Why Do We Need A Positive Mindset
Special Guest Blog by Susan Pattis
A positive mindset is seeing the bigger picture in life without thinking about the worst situation all the time; or the art of being aware of an objective viewpoint during a troublesome circumstance. Most successful people do not allow problems to get out of control because they know how to avoid the trouble before it occurs through reality checks, strategic planning, visionary review, efficient approach, and careful adjustment. People with positive wisdom can always figure things out with an optimistic spirit and realistic mentality. The combination of maturity, optimism, realism, self-esteem, solution-based approach, and long-term goal plays a critical role in a successful life.
Serious thinking is unhealthy because it might make the situation intense or complicated. Worrying does not change a problem; only facing it positively can open the door to possible solutions. Negative thought spirals people into anxious attempts and mental attacks, and positive thinking calms internal battles. A negative mindset is a captain on a ship in a deadly ocean storm, while the positive one is the lighthouse in the dark ocean. Positive people smile in the rain without crying out and enjoy everyday life without anxious expectations.
We would never lose to others, situations, or circumstances; what we lose is our positive mindsets. Mindset or attitude determines your energy, enthusiasm, inspiration, gratefulness, confidence, motivation, passion, thoughts, and success. Positive people are open to new options and ideas without limiting themselves to rigid opinions, styles, and models. Positive thinking creates the momentum to see the world in a brighter light, not as damaging and dark, from a different point of view, not a narrow-minded rule.
Are you the kind of person who finds beauty in the wrong, bright light in a dark hole, or the red thread that connects the worst situations to a greater and better cause? You have a positive mindset if your answer is YES. Are you taking everything seriously all the time without shifting your mindset? Are you losing hope when your well-being is at stake physically or financially? Can you forgive those for hurting you intentionally? You have a negative attitude if your answer is YES to each question.
Let's see an example. A graduate student in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley. I use his pseudonym, Nick, to protect his privacy. One day, Nick went to his math class late and found two math problems on the board. He noted down the problems as homework. Nick tried very hard to solve them, but it was too difficult to find the answers. He did not give up and kept pushing himself for several nights without sleep. Finally, Nick found the answers. He gave the answers to the professor the next day, and the professor could not believe that his student had solved these two math problems. These problems were not homework; they were the two significant problems that challenged many mathematicians in the world without solutions so far. Nick solved both problems in just a few sleepless days. "If I knew they were two unsolved math problems, I probably would not have tried to solve them," Nick said to the professor. A positive mindset can stimulate your mind to reach great potential.
I want you to do a pop quiz to test your positive mindset. Could you find a way to flip the negative script into a positive interpretation for each situation below?
Negative scripts:
1. You are under a liquid that contains a wide variety of poisonous chemicals.
2. You are violently struggling with someone who controls you and who throws you out of an airplane.
3. Your physical body is aching with burning sensations.
4. A needle is inserted into your body repeatedly and slowly.
5. You kill an attacker, and your blood is mixed with the remains of your victim.
6. Your friend tells you, quite seriously, "You will die hard. Watch out."
7. You are dying because you can hardly breathe. Suddenly you feel the worst pain in your entire life.
Positive interpretation for your reference:
1. You swim in a pool just cleaned with chlorine and other highly diluted chemicals.
2. You are a stunt person acting on a movie production set.
3. You are training yourself in a gym, trying for the burn to get fit.
4. You are getting acupuncture.
5. You swat a mosquito.
6. Your friend warns you about a newly released thriller movie with incredible special effects in horrible styles.
7. You are being born, and the doctor spanks you to make you breathe.
How do words affect your neutrality in a situation? How often do you allow your judgment to overpower reality before interpreting a situation? Would you be more aloof or scientific before concluding a situation? Do you often let your instincts be more positive or negative? Can you shift any tragic situation to a positive and flexible event? Have you ever told white lies in your life to comfort others? How often do you use a false interpretation to make yourself feel better? Could you try to answer these questions honestly to yourself?
A couple in San Diego adopted an abandoned baby girl from a Vietnamese orphanage when they realized they could not have their child. They loved their daughter and supported her through college until their daughter became a dentist. Unfortunately, the wife became sick with kidney failure at age 57 and needed a transplant donation immediately, but the waiting period was 2-5 years. Fortunately, the daughter was a blood match, and without hesitation, she donated one of her kidneys to her mother. Destiny is beyond words. You cannot decide where to be born or whom to be your parents, but you can control your fate by looking at things positively.
The girl’s fate changed when the couple adopted her as their daughter with love and care. After waking from her kidney transplant surgery, in tears, the mother said, "God was searching for suitable people to take care of the child and give her the real love of a mother and father, and GOD chose us to be her parents. Our daughter has brought us so much joy in our lives. I have loved my daughter wholeheartedly since I first held her. I know she is God’s gift to us". There is always a good reason for whatever happens in your life, sometimes you might not fully understand it at the time, but you will eventually. Never lose faith in yourself and GOD.