“Happiness is a choice. And it is free. Play On”
“The more you talk about negative things in your life, the more you call them in. Speak victory not defeat.” –Joel Osteen
Have you ever thought that I am not good enough? Ok you might not had think about this on your own. But, possibility is there, that someone else had make you feel that you are not good enough. I have no issue, if you are not willing to share. But, I want to share my story.
One day I told to my friend that I wish to do job in Nestle Pakistan as a sales executive. You know what was his answer? If you are thinking that he would smile at me, then you are wrong. In fact he take a pause being serious. After few seconds he speak that you cannot get a job there. Because they consider graduates of the well-reputed institutes like LUMS and IBA. As his aunty was also in sales department and he was having a lot of inside knowledge. He throws all his knowledge at me. And I accepted it without making any offence. And in this way negativity rushes in my mind.
Now in your opinion who was having negative thoughts, emotions, depression or anything related to this? Obviously it was me. Because, he was sharing his general experience. I had my own mind, perception, capacity to think, and analyze. But, I relied on his perception.
HANS F HANSEN says: “People inspire you, or they drain you. Pick them wisely”. After reading this quote I thought about that time. First of all I should change the topic of discussion if he was spreading negativity. And if I was not able to do so, then I should forget his words after he leaves. But, it was my negative thinking who force me to accept his perception.
I was not aware of these negative thoughts until I read an article from Shawn Achor. Shawn is the winner of over a dozen distinguished teaching awards at Harvard University, where he delivered lectures on positive psychology in the most popular class at Harvard, and has become one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between happiness and success.
After studying his article I realized that “Happiness and Success” are indispensable. And he shares that the three greatest predictors of happiness are optimism (the belief your behavior will eventually matter), social connection, and how we perceive stress (as a challenge or as a threat). If we want to raise happiness we need to make both mindset and behavior shifts.
In his article Shawn Achor suggested five steps (gratitude, journaling, exercise, meditation, random acts of kindness) to increase our experience of happiness every day. And during the last 5 days I practiced three steps which I found very much productive and positive. Practicing these steps filled my mind with positivity.
In the first step I brought Gratitude to my mind. Practicing this for the whole day I used to find three new things, which I found grateful. And in this way my whole concentration was diverted in the search of positivity. Which helps me to bring positivity in my mind.
In the second step I engage myself in the exercise for 15 minutes. When we do tough exercises it makes us unable to remain positive in even tough situations. Which ultimately increase our positivity.
And in the last I used to engage myself in the conscious act of kindness. Like writing a thank you email or to give a positive compliment to someone which admire their efforts. By focussing in finding positivity in others and ultimately build a positive attitude in us.
Keep in mind that Negative thoughts are the enemies of victorious life. Since our life is very much determined by our mind, our thoughts can make or break our life. Negative thoughts will distract your focus from the important and drain your energy. At the end, you will no longer have the ingredients necessary for success. Knowing how to overcome negative thoughts may make the difference between victory and defeat.
I would like to conclude my findings with a Quote:
“Have a heart that never hardens, had a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts”. –Charles Dickens

