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?

Are you a believer?

Welcome to my new blog site.  You can call me JBangin', and I'll be your guide to life for as long as you'll listen.  I've titled my blog page Bangin' Believers because I want the people who read my blog to believe in me, and believe in what I am stating.

You might be asking yourself, what can I learn here?  There are no rules to this blog.  I will write about anything and everything, and I will do so in a matter, that doesn't hold back. 

The real question is what qualifies me, to give advice to you?  The answer is a very deep one, that I will try to keep as simple as possible.  I've always been good at being rational, and knowing what's technically right, or wrong with something.  It's a very tough topic to speak about, because it inheriently sets you up to sound cocky, or conceited.  I don't think I am either of those. 

What I am, is a good thinker.  Some people are good at sports.  Others at learning languages.  I'm a good thinker, always have been, always will be.

At 29, I can honestly say I have a very open mind.  Naturally I judge people like all humans do, but I question where those pre-concieved notions come from, and adjust my thinking accordingly.  That right there is something you won't see 90% of humanity do.  I question everything in this world, and it drives me crazy, when others question nothing, but I see it all the time, from the majority of people.

I can't tell you how many times I heard another human state something as fact, only to have my whole inner being know for certain, that either something they have said is incorrect, or that their whole statement was incorrect.  Intially, I can only recognize this by the uneasy feeling I get, then it turns into a constant obsession to prove myself, or my intuition correct.  I can't recall a moment in my life where I've had this feeling, and it doesn't materialize, just as I had anticipated.

Call it a 6th sense.  Call it whatever you want, but I can say with certainty most humans do not inately have this trait.  This is why periodically I would go on to sites like Craiglist, pour my heart out in an amazingly well worded thought, only to have it completely fall on deaf and dumb ears. 

That's why Bangin' Believers was created.  I'd rather my opinions fall on the ear of people who are smart, and can hear clearly.  People who will challenge me, to challenge myself. 

Einstein once said "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.."

Bangin' says:  "Well, we'll just see about that."