Power of Positive Thinking: Simple Strategies for Everyday Well-being
Positive thinking refers to the way of looking at the challenges and difficulties in less critical
and more productive ways. It mostly emphasis on making the optimal use of situations, not
judging people on the basis of their first impression and cultivating a positive attitude towards
oneself and one’s own abilities. Positive thinking is also associated with explanatory style
which refers to the causes that an individual uses to explain a particular situation or event.
They can be two types of explanatory styles: optimists and pessimists.
Optimists are likely to achieve their goals even if they face failures in the path
towards achieving them.
Optimists are more concerned about their health and well being by engaging in
activities such as regular exercise, consuming food in high nutrients and going for full
body routine checkup for identifying the incidence of any illness.
Pessimists are likely to be more depressed and tends to have less effectively
functioning immune system as they experience more psychological stress.
Pessimists tends to attribute negative outcomes to themselves as they don’t have
influence over such events.
There has also been focus on the positive psychology which is a branch of psychology, and it
stresses the importance of personal growth, positive affect, optimism, meaning, gratitude,
resilience, their relationship to health and their potential for intervention that promotes health
and healing.
Strategies for improving well-being through positive thinking
Be conscious of your thought processes: Deeply analyse the type of thoughts you
have during the entire day and try to modify or change many negative thoughts in
more positive way to help you achieve an effective control over your thought process.
Making a gratitude journal: Keeping a journal in which you write some positive
affirmations such as “I am blessed to have good friends and supportive parents,” “I’m
thankful for my professor who helped me with my research paper.” Such techniques
helps you to develop a better understanding of various situations and becoming more
optimistic in your life.
Developing the habit of positive self talk: engaging in positive self talk can help you
to regulate your emotions effectively and develop better coping strategies for dealing
with stressful situations. Examples of positive self talk are: “You are worthy and
lovable,” “You are capable of amazing things,” “Your feelings are valid,” and “It’s
okay to start over and try again.”
The discussion on the current topic can be supported by the following research study.
“Looking for adolescent’s well-being: Self efficacy beliefs as determinants of positive
thinking and happiness” conducted by Gian Vittorio Caprara, Patrizia Steca, Maria Gerbino,
Marinella Paciello and Giovanni Maria Vecchio. The aim of the study was to examine the
concurrent and longitudinal impact of self efficacy beliefs on subjective well being in
adolescence, namely positive thinking and happiness. The findings suggested that the self
efficacy beliefs of adolescents that helps them to manage positive and negative emotions and
interpersonal relationships contribute to promote positive expectations about the future, to
maintain high level of self concept and to perceive sense of satisfaction in their lives.
References
Caprara, G. V., Steca, P., Gerbino, M., Paciello, M., & Vecchio, G. M. (2006).
Looking for adolescents' well-being: self-efficacy beliefs as determinants of
positive thinking and happiness. Epidemiologia E Psichiatria Sociale, 15(1),
30-43. https://doi.org/10.1017/1121189x00002013
Ciccarelli, K. S., White, N.J. (2015) Psychology (4th ed.). Pearson.
MSEd, K. C. (2023, May 4). The power of positive thinking. Verywell Mind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-positive-thinking-2794772
Straub, O.R. (2014) Health Psychology (4th ed.). Worth Publishers.
