Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Power of Positive Thinking

I read a book by Norman Vincent Peale about ten years ago called "The Power of Positive Thinking".  It was written around 1960, by a minister, and it's worth a read.  He's obviously a little more, (cough..  cough) biblical, than I am, but the general message of that book is, if you believe it can happen, and stay focused on an end goal, that it will happen, and in miraculous fashion.

This idea is aligned with many religions, as well as many other positive type thinkers.  Religion calls it "Faith", but I think faith, and positive thinking, have much more similarities, than differences.

The real question is does positive thinking actually work?  Which leads to an even bigger question, which will discuss later in this blog.  Those who are regular readers are aware that I'm skeptical about everything. I need concrete proof to declare something valid.  I have no concrete proof to offer in terms of positive thinking, but let me tell you something.  I believe in it.

People that know me, might not consciously recognize it, but one of my greatest qualities is my attention. Have you ever heard anyone brag about their attention?  "Well, I... just... did." (Quote by C. Prest)  My Dad, is a great guy, and a very smart man.  He enjoyed talking, a lot, so I learned quickly to keep my ears open always.  As long as you haven't lost my respect, when you are speaking, I am listening, remembering, analyzing, and this goes for everybody in my life, in all stages of my life.

All my analyzing and listening have added up to me coming to the conclusion, that there is power in positive thinking.  In every successful, genuine person, I've heard speak, they credit their success to the very same things.  The combination of a clear vision, the belief you can accomplish your goal, verbal reinforcement, tied with hard work, it all seems to have magic.

I've seen it in my own life, many, many times.  When I'm thinking clearly and positively, living morally (I use this term loosely), things seem to come easily.  Conversely, when my mind is not right, maybe I've been drinking too much, or not exercising enough, procrastinating in life, I find bad luck finds me easier.  I don't know, maybe I'm crazy, you tell me.

On the other side, negative reinforcement sealed the deal, for me in terms of being a believer in the power of negative thinking.  You meet people in this world all the time, who are negative thinkers.  It's disease that can be cured, but a disease it is until then.  Negative thinking can, and will kill you.  As much as I've seen positive thinking propel people to new heights, I've seen negative thinking destroy people from the inside out.  It's almost miraculous, that the same person, with the same bad attitude, can have the same stories, about all their tribulations, and it's all true.  They aren't making this stuff up, they have bad luck, or so they believe.  What they have is a bad mind.

The only major elephant in the room of course is this, can our thoughts actually have an impact on the future? For this to be true, the thinking itself would have to do the manipulating, or a higher power would have to assist with the connecting of thought, to outcome.  I'll let you decide.  Either way, you'd have to believe in something you can't see, and really can't explain.  I wouldn't believe this to be possible if it weren't for the hundred of signs in my own life, as well as others lives, to support what I have been seeing for all my days on this planet.

This kind of thinking actually throws the whole fate, or freewill argument, on its head.  If our minds can manipulate the future, then fate is essentially gone, as your destiny is only what you make of it. Freewill, is the idea the future is not predetermined, but that doesn't factor that you can impact the future with your mind.  Could it be that the answer is a combination of both fate, and freewill?  Freewill to decide your outcome, but fated by your thoughts and actions?

Give people an option between two possible outcomes, and more often then not, they will pick one.  Could it be that the fate or freewill argument, has blocked out some other possible outcomes?

Let me remind you that right now, we are currently spinning on a huge ball of mass, that is floating in middle of space.  You are made of billions of atoms, and the way you have formulated, has give you has a collective conscience.  I'm uploading my text, to your computer, which has a microchip processing information.  Does any of this make any sense at all?

So I free myself to imagine a way where both fate and freewill can be the answer.  It's possible that you have the power to change everything about your life, just by keeping a clear imagine of where you want your life to head.  Of course, none of this makes sense, but I implore you to try it.  You might start noticing weird things happening, and sometimes the changes won't be dead pan obvious, until later on.  Pay attention.

Wouldn't it be amazing if all of us, had the ability to be whatever we wanted, as long as we could picture, and believe in it?  It sounds to good to be true.  But then again, so is this wonderful existence.  "Anything is possible" (Quote by VSP), there really are no rules, because as we mentioned in "We are All-Stars", nobody has a clue.

Do you believe your thoughts today, have an impact on your future tomorrow, or is it all a bunch of baloney?

