Why Positive Thinking Can Be a Bad Practice

="body">deeply worried the thoughts that come to you are
When you say the way you think will inevitably yieldnot happy thoughts and when you have a feeling of
you certain results you reinforce the idea thathappiness and joy the thoughts that come to you
different thinking will yield different results. People inare a match. One needs to know his or her thinking is
sales will often tell their sales force to think positive.always preceded by the emotions and feelings which
But that only works for those who are feelinggive rise to them. Always, always, and did I say,
positive already. If you tell a person who isalways.
experiencing negative feelings to think positive youYou alter the conversation from negative to positive
can immerse them deeper. When you feel betteror from the undesired to the desired by deliberately
you evoke better feeling thoughts. Your thinking ischoosing better feelings, to have better feeling
pointed in a more lofty direction and that's what youthoughts. It's quite true that you can not be
want for success, a greater sense of self esteem.experiencing deep worry and in a moment cause
Your coaching would be more effective if you couldyourself to experience jubilation. But you can
raise the level of their feelings to be better placehowever, with the willingness to seek out a better
than where they might be.feeling thought, a very small happier feeling thought;
The only people you would say 'think positive' to, areyou can cause yourself to get there. Reach for a
people you feel are not thinking that way. You don'tbetter feeling thought no matter how small and then
tell everyone who doesn't think negative to thinkreach further and then further. You will notice
differently. And what they hear when you keepchanges in the physical reality as you begin to build an
reminding them to think positive is that they thinkability to do this. You will be thinking 'positive
negatively. So at a deeper level they are beingthoughts'. Moreover your ability to attract what you
reminded that they must be negative thinkers. It'sdesire in your present activity is enhanced.
worse than that, every time you harp on the ideaBy intending to move from whatever the emotions
they try harder but every effort makes real whatyou are experiencing to even a small improvement in
they are resisting.your feeling about whatever your immediate concern
If you think healthy thinking is indeed healthy for you,is, will cause you to point yourself in a direction of no
you do affirm one thing that is very important, thatresistance and freedom. My youngest daughter is a
what you think matters. No doubt about it. However,waitress and she realizes that the happier she can be
that is all you are doing, you are making it real thatshe seems to receive far better tips. You do better
what you think influences the outcomes in life,in school, at work, in your studies, in all areas of your
negative or not. A more dominant negative person,life when you can live your life always choosing to be
who may for the moment feel good about himself,happy. You are recognized as a 'positive person'.
can be pushed into re-igniting the negative beliefsWhen you catch yourself speaking something or
about himself when he is reminded to think positive.thinking something you feel negative about, never
And if he tries hard to think that way he further stirsadd to it by making yourself wrong. Use it to make
his negative beliefs. In that state any bit of negativeyourself stronger by quickly looking for something
evidence life brings forth may continue to flamethat feels better. Dom DeLuise recently passed away
those emotions.and Burt Reynolds said that Dom never had an
It's just not as simple as telling someone to thinkunkind word to say about anyone. How wonderful an
differently. I have coached many young athletes andexample is that? In my next article on this subject I
students and what is important for them is to havewill be suggest some things you could do when you
an understanding of both where thoughts come, andare in a 'negative' mood and wish to get yourself out.
what causes them to come forth. When you are