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The Power of Positive Thinking
Positive thinking can be a useful, powerful tool to get through difficult situations that life can bring and it can also be used to help improve the overall quality of one’s life. Those that believe in the power of positive thinking, such as motivational speakers, life coaches, and self-help gurus, claim that taking an optimistic approach to life has shown great benefits. Some of the benefits that believers of positive thinking claim to experience are more stability during stress, physical and psychological well-being, recovery from illness, and healthier relationships. However, there are those that have a different view of the power of positive thinking. They argue that it does little to improve health, the quality of life, or difficult situations. Some believe that too much optimism can pose more harm than good and that having a more negative approach is, at times, the better route to take. Studies, research, and analysis of personal experiences from experts on the power of positive thinking has been done to examine the benefits and potential harm of positive and negative thinking.
Two notable advocates that stand behind the power of positive thinking and the benefits gained from it are Norman Vincent Peale and his wife, Ruth. Mr. Peale is a progenitor of the theory of positive thinking and is best known for authoring “The Power of Positive Thinking”, a New York Times bestseller. His book outlines principles and techniques for gaining achievement, happiness, and health. Peal states that “these principles have worked so efficiently over so long a period of time that they are now firmly established as documented and demonstrated truth” (Peale xii). The proof that Peale’s techniques can wo...
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Grainger, Ruth D. "The Use-and Abuse-of Negative Thinking." The American Journal of Nursing 91.8 (1991): 13-14. JSTOR. Web. 23 July 2013.
Harrell, Keith. "Attitude in the Workplace." - SUCCESS Magazine. CMS: Hosting & Web Development, 2013. Web. 30 July 2013.
Neuharth, Al. "Can Positive Thinking Help Healthy Aging?" USA Today 22 Sept. 2006, News sec.: 9a. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 July 2013.
Paris, Mary J. "Attitude: The Power of Positive in the Workplace." Attitude: The Power of Positive in the Workplace. SelfGrowth.com, n.d. Web. 30 July 2013.
Peale, Norman Vincent. The Power of Positive Thinking. New York: Fireside/Simon & Schuster, 2003. Print.
Scheier, Michael F., and Charles S. Carver. "On the Power of Positive Thinking: The Benefits of Being Optimistic." Current Directions in Psychological Science 2.1 (1993): 26-30. JSTOR. Web. 23 July 2013.
Award-winning author Mandy Hale once stated, “Without negativity, life would be amazing.” However, this statement does not always prove to be true. Today’s modern community generates a judgement that negative experiences will ruin your life, but studies show that negativity can actually result in positive change. For example, negativity can positively change teenagers actions, introduce teenager’s to more supportive environments, and help fix broken relationships.
Ever hear one say, “Sometimes I’m busy making others happy, that I forget to make sure I’m okay.”? After reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bright-Sided I have learned that balancing both positive and negative thinking is the single most important life lesson shown throughout the book. Ehrenreich tells readers that the power of positive thinking Is undermining America and how being too positive and too optimistic, can lead to trouble. One that knows how to balance the amount of positivity and negativity will create a proper outcome for their future.
This shows that positive thinking can get in the way of all your hopes and dreams. You may have an image of a life that seems perfect, but you need to be able to separate that from reality and not get the two mixed. It sometimes blinds you from the true reality. Also in the same text, it stated ‘’the pressure of positive thinking can result in suppressing any pessimistic thoughts or unpleasant emotions because they might attract bad things. You deprive yourself of access to the complete picture and the full range of emotions.
If someone thinks negatively towards something the outcome will not be good, and vice versa. Thinking you can achieve the American dream is a major key in doing so, and some Americans are already on the right track. In the U.S., a survey showed that 36 percent of Americans say they have achieved the dream, and another 46 percent believe they are on the path of achieving it. It is not so easy, though, to always look on the bright side. Sometimes it seems as if nothing is going right; that is when negativity occurs. People can argue that mindset has little impact on the outcome, or that it does not matter how positive a person is because some things are just not meant to be. An article, however, proves this wrong. The paper argues how negative emotions prevent humans from flourishing; it also states, “if your ratio of positive to negative emotions is greater than 2.9013 to one, you will flourish both physically and psychologically.” If a person believes in themselves, they are more likely to accomplish their
Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of the speech “Smile or Die,” she uses this speech to inform her listeners about the ideology of mandatory positive thinking and how it is not always the answer. Ehrenreich talks about what people are forced to learn and how they are forced to think: if they want something bad enough, no matter what that thing may be, that wishing for it and having a positive attitude will put it in their possession. Wanting something bad enough is all it supposedly takes, yet Ehrenreich has an opposite perspective and she educates her audience on her opinion of “thinking positively” using her own personal experiences such as cancer, background knowledge and real-life examples. She wants people to understand that being positive
Mayman, S. (2007, September 24). 5 Specific Techniques From Positive Psychology. Retrieved from Senia: http://www.senia.com/2007/09/24/5-specific-techniques-from-positive-psychology-more-productive-more-successful-happier/. Retrieved on 10/20/13
“Seligman (1998) noted positive psychology’s focus is to make the lives of all people rewarding and to build positive experiences”(Costello & Stone, 2012). His concern and main focus was to train and support staff, faculty, and administrators of positive psychology approaches and overall, helping their students grow as learn...
