself to anyone then compare yourself with yourself. Look for how you have improved. If you give a task everything you've got and do your best then you are already a success regardless of the outcome. You have stretched yourself and your personal self-imposed boundaries.
Keep a journal of all your goals and list the success you have already created. When you can look back at where you once were and see the improvement that you have made personally then your confidence will be increased and your self-esteem will rocket. If you compare yourself to someone else then bare in mind that you do not know the other person's circumstances. You do not know what advantages they had when they began, so comparing yourself to them is a futile exercise. Even if these people did overcome serious adversity to achieve the same things that you now want take it as a positive sign. If they did it then so can you!
Try to encourage yourself when you are faced with a challenge. The difference between internal criticism and internal encouragement can mean the difference between a life of fear, dread, discouragement, pain, frustration and a life filled with abundance, joy, peace and harmony.
Giving yourself approval takes practise, so start right now. If you look at what you are doing when you criticize yourself it is really a form of self-disapproval. Approving and disapproving are just choices. You make them internally and you can re-make them in a different way. Approving of yourself is just a choice ' make that choice now!
Give yourself approval just because you can. Many times we disapprove of ourselves and others for little or no reason so turn that around. Begin to give yourself approval just because you are you. Can you imagine how differently you will view the world through the eyes of self-approval? Can you guess what kind of strides forward you can make in your life with an internal voice of encouragement? Do you think you, your family, friends and work colleges would benefit from you taking this new radical approach to how you view yourself?
If you take this approach to yourself the progress you make will astound you and you will find yourself happier, more peaceful and will undoubtedly be surprised at what life gives you back. Your personal development is assured!
Simple Way to Success
Are you determined to become a mega success story?
Then this article will show you the simplest formula for reaching heights of success you've only dreamed about.
Remember that simplicity is not the same thing as ineffectiveness, for true power lies in simplicity. As the saying goes, "Common sense is not always common practice."
Let's begin.
Psychologist Arnold H. Glasgow has said, "Success is simple: do what's right, the right way, at the right time."
That's a simple concept, yet very profound.
The quote lays out three easy steps to simplify success, but those steps must be integrated to work effectively ' you can't afford to skip even one of them.
The first step is to do what is right. If you skip the FIRST and most important step, you're eliminating your chances to succeed.
But how do you know what is right for you?
Simply put, the decisions you make every day must match with your true purpose in life. Every action you take must enhance and solidify who you are and what you were meant to accomplish in this life.
When you have a purpose, your actions naturally become more powerful because they are focused and united to fulfill a sole objective. Consequently, you achieve faster and better results.
The second step is to do it the right way. If you skip this step, you'll find yourself in a never-ending loop of trial and error where you'll just keep re-inventing the wheel, instead of re-inventing yourself.
It has often been said that the easiest way to become successful is to find someone who is already successful and follow in his footsteps.
Take that advice and learn from the best. Look for successful people who have reached the same level of success you want to reach, and learn from both their mistakes and their accomplishments. Imitate their lives, learn their methods, and discover their secrets.
The third and last simple step to success is to choose the right time. Take small actions every single day that lead you toward fulfilling your purpose. Prepare yourself so that when the right opportunity presents itself, you'll be ready to seize it and ride it to unimaginable levels of success. The right time to start taking action is NOW. Even the smallest action can make a big difference. Don't worry about the magnitude of your every move; focus instead on the collective power of all your small actions combined.
"Success is simple. Do what's right, the right way, at the right time."
Do what is right by discovering your true purpose in life.
Do it the right way by learning from the best.
Do it at the right time by taking small actions and preparing yourself to seize opportunity when it presents itself.
Can success be that simple?
It can be if you start NOW!
How To Set & Achieve Goals
As you can see from the title, I've set myself a big writing challenge today!
Have you ever set a goal and felt disappointed because you didn't achieve it? Or set a goal and felt out of alignment with it immediately - or felt bad even if you did achieve it? Or have you ever set a goal and felt like a fraud or laughed at yourself when you said it and said, no way?
My hand is up. I've done all of those at different times in my life - maybe more than once! Arrrgh!
In the past goal setting set me up for failure in one way or another, either because I didn't achieve the goal or didn't like myself while working towards the goal.
Wikipedia define traditional goal setting. They says "Goal setting involves setting specific, measurable and time targeted objectives. On a personal level, setting goals is a process that allows people to specify, then work towards their own objectives - most commonly with financial or career - based goals.
Wikipedia goes on to say, "To be most effective goals should be tangible, specific, realistic and have a time targeted for completion."
Excuse my yawn!
What Wikipedia says is however accurate with what I understand most goal setting to be. But I'm left asking, "Where's the heart in it?"
In the past, when I set goals, I was always told to set tangible outcomes - what specifically by when. But I'm sorry, I got fed up with it. It was too mechanical, didn't allow for flow, didn't ignite my passion and left me feeling set for failure.
The Magical Formula
A short time ago, two things fell into place. As a result I'm now setting my goals in a very different manner.
And what's happening is that my big dreams are moving closer to reality every day. This means that my small goals happen quicker. As these small goals happen quicker, something else happens that makes me more daring, which means I take bigger steps, which means my goal happens quicker.
Fantastic, isn't it?
So I shared what was happening with a handful of clients who had a few things they wanted to achieve. I got them to enjoy the magical formula with me and guess what?
They saw a profound change in what occurred to them. Great things began to happen - quickly.
So this got me thinking, how can I help more people, do what I'm doing and start to have the results I'm having.
Now I'll be honest, what I'm doing isn't stuff you'll see in the Secret. It's also not lighting candles and hoping or chanting a mantra until you look like a Smurf, (though there's nothing wrong with that, if you like mantras and Smurfs!).
What I'm doing is effective, practical and fun. So, do you want to know the formula so you can start achieving what you want?
