The Power of Positive Thinking (Part 4)

ANT 3 "Fortune-Telling"

• This is where you predict the worst possible outcome to a situation or crucial conversation (like a job interview). 

• For example: Before you discuss an unpleasant issue with a family member, a customer, a coworker, your boss, or a future employer you predict they will respond poorly. In doing this you setup a self-fulfilling prophesy. When you predict bad things, you unconsciously help make them happen.  If you go to a job interview thinking they'll hate you and you'll never get the job, then you'll unconsciously sabotage your interview.

• REALITY CHECK: If you could accurately predict the future, you’d be a lottery billionaire by now!  Even highly trained and experienced stock brokers cannot predict if a stock will go up or go down. No one can accurately predict the future, so why worry about it. 
 
• And besides, you cannot control how others behave or react; you can certainly try to positively influence them, but ultimately they're responsible for their own behavior, and you're responsible for yours.  Just do the best you can and let life take care of itself.

The Power of Positive Thinking (Part 3)

ANT 2 "Focusing on the Negative"

• This occurs when your thoughts reflect only the bad in a situation and ignore any of the good.

• For example, you may have 100 customers, coworkers, or people you just know. Ninety five of them may love you but the other 5 do not. You dwell on the five who do not like you rather than the 95 who love you.

• REALITY CHECK: this is the proverbial pessimist versus the optimist. Is the glass half-empty or half-full? One needs to consider the good in things while acknowledging the bad. Remember that life is shades of gray. There’s no one who’s perfect. Statistically, 95% is considered perfect!

• Don’t be a Pollyanna by looking at the world through rose colored glasses, but try to be more optimistic by looking for the Positive in any situation. This will help you feel better.
 

The Power of Positive Thinking (Part 2)

ANT 1 "Always/Never Thinking"

• This happens when you think something that happens will "always" repeat itself, or you’ll "never" get what you want.

• Thinking in words like always, never, no one, everyone, every time, every thing; for example:

• "He/She always puts me down.", "I’ll never get a raise.", "Everyone always takes advantage of me.", "No one ever listens to me."

• REALITY CHECK: A single event cannot predict a pattern of events or measure correlation. Statistically, one must have about 1000 random events to measure correlation. For example, a salesman typically will be told "no" dozens of times before he is told "yes".

The Power of Positive Thinking (Part 1)

Overview

I'm going to be posting a series of articles on the power of positive thinking.  What I'm presenting here are not my original ideas (see sources at end) but scientifically proven strategies for helping you to think more positively in the New Year and beyond.  Here is a brief outline on the upcoming posts:
 
What’s the big Secret to Life?
Your Thoughts ….............................................
..........................Affect Your Feelings …........................
.............................................................Which Become your Life!

So how do you enhance positive thoughts?
You have to Kill the ANTs…by feeding your emotional ANTeater

What are ANTs?
Automatic Negative Thoughts

• Your thoughts are REAL, and they have a real impact on how you feel and how you behave.

• When you have a thought, your brain releases chemicals which create an electrical transmission across your brain. You then become aware of what you’re thinking.

• Negative thoughts adversely affect your body and your overall health.

• Positive thoughts beneficially affect your body and your overall health.

• Bad thoughts are toxic to your brain and poisonous to your body. You can train your thoughts to be positive and hopeful, or you can allow them to be negative and upset you.

• Sometimes your thoughts will lie to you. It’s important to check them before you believe them.

• To counteract your Automatic Negative Thoughts you need to TALK BACK TO THEM! When you talk back to your ANTs you feed your emotional ANTeater.

What are the different types of ANTs?
ANT 1   "Always/Never Thinking"
ANT 2   "Focusing on the Negative"
ANT 3   "Fortune-Telling"
ANT 4   "Mind Reading"
ANT 5   "Thinking with your Feelings"
ANT 6   "Guilt Beating" (Should statements)
ANT 7   "Time Traveling"
ANT 8   "Labeling and Mislabeling"
ANT 9   "Personalizing"
ANT 10 "Blaming"

Sources:

Change Your Brain Change Your Life by Daniel Amen, M.D.

Making a Good Brain Great by Daniel Amen, M.D.

Feeling Good by David Burns, M.D.

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

The Bible by God