positive-thinking-2For the first time in years i have gone back and started reading some of the old ‘positive thinking’ books I used to love growing up.

Positive thinking got a REALLY bad rap in the 80’s & 90′s with all the ‘Ra Ra hype’ associated with it.

In my mind it conjures images of Anthony Robbins yelling ‘you can do it’, and a constant stream of b*s double talk from sudo gurus with fake smiles and overenthusiastic speech patterns’

Dr John Demartini, a positive thinking guru and researcher for years, decided to do a study. Everyday for a year he measured his emotions.

He knew when he was talking to his audience he was bright and sparkey, but he also knew, behind closed doors he often couldn’t maintain the façade

What he discovered was fascinating.

Despite all his ‘positive thinking’ training. At the end of the year he had experienced almost exactly the same genuinely positive days as he did negative.

He promptly quite the ‘positive thinking circuit’ much to the horror of the audience he announced his results to, and now spends his life researching the innate balance of life (With some fascinating results)

But whats the message here?

We have to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water – (as I did for a long time)

I was so against positive thinking that I refused to change any of my emotions.

If I felt sad or negative, Id be it. Believing that this was my most authentic self.

It wasn’t until I had done enough study to realize that, not only can the brain NOT change without building new path ways for it to think.  Via repetition. (oh god does that mean those stupid affirmations were a good idea)

But that in reality nothing was actually negative or positive until I measured it anyway .
So what to do ?

Well the long and short of it is this.

1)      Without ‘correctional thinking (we wont call it positive)  your brain hasn’t got a chance to build new pathways - You’ll be stuck thinking the way you do and believing that its all there is (which its provably NOT)

2)      Without correctional thinking your brain will re enforce and strengthen old destructive thought patterns, and extend them into other areas of your life. Deteriorating your world view and hence quality of life

Of course its really up to you to paint the world as you like. Just dont kid yourself its not

vision

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