The Power of Positive Thinking

Have you ever noticed how negative thoughts and worries creep into our minds without any invitation? How many of us can say we welcome and embrace negative thinking? Negative thinking has been shown to change our brain function by increasing stress and positive thinking can change the brain to reduce stress. And stress has been shown to effect the function of our immune system.


In a study published in 2003 in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, researchers compared how often people with either positive or negative emotions contract a cold. Their results indicated that those with a positive attitude were less likely to catch colds, while those who gave into negativity were more likely to complain about symptom, regardless of whether they actually have a cold. In fact, people with these negative attitudes were more likely to report symptoms that exceeded what one would expect from the common cold.

Successful professional athletes and business leaders use positive thinking to help them reach their goals. The same can apply for you and me. A "can-do" attitude may be what we all need. Best of all, your attitude is something you can control. You have the choice to have a positive outlook. When you think positively, you'll feel better and be able to perform in anything you do with more focus.

So, adjust your attitude. If you find yourself thinking, "This is going badly," pay attention to those thoughts and make a conscious choice to be positive. Think instead, "This will be tough. But I can do it." Putting a positive, or optimistic, spin on something always makes it easier to handle.