Holistic health - Power of Positive Thinking - By Lisa DeFosse

I wake up each morning and decide that it is going to be a great day. Sounds simplistic and corny to some, but we have the power to shift our thoughts and make our own reality. I could choose to wake up each day and tell myself it’s going to be a horrible day. You know what happens next? It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and the day turns out to be a drag. 
 

Positive thinking means that even when you experience something horrible, you stay positive and make the most of it. I have a friend battling Leukemia as we speak. She didn’t choose this fate, and surely isn’t happy to be in this position, but she has the most positive outlook of anyone I know battling cancer. She is going through chemotherapy and knows that she has to endure some suffering in order to be healed. Yet she is facing each day with a positive attitude and gratitude for all the things that she has. She is grateful for her family and friends and all the support around her. She is looking forward to the cancer being gone. She expects the cancer to leave her body. This is positive thinking.

So how does one become a positive thinker? It can be challenging, especially if you are prone to negative self-talk (the chatter that goes on in your head throughout the day that only you hear). Pay attention to your thoughts. Do you think mostly negative thoughts about your appearance, your job or others? Once you are aware of this, simply try to catch yourself and change the thought. Smile more. It sounds silly, but you will find that once you start forcing a smile more, you will feel better. If it is difficult at first, just “fake it ‘till you make it”. Focus on gratitude. Make a list of five things you are grateful for. No matter what life throws at you, there are always things to be grateful for. Help someone. It takes the focus off of yourself and will truly make you feel better. Surround yourself with positive people! If you are surrounded with negative thinkers, it will make it harder to think positive. 

As Abraham Lincoln once said, “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” Think yourself into an awesome day today!