Where to even begin? Positive thinking has gotten a lot of hype from word of mouth and the media. It has become mainstream in our society that also experiences high levels of perceived stress. So what is the deal?
Positive thinking has gotten so much attention due to the fact you can feel it work immediately. When you think good thoughts you believe them and feel good. We all want to feel good right?
Well, we are going to break down this positive thinking thing for you step by step so you can feel motivated to master your own mind and truly find consistency within optimism.
Scientific Evidence
There have been many studies done to explain just why thinking positive thoughts is important. Why is there a need for many studies to prove that a positive attitude truly equates to higher levels of living when many of our gut instincts know positive thinking is required for happiness?
The reason is that shifting our thinking can be extremely difficult and these studies can offer people the proof they need to take control of their life and their thoughts. If you already feel this motivation then check out our article on positive thinking techniques.
Otherwise, one of the studies we will cover was posted in Yonsei Medical Journal. This study looked at the Korean population and studied how positive thinking affected overall life-satisfaction.
409 people were evaluated over the telephone in regard to demographics, life satisfaction, and levels of positive thinking. The results showed that demographic variables such as income, occupation, and even education did have an impact on people’s ability to think positively.
However, the results also showed that a positive attitude can actually even be used as a solution to mediate the demographic factors that ultimately lead one to be less satisfied!
The next part of the study worked to control these variables and simply compare the levels of positive thinking with overall life satisfaction. Which you may have already guessed, positive thinking was shown to equate to higher overall life satisfaction.
Meditation itself has been shown to create a positive mindset and therefore higher life satisfaction as well as reduced stress levels. This is an incredible tool to help you in so many different aspects of your life.
Another study, led by Jennifer Graham-Engeland, an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University, found that those with a negative outlook were found to have more biomarkers of inflammation in the body than those with a positive one.
This is so important because inflammation is linked to many chronic conditions including even a weaker immune system. Meditation has also been shown to reduce inflammation within the body, find out more here.
Where The Law of Attraction Comes Into Play With Positive Thinking
If you already know what the law of attraction is and have an idea of how it works then you can already link that to be yet another reason why a positive attitude is so beneficial in living your most satisfying life.
If you don’t know what it is you can check out this article here to learn what the law of attraction is in simplified terms. Otherwise, we are going to cover exactly why positive thinking not only helps you manifest your already existing desires but simply a positive reality.
Through the law of attraction, after you have done manifestation exercises such as using visualization, it is important to not build up a resistance to the energy you have just sent out to the universe. In order to keep yourself within energetic resonance to the visualization and the emotions you created with it, then positive thinking is simply required.
If immediately after you tap into a vibration that harmonizes with your desires you think how it’s so hard to happen, you’ll never get there, or you get dowsed in feelings of unworthiness then you move out of harmony with your prior desire and it cannot come into physical form around you.
That makes sense in order to keep the intentions you set into motion then using positive thinking will keep you open to receiving them as well as increase the momentum behind these prior intentions.
Now, besides the desires you are already consciously manifesting, simply put, when you change your thoughts you change your world. This means the baseline and foundation of your life will rise to a higher frequency.
Since your thoughts can stir your emotions then the entire essence of your life will become a vibrational match for positivity which includes your desires around finances, relationships, and physical health.
Why Positive Thinking Works According To Byron Katie
Byron Katie teaches what is called “The Work”, which is learning how to form thought inquiry. You may be immediately wondering, “what is thought inquiry”. Well, it is a beautiful and powerful thing that everyone can do.
The foundation is that our thoughts stir emotions within us, but only when we believe them. Byron Katie spent many years in deep suffering, emotional turmoil, and no will to live.
Until one morning she woke up and found that her suffering was only there when she believed her thoughts. You can learn more about exactly how to form thought inquiry here with an outline of The Work’s 4 questions.
Through choosing not to give negative thoughts (or your external reality) emotional validity you then choose to believe (and find more truth within) the positive ones.
Positive thinking works because we want to be free from suffering related thoughts. The Work gives us a pathway to clear out the confusion behind why we believe negative thoughts so that we can create more positive ones.
The Happiness Advantage
As you may have read, a positive attitude can create incredible effects throughout our entire lives. Shawn Achor, a positive psychology advocate, explains that another reason for this is because of what he calls the happiness advantage.
In short, Shawn explains the happiness advantage like this, “Your brain at positive performs significantly better (31% better) than it does at negative, neutral or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, and your energy levels rise”
If you want to begin reaping these benefits he researches 5 habits that rewire the brain in order to increase optimism this is all explained in his 21-day happiness challenge, which you can get started on here.
