Are you a positive thinker?

“Change your thoughts and you can change your world.” –Norman Vincent Peale

All of us like to think we are positive thinkers. We tend to think we deal with generally well and cope day to day with the problems that come into our world. Yet for many people, life is about survival and not about taking advantage of every minute and feeling like we are living life to it’s fullest potential.

How can you tell if you are a positive thinker? Here are a few questions you can ask yourself, to help you reach the correct answer to that self-discovery question.

1.      How do you feel others think about you?

2.     Do you feel confident in your skills and abilities?

3.     Do you feel confident in your decision-making abilities at home and work?

4.     Do you look at the week ahead as full of challenges or full of problems?

5.     Do you believe you can improve your ability to achieve new successes? Do you feel you are trapped in a cycle from which you cannot escape?

6.     Do the problems in some areas of your life tend to cloud your perception of other things?

If you answered mostly yes to these questions, it’s possible you engage in negative thinking about your life and the things in your life that cause you distress and problems. If you said no, use that list to help keep yourself from falling into the trap of sometimes feeling sorry for yourself and starting on the negative track.

 People who are affected by negative thinking can turn it around by first acknowledging that they are prone to thinking this way. With that in mind, it becomes easier to face it and begin to change how you approach life, if you are honest with yourself. Many people don’t recognize they are caught in a trap of negative thinking, so acknowledging is the first step in turning it around.

Next make sure you don’t allow yourself to be around negative people, but be positive and focus on being positive. Ask a friend to help you see the positive side of things and to help you learn when you are not being positive about something. Write down those moments and make an effort to think of an alternative way of responding to whatever caused the negative thoughts and talk.

Remember positive thinking usually attracts positive people and outcomes. This is a sure way of realising your full potential.