Positive Thought – The Beginning of Personal Growth

By Kristen Burgess

“Think happy thoughts” is a tired statement you’ve heard again and again. Just how is thinking “happy thoughts” supposed to help you with life? And who can think happy thoughts all the time, anyways?

A better way to frame this is to say you need to think positive thoughts. This doesn’t mean you’re going to be thinking of birthday parties and new puppies all the time. That’s ridiculous. You have to deal with real life and real life is not all Christmas morning and Disneyland moments.

You can teach yourself to re-frame your negative thoughts into positive thoughts. There are many situations that crop up in everyday life, and a lot of them are stressful. Some of them are downright horrible. It’s really easy to get caught up in cycles of blaming others (or yourself). It’s even easier to sit around and feel sorry for yourself because your life is so bad, or because your life is so hard.

These negative thoughts limit your potential. They limit your life. When you sit around all day and think about how unfair it is that your spouse doesn’t take out the trash, or that they spend too much time watching television, you’re hurting yourself (and probably your spouse.) Sitting at the office steaming because your partner didn’t get his part of the project done, or because your coworkers are idiots, really doesn’t help them, and it certainly doesn’t help you. You end up wasting your time cataloging the faults of others and you do nothing to help yourself or reach your goals.

Instead of blaming and feeling sorry for yourself, re-frame your thoughts. If your spouse isn’t taking out the trash, think to yourself “maybe he’s having a hard time at the office right now and is just tired.” Or “maybe she’s just got so much going on during the day with three kids, two dogs, a cat, and all the meals to cook.” Then you can think “how long does it take me to take out the trash? Five minutes at the most?” Then take out the trash! Do it without complaining. After you’re done, think about how nice it is to have the trash can empty. Don’t think about how you just wasted five minutes, or think that if it only takes five minutes why can’t your spouse bother to do it. Think about how easy it was, how nice it is to have it out, and how it saved your spouse the trouble of doing it.

When you face routine, repetitive tasks that you don’t enjoy, it’s easy to get into the habit of thinking negative thoughts about them. I find this happens to me when I’m trying to work on a project and I keep having to stop working to cook. Since my family requires three meals a day and I’m working out of a home office, this ends up happening a lot. Every time I turn around, there’s another meal to make, and another hour of my time gone. It’s really easy to start resenting meal preparation.

It helps to take these repetitive tasks and start thinking about them in a positive manner. Instead of thinking about how much work I could be getting done instead of cooking yet another meal, it would be helpful to me to think of it as a nice break. It’s a time to get away from the computer screen and stretch. I could also think of it as an enjoyable experience where I’m able to try new recipes. I can think of how much my family appreciates my cooking and look forward to the compliments I’ll get from my family members.

You’ll find when you re-frame your challenges or mundane tasks into a positive light, you’ll look forward to your days more, and you get more accomplished. You’ll see challenges not as something horrible, but as something to help you learn and grow as you work towards your goals. You’ll also attract other people, including people who will be willing to help you get what and where you want.

Kristen is a passionate and opinionated person who greatly enjoys sharing her opinions through writing. Visit her newest site at http://www.babyheartmonitorsale.com and learn more about how a baby heart monitor can help keep your little one safe.

Article Source: Kristen Burgess
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