Positive Psychology is the strengths and virtues a person or a community poses that lead to its optimal performance and allow it to thrive.This is a beneficial study that has the chance to improve the lives of many as well as preventing some negative situations. This review looks into what Positive Psychology is and how it impacts our lives. The sources I selected look into a broad overview of Positive Psychology, and it looks into deeper more specific aspects of Positive Psychology. This review has to lead me to believe that if we see ourselves and the future in a positive way it will have a positive effect on our lives.
He believes the right mindset is the key to having a healthy and happy life. This article includes studies that support my claim that positive thinking will lead to a happier
Wong, P. T. (2011). Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. What to do about the negative?, 52(2), 69-70.
Luthans, F. and Youssef, C.M. ‘Emerging Positive Organizational Behavior’, Journal of management, vol.5 no.3 June 2007 pp. 321-49.
In the United States 20% of the adult population report that they are living a flourishing life (Keyes, 2002). However, a high percentage reports feeling as if they are ‘‘stuck’’ or ‘‘want more’’ and are yet not diagnosable with a mental disorder (Fredrickson, 2008). Because happiness has been found to be the source of many desirable life outcomes e.g. career success, marriage, and health, it is of importance to understand, how languishing individuals can reach this ideal state: How can well-being be enhanced and misery reduced (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005). Over the past decade, research in the field of positive psychology has emerged to provide evidence-based methods to increase an individual’s psychological well-being, through so called positive psychology interventions (PPI’s). PPI’s are treatment methods or intentional activities used to promote positive feelings or behaviour. PPI’s vary from writing gratitude letters, practicing optimistic thinking and replaying positive experiences. A meta-analysis of 51 independent PPI studies demonstrated significant results in the effectiveness of PPI’s increasing well-being (49 studies; r = .29) (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009).
B. Cade Massey once said, “It 's gotten to the point where people really feel pressure to think and talk in an optimistic way” (Massey). Optimism is generally seen as healthy, while pessimism is generally seen as dangerous. The difference between optimism and pessimism is a difference in perspective and mindset. An optimist has a positive perspective and cheerful mindset, while a pessimist has a negative perspective and a gloomy mindset. There are consequences to both perspectives. But which has better consequences for one’s health? Assuming that it is moderated, pessimism is healthy for a person’s well-being. Pessimism is more realistic than optimism because it prepares people for an unpredictable and possibly negative life. Pessimism is also better for expectations compared to future surprises. Pessimists are either proven right or pleasantly surprised. Pessimism is a healthier mindset to have than optimism.
Organizational behavior is important to many organizations because it helps management understand their employees’ attitude as well as behavior while they interact with one and other at the work place. There are several aspects of organizational behavior and attitude is one that can hinder and help job performance. In the past, organizations were defined almost exclusively by the products produced or the services provided. This has changed a great deal over the years. They are now defined by the way they provide their products and services. Attitude plays a major role in and outside of the workplace as it does in most aspects in everyday life.
These phycologists have wondered if there are more optimist or pessimists in the world. They have made an attempt to find out what approach is greater or better. There are some advantages to optimism because it makes people feel better about life, however, there are also some advantages to pessimism in that looking at the unfortunate side of things can help some pessimists cope better with the world. Both optimism and pessimism have important roles to play the lives of everybody. Being optimist permits people to go after their goals in a positive way, to dream bigger and better dreams, which they can strive to work towards. Optimist also tend to respond better to positive feedback, and a part of being an optimist may be producing this feedback for themselves, example, thinking positive thoughts. While on the other hand, being pessimistic may help people to better acknowledge negative feedback and reduce their natural anxiety to perform better. Once again, part of the reason why pessimist generates negative thoughts is that it helps them perform a lot better. People tend to utilize both optimism and pessimism in order for them gain out of their advantages. People who are mainly concerned with growth or advancement often manifest an optimistic view, whereas those who are concerned with safety and security, or avoiding negative outcomes, focus more on pessimism in order to improve their