By: Dr. RAVI PRAKASH TIWARI
Understanding positive thinking and self-talk
Positive thinking doesn’t convey that we should overlook life’s less gratifying situations. It just signifies that we should approach unpleasantness more positively and productively. It means utilising potential obstacles, striving to see the best in other people, and viewing ourselves and our potentials in a positive light.
Positivity and Heart
According to Johns Hopkins and expert Lisa R. Yanek, individuals with a family history of heart ailments but having a positive attitude are one-third less likely to suffer from a heart attack or other cardiovascular event within five to 25 years than those with a more pessimistic attitude.
Researchers have reported that positive people may be better shielded against the inflammatory damage of stress. Hope and positivity enhance health and they help in taking better life decisions. Such persons focus more on long-term aspirations. Research also reports that negative emotions can enervate our immune system.
Despite a positive personality being something we’re born with and not something we can inherently alter, Yanek remarks that there are measures that we can embrace to improve our attitude and diminish our risk of cardiovascular ailments . What is true is that there is absolutely a powerful connection between “positivity” and health. Further studies have reported that a positive outlook enhances outcomes and life gratification across a spectrum of conditions—including injury, stroke , traumatic brain and brain tumours. There are many simple ways to get positive.
Simply smile more.
According to the University of Kansas research, even a fake smile diminishes heart rate and blood pressure during stressful situations.
Practise gratitude to become positive
There are several examples to practise. Instead of constantly complaining about not having many things, be grateful for what you have that millions do not have. Don’t mar your enjoyment of those thing that you have by constantly focussing on what you don’t have. For instance, instead of grudging or stressing about a traffic jam, be grateful for having a car and getting to spend a few extra minutes listening to music or the news, accepting that there is absolutely nothing you can do about the traffic.
Build resilience.
The potency to reconcile oneself to stressful and/or negative circumstances and failures is resilience. It can be built in the following ways:
• Accept that change is a part of life.
• Act on problems rather than just expecting them to get mitigated or waiting for them to get resolved automatically.
• Develop harmonious relationships with family and friends.
How to Practise Positive Thinking
A regular practice of these strategies can make you get in the habit of maintaining a more positive attitude on life.
• Self talk : Positive thinking often commences with self-talk. The eternal stream of unspoken thoughts running through our mind is called self-talk. The self-talk can be positive or negative. The origin of some of our self-talk is logic and reason. The origin of other self-talk may be misconceptions created by us because of lack of information or expectations due to preconceived ideas of what may happen.
• Observe our thoughts: We must pay attention to the quality of thoughts we experience each day. If we per-ceive that most of them are negative, we must make a conscious effort to think positively.
• Write in a gratitude journal: Prac-tising gratitude have a spectrum of positive benefits and it helps us learn to enhance a positive attitude. Penning down grateful thoughts helps us to feel more optimistic.
The health benefits of positive
thinking:
Positive thinking enhances our immunity against ailments, improves mental and physical well-being and cardiovascular health, diminishes threat of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke, diminishes risk of death from cancer, increases life span, lowers rates of depression, lowers levels of distress and pain, lowers risk of death from respiratory ailments and from infections.
According to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Aging Re-search, adopting a positive mental outlook was associated to di-minished mortality over a 35-year period. People with a more posi-tive attitude were also more likely to consume a healthier diet, get regular physical exercise, avoid smoking, and experience more quality sleep.
Adopting a positive attitude enables us to cope better with stressful situations, diminishing the noxious health impacts of stress on our body and mind.
Research reveals that having more positive automatic thoughts aids persons get more resilient in the face of life’s stressful situations . One study related to 1,558 older adults reported that positive thinking could also decrease infirmity during old age. People with high levels of positive thinking were more likely to navigate stressful life circumstances with an elevated sense of the significance of life.
There is a famous saying by Louis Holtz: Life is ten percent what happens to you, and ninety percent how you respond to it. Good response comes from positive thinking which makes life very less stressful.
