There was a time, not that long ago, when one of my daughters was driving her brother nuts with the message
“positivity is the key to success.”
Lets just say that he had approached adolescents (or it had invaded him), and he was struggling with the surges of testosterone which resulted in flashes of anger, sarcasm and negativity.
His sister thought he needed a mantra that would quickly replace his negativity with positivity …
lets get real …
she also wanted to drive him batty!
(mission accomplished)
Is positivity the key to success?
According to an article on cnn.com (from the Mayo Clinic), there are health benefits from positive thinking, such as :
- Increased life span
- Lower rates of depression
- Lower levels of distress
- Greater resistance to the common cold
- Better psychological and physical well-being
- Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
- Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress
It is believed that thinking positively can have such beneficial affects on reducing stress that over-all health can be improved.
Maybe we ought to start viewing
smiling
encouraging people
opening doors for others
taking a bubble bath
reading an enjoyed novel
dreaming of a snow day 😉
as exercise, for the soul, heart, mind and body.
Oh, and what about …
counting your blessings?
You know … the old hymn with the words,
“count your blessings, name them one by one”
Counting our blessings or thinking positively in no way indicates that we are to get in touch with our inner ostrich … burying our head in the sand, and pretending that the ‘curses’ and negatives are non-existent. Instead, to look at our blessings and think positively involves a choice to not allow the negative to rule our hearts, our minds and our days.
… it’s good for our health too 😉
“Reflect on your present blessings,
on which every man has many,
not on your past misfortunes,
of which all men have some.”
Charles Dickens