10 comments:

  1. wow how could u write like this... love the way u write ... hope i could learn how to write like u... can i possibly post your blog? but give credits on your name of course... only if u don't mind at all...

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  2. Sheila, I'm glad you enjoyed this entry. The best way to share this information is to use the buttons at the bottom of each post, to share via, Email, Facebook, Twitter etc.

    If you like my writings, I really could use your support, and that's the best way to make it happen. Please share this with whoever you want you think may enjoy it.

    Thanks so much for reading.

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  3. Hi, I have made some comments on a few excerpts below. A bit longer than others,but you got me thinking...

    "if you believe it can happen, and stay focused on an end goal, that it will happen, and in miraculous fashion."

    Yes!!
    I embrace positive thinking whole-heartedly and have seen many displays of it at work. For instance, do you know what Will Smith, Maya Angelou, and Madonna have in common? Maybe a few things, but the major connecting factor between these successful individuals is they all incorporated the law of attraction (or positive thinking) in some capacity into their lives and ... it worked!

    "The combination of a clear vision, the belief you can accomplish your goal, verbal reinforcement, tied with hard work, it all seems to have magic".

    I agree Bangin.
    It seems like magic, but it is akin to the Theory of Happenstance - it is a result of being prepared, willing to do 'the' hard work, and maintaining that unfaltering clarity of thought (as you've mentioned).

    It is important to recognize that positive thinking definitely is not "magic". One cannot spend 10 minutes daydreaming about winning the lottery and being set for life and then be disappointed when he or she doesn't win the next week. Positive thinking is deeper than that! It won't happen overnight AND it won't happen on our personal schedule. If one holds true to positive thinking, good things will happen albeit on the universe's schedule, but... it will happen.

    "I think faith, and positive thinking, have much more similarities, than differences"

    I have witnessed the power of positivity in my own life and although I do not regard myself as a religious person, I believe having faith played an integral part because I always had it.

    Also, I can provide many examples of what I have 'manifested' through positive thinking, but since it's not my blog....I will say, conversely, I have been on the other side and been sucked into the vortex of negative thinking.

    This type of thinking is exceptionally powerful (as you said) bad things will continue to happen if we aren't aware of our thinking and the energy we are putting out there - essentially to the universe. This experience confirmed me as a believer because I've been to the other side and made it back because I altered my mind - positively.

    Like does attract like.

    Just sayin...

    Keep writing, Bangin. We need more believers out there and it is stimulating for other self proclaimed writers. Thank you.

    Believin,

    Renee Monroe

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  4. Thanks for the comments Renee. Please check out my other posts, share, and comment as you see fit. I think this is just going to be the beginning for this blog, as I'm still full of thoughts, and rants. Stay tuned.

    I appreciate the detail of your comments, as it's nice to know which areas strike a chord with readers. May I recommend "The Power of Positive Thinking" or "The Contemporary Dating Game"? I'd think you'd enjoy them both.

    Thanks for reading!

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  5. *** Meant "We are All-Stars" not "The Power of Positive Thinking" ***

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  6. Amazing article , I can't help myself from reading, you have great writting technique I wish I can write like you. great article.

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  7. I don't believe in positive thinking, at least not as you describe it. Some things are beyond our ability to influence, including anything where your intended outcome comes down to the decision of someone else. For example, you want to be a writer, and to be successful you need large numbers of other people to read your work. You can exhort, cajole or entice them to do so, but you cannot compel them. This is not to say that you shouldn't try; just don't assume that you'll always be successful.

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  8. I can only hope Dennis, that my writing is more compelling than my advertising. I agree it's a grovelling process, but I'm unashamed, because what I'm giving away is free content in the end. With so many pushing weird websites, I just want people to read.

    In the end you are absolutely correct, I cannot compel anyone to support me, and my endeavors. However, if my work is compelling, I couldn't stop them from reading, if I wanted to.

    I'd love to hear you comments on "We are All-Stars", and would be happy if you joined the newsletter. One of my posts in the future, will strike a chord with you, I guarantee it.

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  9. Good blogger with good writting skills. I too want to write more in my blog but when i sit to write there is no words to express my feelings. But i will try it in future. Thanks for sharing ideas...Good blog to spend some time thumps up for you friend.

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  10. Excellent Share! An exciting dialogue is well worth comment. I think you ought to compose much more on this matter, it may well not be considered a taboo issue but typically individuals usually are not enough to speak on this sort of topics.

    positive thinking

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