Understanding positive thinking and self-talk
Positive thinking doesn’t convey that we should overlook life’s less gratifying situations. It just signifies that we should approach unpleasantness more positively and productively. It means utilising potential obstacles, striving to see the best in other people, and viewing ourselves and our potentials in a positive light.
Positivity and Heart
According to Johns Hopkins and expert Lisa R. Yanek, individuals with a family history of heart ailments but having a positive attitude are one-third less likely to suffer from a heart attack or other cardiovascular event within five to 25 years than those with a more pessimistic attitude.
Researchers have reported that positive people may be better shielded against the inflammatory damage of stress. Hope and positivity enhance health and they help in taking better life decisions. Such persons focus more on long-term aspirations. Research also reports that negative emotions can enervate our immune system.
Despite a positive personality being something we’re born with and not something we can inherently alter, Yanek remarks that there are measures that we can embrace to improve our attitude and diminish our risk of cardiovascular ailments . What is true is that there is absolutely a powerful connection between “positivity” and health. Further studies have reported that a positive outlook enhances outcomes and life gratification across a spectrum of conditions—including injury, stroke , traumatic brain and brain tumours. There are many simple ways to get positive.
Simply smile more.
According to the University of Kansas research, even a fake smile diminishes heart rate and blood pressure during stressful situations.
Practise gratitude to become positive
There are several examples to practise. Instead of constantly complaining about not having many things, be grateful for what you have that millions do not have. Don’t mar your enjoyment of those thing that you have by constantly focussing on what you don’t have. For instance, instead of grudging or stressing about a traffic jam, be grateful for having a car and getting to spend a few extra minutes listening to music or the news, accepting that there is absolutely nothing you can do about the traffic.
Build resilience.
The potency to reconcile oneself to stressful and/or negative circumstances and failures is resilience. It can be built in the following ways:
• Accept that change is a part of life.
• Act on problems rather than just expecting them to get mitigated or waiting for them to get resolved automatically.
• Develop harmonious relationships with family and friends.
How to Practise Positive Thinking
A regular practice of these strategies can make you get in the habit of maintaining a more positive attitude on life.
• Self talk : Positive thinking often commences with self-talk. The eternal stream of unspoken thoughts running through our mind is called self-talk. The self-talk can be positive or negative. The origin of some of our self-talk is logic and reason. The origin of other self-talk may be misconceptions created by us because of lack of information or expectations due to preconceived ideas of what may happen.
• Observe our thoughts: We must pay attention to the quality of thoughts we experience each day. If we per-ceive that most of them are negative, we must make a conscious effort to think positively.
• Write in a gratitude journal: Prac-tising gratitude have a spectrum of positive benefits and it helps us learn to enhance a positive attitude. Penning down grateful thoughts helps us to feel more optimistic.
The health benefits of positive
thinking:
Positive thinking enhances our immunity against ailments, improves mental and physical well-being and cardiovascular health, diminishes threat of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke, diminishes risk of death from cancer, increases life span, lowers rates of depression, lowers levels of distress and pain, lowers risk of death from respiratory ailments and from infections.
According to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Aging Re-search, adopting a positive mental outlook was associated to di-minished mortality over a 35-year period. People with a more posi-tive attitude were also more likely to consume a healthier diet, get regular physical exercise, avoid smoking, and experience more quality sleep.
Adopting a positive attitude enables us to cope better with stressful situations, diminishing the noxious health impacts of stress on our body and mind.
Research reveals that having more positive automatic thoughts aids persons get more resilient in the face of life’s stressful situations . One study related to 1,558 older adults reported that positive thinking could also decrease infirmity during old age. People with high levels of positive thinking were more likely to navigate stressful life circumstances with an elevated sense of the significance of life.
There is a famous saying by Louis Holtz: Life is ten percent what happens to you, and ninety percent how you respond to it. Good response comes from positive thinking which makes life very less stressful.
[Dr. RAVI PRAKASH TIWARI is the author of Pun is Fun.]
