When it feels like something always or never happens, this is just your brain’s natural threat tendency inflating the perceived frequency or severity of an event. Or if it really is an intractable problem, then why are you wasting your time beating your head against the wall? If your statements still look like facts once they’re on paper, take them to a friend or colleague you can trust, and see if he or she agrees with you. Are you never going to find a solution to your problem? If you really are that stuck, maybe you’ve been resisting asking for help. Perhaps you forget them frequently, but most days you do remember them. You can bet the statements aren’t true any time you see words like never, always, worst, ever, etc.ĭo you really always lose your keys? Of course not. Evaluate these statements to see if they’re factual. Once you’ve taken a moment to slow down the negative momentum of your thoughts, you will be more rational and clear-headed in evaluating their veracity. Literally stop what you’re doing and write down what you’re thinking. When you find yourself believing the negative and pessimistic things your inner voice says, it’s time to stop and write them down. Most of our negative thoughts are just that - thoughts, not facts. The more you ruminate on negative thoughts, the more power you give them.
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The first step in learning to focus on the positive requires knowing how to stop negative self-talk in its tracks. Here are three things that I’ll be doing this year to stay positive. His research shows that people can transform a tendency toward pessimistic thinking into positive thinking through simple techniques that create lasting changes in behavior long after they are discovered. Seligman has studied positivity more than anyone, and he believes in the ability to turn pessimistic thoughts and tendencies around with simple effort and know-how. Optimistic salespeople sold 37% more policies than pessimists, who were twice as likely to leave the company during their first year of employment. In one study in particular, he measured the degree to which insurance salespeople were optimistic or pessimistic in their work. Martin Seligman has also studied the connection between positivity and performance. Keeping a positive attitude isn’t just good for your health. Sign up here to get top career advice delivered straight to your inbox every week. Subscribe To The Forbes Careers Newsletter The researchers found optimists had a much stronger immune response than pessimists. Researchers from the University of Kentucky went so far as to inject optimists and pessimists with a virus to measure their immune response. Although the exact mechanism through which pessimism affects health hasn’t been identified, researchers at Yale and the University of Colorado found that pessimism is associated with a weakened immune response to tumors and infection. Seligman’s findings are similar to research conducted by the Mayo Clinic that found optimists have lower levels of cardiovascular disease and longer life-spans. The researchers found that pessimists’ health deteriorated far more rapidly as they aged. Seligman worked with researchers from Dartmouth and the University of Michigan on a study that followed people from age 25 to 65 to see how their levels of pessimism or optimism influenced their overall health. Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania has conducted extensive research on the topic. Numerous studies have shown that optimists are physically and psychologically healthier than pessimists. Pessimism is trouble because it’s bad for your health. An emotional intelligence test can provide some powerful feedback to help you with this, as it won’t happen by accident. You must be intentional about staying positive if you’re going to overcome the brain’s tendency to focus on threats. Maintaining positivity is a daily challenge that requires focus and attention. When the threat is imagined and you spend two months convinced the project you’re working on is going to flop, this mechanism leaves you with a soured view of reality that wreaks havoc in your life. When the threat is real and lurking in the bushes down the path, this mechanism serves you well. These “threats” magnify the perceived likelihood that things are going-and/or are going to go-poorly. Today, this mechanism breeds pessimism and negativity through the mind’s tendency to wander until it finds a threat.
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