We have all heard that we should think positive, and look on the bright side, when life happens, it sure can be hard to keep it up. Besides, does thinking positive make a difference?
The Evidence -
The power on the mind the mind has been well documented. Think of the placebo effect. In any clinical trial for a medication, there are always two groups: one that receives the medication and one that receives a placebo (sugar pill). This is because even those people who are taking the sugar pill show some improvement because when the brain thinks it is receiving a cure, it goes to work to bring about the desired effect.
A study by Gilky, et al. in the Netherlands, showed that elderly people with a positive attitude were 45% less likely to die within the next decade than those with a negative attitude. In another study, Goode, et al. showed an increased immune response to the flu vaccine when participants were told to think of a positive experience when they were given the shot. Of course, there have been contradictory studies, such as the study by a research team in Australia found that being optimistic did not improve survival in patients with lung cancer. Still, having a positive outlook may help us to deal with the situations more productively, even if we cannot change the outcome
A Possible Explanation -
Every minute of every day, your brain is receiving thousands of stimuli: sounds, sights, smells, and other sensations that are all around you. Right now, as you are reading this article, you are hearing all sorts of sounds (maybe noise outside or your kids talking) and different sights, but your brain is blocking all of that out so that you can concentrate on this article. Therefore, it is able to decide what to pay attention to, based on your desires, beliefs and biases. In fact, we often make a decision about something and then look for evidence supporting it. For example, have your children ever had a teacher that just would not give them a break. More than likely, this is because that teacher decided, early in the year, that your child was too noisy or to fidgety or too whatever. Then any time your child did any misbehavior, the teacher thought, “see, I knew I was right about that kid.” It is not the teacher’s fault; they are just being human.
But maybe that is why positive thinking works so well. If you continually tell your brain, “I am so lucky. I am always winning things,” then your brain is scanning for evidence to support this belief and blocking out contradictory beliefs. Then, when you do win something, your brain has gathered further evidence supporting that belief.
I explore this concept further on my website http://www.ownersmanualforyourkids.com. Come check it out.
Dr. Douglas Curtiss
Article Source: Does Positive Thinking Really Work?
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I think that positive thinking has its place but i think if over used it brings problems in saying that there is still no harm in a little bit of positive thinking
Kevin, thanks for your comment. Positive thinking definitely has its place; however, it is important to recognize and deal with the “yes but” chatter that sometimes pops up from our mind in reaction to positive thoughts that are too different from our current beliefs. Positive thoughts are part of a bigger process, not a magic bullet.