Value of Thinking Positive
Thinking and emotion go hand in hand. A negative mood activates negative thinking and a positive mood calls forth positive thinking. Does it matter if you are in a negative mood thinking negative thoughts or in a positive mood thinking positive thoughts? Is one better than the other? Is there value in thinking and feeling positive?
Emotions Have Evolutionary Value
Negative emotions have evolutionary value. Negative emotions like fear, loss, and aggression activate the flight or fight response. When we experience negative emotions, we have a feeling of aversion, which sets us on course to identify what is wrong and eliminate it. Negative emotions and thinking are associated with a survival alert that activates a reaction to fight, flight or conserve - each reaction with obvious evolutionary value.
Positive emotions also have evolutionary advantage. They "broaden and build." Experiencing positive emotions increases our survival chances because positive emotions broaden our intellectual, physical, and social resources and build reserves for us to draw upon.
Experiencing positive emotions increases our drive for exploration and discovery and provides the basis for positive social interactions. When we experience positive emotions, we become more tolerant, expansive, and creative. The more positive emotion we experience the more open to new ideas and new experiences we become.
Negative emotions narrow our perspective to focus only on the immediate threat. When negative emotions are experienced, we withdraw, freeze, or protect. As we experience positive emotions, we feel safe and engage in active, playful exploration, and discovery. Negative emotions contract and positive emotions expand.
Positive emotions form the experiential foundation for mentally healthy people. Positive emotions provide a foundation for growth and exploration and build the intellectual, social, and physical capital for further growth and development.
When we experience negative emotions, they tell us to deal with what is wrong and eliminate it. When we experience positive emotions, we start looking for the virtues of what is happening. We become constructive, generous, un-defensive, and open to seeing possibilities.
Experiencing positive emotions gives us an entirely different way of thinking from a negative mood. A negative mood makes us attentive to threats in our environment and focuses our thoughts on protection. A positive mood moves us into thoughts about growth and development, exploration and discovery.
Positive Emotions Build Resources and Capital for the Future
Positive emotions build the resources and capital that will become the basis for growth and development in years to come. When we feel and think positive, we reach outward and broaden our resources through exploration and discovery. We are more creative, think quicker, and do not succumb to premature closure or other forms of superficial intellectual processing.
Depressed people experience what is called a "downward spiral" of negative emotions. Depressed emotions call forth negative memories that feed more negative thoughts, that feed more negative memories, that feed more depressed emotions. Breaking this downward spiral is crucial to stopping the depression.
Psychologists have found what they call an upward spiral of positive emotion. Positive emotions produce a different way of thinking and acting. The thinking becomes creative and broad-minded, and the actions become adventurous and exploratory. This increased creativity and exploration results in greater expansion.
Often negative emotions and thinking are taken more seriously because traditionally they have been believed to be the evolutionary backbone of human motivation. It was believed that people are motivated primarily to avoid experiencing negative emotions and that positive motivation was merely superficial.
But positive emotions are just as real, authentic and important as negative emotions and are equally important for development, growth, and success.
Positive Emotions Lead to More Successful Interactions in the World
Experiencing more positive emotion results in more friendships, stronger love, better physical health, and more successful interactions in the world accompanied by a sense of mastery. Growth, positive development, and creative and successful interactions in the world (i.e. mental health) may have their foundations in the experience of positive emotions and thinking.
Happy people tend to view themselves subjectively as more successful in the world. Happy people remember more good events than actually happened and forget more of the bad events that happened Happy people see success as lasting, personal and pervasive and failure as impersonal, temporary and specific. Happy people may lose a bit of realism but this does not lock them into ineffective functioning. Happy people are more likely to switch tactics when involved in a task that appears to be failing. In the normal course of events, happy people rely on their tried and true positive past experiences while less happy people are more skeptical. However, when events are threatening, happy people, more readily than less happy people, switch tactics and adopt a skeptical and analytical frame of mind. Happy people can deal better with adversity.
Happier people are markedly more satisfied with their jobs than less happy people. Happiness inceases productivity and results in higher income. Happiness also makes gainful employment and higher income more likely. Both adults and children who are in a good mood select higher goals, perform better, and persist longer on a variety of tasks.
Happy People Are Healthier
Positive emotions result in better physical health. Positive emotions are predictive of health and longevity and protect people from the wear and tear of aging. Positive emotions strongly predict who lives longer, who dies earlier, and who will become disabled. Happy people are more likely to seek out and make use of health risk information. Happy people have better health habits, lower blood pressure, and stronger immune systems than less happy people. They endure pain better and take more health and safety precautions when threatened. Positive emotions and thinking prolong life and improve health.
Happy People Are More Connected With Others
Very happy people differ markedly from average people and from unhappy people in one principle way - a rich and fulfilling social life and more secure relationships. Happy people have more close and casual friends, are more likely to be married, and are more involved in group activities than unhappy people. Happy people are also more altruistic. When we are in a good mood we are less focused on ourselves, we like others more and we want to be kinder and share our good fortune with others. However, when we are experiencing negative emotions and thinking we become distrustful, turn inward and become defensive about our own needs.
Focusing on Positive Emotions
Positive emotions undo negative emotions and reduce the negative physical and psychological stresses of negative experiences. Negative emotions tell you that you are facing a win-loss encounter and need to take steps to engage with the obstacles. Positive emotions and thinking allow you to see a potential win-win situation.
Positive emotions and thinking guide you to be more expansive, tolerant, and creative and maximize the social, intellectual, and physical benefits of the situation. Positive emotions and thoughts provide both the fuel and the raw material for experiencing more growth and development, more exploration and discovery, more mastery and successful interactions in the world. So, yes, there is a great deal of value in feeling good and positive thinking. Go for it!
