When Positive Thinking Doesn't Work

We’ve all heard it said, “Think positive, think positive, think positive!” The fact of the matter is that forcing ourselves to think positive has very little value when it comes to making any permanent changes in our lives. Sure, we can force ourselves to think positive for a few minutes or a day but as soon as we encounter any type of obstacle, opposition, or friction, positive thinking goes right out the door. Or for those of us who are truly deter-mined, we continue to try to force ourselves to think positive in light of the fact that we are not feeling positive at all.

But we must try to stay positive right? If we continue to think positive, sooner or later, we will become more positive and our lives will be better. Right? Well, that’s what most of us have been told. However, the fact is that forcing ourselves to think positive, for the most part, usually results in frustration and losing faith in the power of thought.

The key lies in consciously re-creating yourself to become a positive person. Once you become a positive person the positive thoughts happen spontane-ously. It is not something you force yourself to do but rather someone you have become.

Most of us operate on something I call “automatic” and we operate on this mode most of the time. When we are on this mode we are literally not con-scious of everything that we are thinking, saying and doing. We are operat-ing from our “software for creation”. The only way that we can truly think positive is when our “software” has become positive. That way there is no effort needed. That way, even when we are operating on automatic we are still producing positive thoughts, words and actions.

It all starts by becoming consciously aware, or going on what I call “man-ual” to discover the “conflicting software” or “bugs” that are keeping us from being positive. Then one by one we can reprogram these bugs so that our “software for creation” becomes more and more positive. This is not something that happens overnight, of course. The more bugs we are able to find and reprogram the more positive we become. The more positive we be-come the more we begin to react or act in a positive way without any effort.

I think this is exactly why people give up. They’ve been told to think posi-tive and everything will change. At the first sign of a “problem” they realize that the only way for them to think positive at that moment is to force them-selves to do it. Of course it doesn’t feel right, creates frustration, and has the exact opposite effect of what was originally intended. The next thing you know this individual is thinking that this positive thinking “stuff” just doesn’t work. This is a true-life tragedy, of course, because this person may never again realize, or make an attempt at applying, the true power of thought.

The question is not, “How can I think positive?” The question is “Why am I not already thinking positive?” Why is my natural reaction to whatever event, person or experience expressed in a negative way? As soon as we start dealing with the answers to these questions we are getting closer to cre-ating a more positive being, which will spontaneously create the positive thoughts we want in the first place.

We must remember that we create our world from the inside out and not the other way around. Trying to force ourselves to think positive when it’s not what we are feeling inside is kind of like asking a cat to bark like a dog. Meow!