The Secret of Positive Thinking

[andr69]

I've recently come across such a method of generating positive adjustments in your mind.
Here it is.
Replace a negative adjustment "I don't want to be poor" to positive adjustment "I want to be rich", "I'm not ill" to "I'm quite healthy" and so on. It really works - I can say it from my own experience.

 

[Gerrit]

Really? Have you ever tried it? It is bullshit because your believe it is. Whatever your belief system is about something in this world you will feel that way for that something unless and untill you change your beliefs and your belief system...

"It is bullshit because you believe it is". Isn't it easy to counter this by saying "it works only because you believe it does"?

I do think it's a nice intention and all that, but the generalisations and simplifying things make it sound a bit over the top. Easier said than done, if you know what I mean. If it were so easy to think positively then people would no longer be diagnosed with depressions, need therapists etc.

I do believe that one can achieve whatever he wants to achieve as long as he believes in himself, I really do strongly believe in that and try to spread that message: belief in yourself and don't believe you shouldn't aim high, don't listen to those who cliam you cannot reach your goal. I have been coping with re-occuring depressions since childhood but nonetheless I never lost my ambitions and my believes in my own strength.

However, to just come up with a positive metaphor for everything and believe life is all joy? In the end the truth's in the middle somewhere and to try to see everything in a positive way is as forced as those who wish to see the bad side of everything and complain all the time. Believing in yourself and being ambitious doesn't mean you can just change the way you're wired, because in the end pessimism or optimism are attitudes that are wired in our brain. Positive thinking is good, denying life can be quite a painful thing from time to time is unrealistic.

 

[NPQueen]

My new favorite quote

What you think, you create
What you feel, you attract
What you imagine, you become
-Adele Basheer

 

[liquidcherry]

Easier said than done, if you know what I mean. If it were so easy to think positively then people would no longer be diagnosed with depressions, need therapists etc.

If the people diagnosed with depressions would all follow this easy and simple rule(to love yourself first and foremost, to think positive) it would be like that....when i am down(and i am a lot, believe me) i am forcing myself to think positive, go back to the roots of myself and it works...sometimes you have just to think about worse situations than yourself are in...i am not downplaying depressions, being myself depressed for a long time in the past(what developed into a nervous breakdown what lasted over 2 years and i helped myself out of that mess with just talking about it to everybody)i believe Depressions are a serious condition but rather than just prescribe tons of pills, the shrinks (sorry therapists) need to provide real help, lend an ear etc.

Anyway you are right, life is not all joy, to be honest life almost sucks all the time but if you try to have a positive attitude about it, you can conquer it way better

And your comment about"pessimism or optimism are attitudes that are wired in our brain" is in my book just wrong,as a hobby shrink i predict you have had a bad childhood, it all boils down to a bad childhood lol...but on a more serious point of view on this..the things hot wired to our brains are:

Male:

Reproduce,Reproduce,Reproduce(go Tiger lol )
Hunt, Hunt, Hunt
Eat Meat to be strong so that you can provide for your family
Reproduce,Reproduce,Reproduce

Female:

Give Birth
Cook dinner
Clean the cave and make it cozy

(sorry girls hehehehe)

Sounds strange? yes but these are the programmed things in our genes, only the ongoing evolution is shifting things a bit but there is no wired thing in our mind like pessimism or optimism, it is all about how you learned to live your life, either from your parents or your peers or your environment.

Let me explain what i mean by that....almost everybody is afraid of spiders, at least i was since i was a little kid...couldn't stand those little critters, killed the smallest, killed the biggest whenever i saw them....because i was afraid of em...but i was always curious about them, what was the purpose of having 8 legs, being hairy, ugly but rather useless in my opinion?? ...still afraid(hey i was jumping higher than a girl when i saw one!)

And one day i thought"hmmm, why are you such a pussy when it comes to spiders?" and i started to research things, facts....Make a long story short, i ended up to buy myself a "Tarantula"!... man was i afraid of this HUGE critter...but this critter ended up crawling,walking on my hand and it was the most exciting feeling i had to this day,(well only one other was so exciting,having Sex with Megan Fox) lol...but it was that feeling, it was so soft, so gentle, i never ever in my life thought that a big friggin Tarantula would walk on my hand (i ended up to breed them, having 7 different species, it was quite lucrative i have to say since it is a niche)

So, why am i telling you and everybody this, you ask?

Depressions are build up on fear, the fear of rejection, the fear of losing, the fear of failing, the fear of not being successful even the fear of not being as good as your brother, sister, family member(here i go again, it boils all down to the childhood)

But you can overcome this fear, just believe in yourself and think a bit more positive, try it!

Alright everybody, i wish you all the best, stay positive!!

Cheers

Liquid

 

[Gerrit]

I tried positive thinking and the fact that I am trying to realise my ambitions shows I'm believing in myself, doesn't it? I strongly believe I can realise my ambitions, otherwise I wouldn't have started it.

That believing in yourself, being proud of who you are etc (all messages I try to spread to others diagnosed with the conditions I am diagnosed with) doesn't mean things are as simple as just thinking positively and depressions will vanish. I have had a bad childhood indeed, but that is not that relevant when you have several psychological conditions that are either genetic or chronical. It makes life a matter of survival rather than living at full speed. That doesn't mean I have no self-pride and don't believe in my capabilities to realise the dreams I have ; on the contrary I spread the message to all those with a psychological condition: believe in yourself. To believe ib yourself and to see something positive in everything are two different things however which are separate from each other. To deal with depressive feelings or fears regularly doesn't stand in the way of self-pride and believing in yourself, but vice versa being proud of who you are won't make the depressions vanish in a second neither.

I like how you say: think of something worse. I do that often, but in a way it's quite messed up when you have to think of even worse things than what you got yourself before you feel better I believe in a combination of the right medication (some things are genetic and meds are needed, not every shrink subscribes just to keep his business going) and good therapy, and yes, finding pride and determination within yourself. There is no such thing as simplifying it all to "think positively" or to say life is nothing but suffering ; the truth is in the middle and finding that balance is what it's about IMO.

In the end, life's a b**ch, just don't waste time questioning why and make the most of it.