Positive Thinking
Positive thinking is more than just seeing the glass as half full instead of half empty, it's about putting the effort into the kinds of thoughts you have and the statements you make in order to bring more positive situations into your life. It's about creating opportunities and showing gratitude in everything you do. It's about taking control of your life by responding differently to the things you encounter.
My name is Pollyanna. It literally means an extremely positive person. And yet, I haven't always been a positive thinker. I grew up around negativity. I watched people always complain about what life had done to them instead of what they were going to do with their lives.
I remember times when I struggled to smile because I felt like life had kicked me down so much and I was bitter for it. I thought I had made good choices, but found myself still suffering. Life didn't make sense. Those were times when I should've been practicing yoga (self-care) and I wasn't.
Karma Yoga teaches that the work creates the result. We cannot be happy and healthy without doing the work to earn it. It takes work to change our thoughts, but the more we practice, the easier it gets. Our thoughts, just like our bodies, become lazy when they become stagnant. When we have the same ways of thinking for long periods of time, they become a part of our personalities and behaviors. We make excuses for why our lives are the way they are instead of taking responsibility for them.
I know without a doubt and with 100% certainty that wonderful and amazing things happen in life when we're optimistic and grateful, whereas miserable hardships tend to happen when we're negative and loathing. When I was suffering and couldn't force a smile, I was feeling that way because I wasn't taking care of myself. I wasn't putting in the work to feel the happiness. Our lives are products of our actions and our actions are products of our thoughts. Change your thoughts, change your life.
I now love and embrace my name for all the wonderful lessons it has taught me. Seeing the bright side to things always brings more sunshine and colors into life. Negative thoughts put a dark veil over even the most joyous occasions. The words and phrases we use and the facial expressions and body movements we make create the people we are. So use positive words to promote positive actions to create a positive life.