Are you a positive thinker or a negative one? A glass half full, or a glass half empty, type of guy? Consider the following quotes:
A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.
– Mahatma Gandhi, Indian leader
Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.
– Zig Ziglar, personal development guru
These are powerful quotes. Combined, they tell us that if we think positively, we’re more likely to enjoy positive results. Negative thinking, on the other hand, will more likely lead to negative outcomes.
Positive and negative thoughts can thus become self-fulfilling prophecies: What we expect will often come true. I read somewhere, Brian Tracey I think it was, that the human mind can only hold one thought at a time. Because of this it is therefore better to make that a positive thought, so you can keep the negative thoughts at bay and drive out self doubt and worry.
I was interested to read how the All Black’s mental skills coach, Gilbert Enoka, works along this line with the team.
“His method, which he has adapted from a sales company, is about what he calls blue-head thinking, and red-head thinking.
A person who is thinking clearly and fully engaged on a subject is making their best decisions – blue-head thinking. A distracted person who might be experiencing stress or frustration is in red-head mode.
“The brain is made up of three parts: instinct, emotion and thinking,” Enoka told the newspaper. “What often happens under pressure is that the thinking shuts down so you are relying on emotion and instinct. That in turn means you can no longer pick up the cues and information to make good decisions.”
The paper said the All Blacks had techniques to pull themselves from red-head back to blue-head thinking. “Richie McCaw would stamp his feet, Kieran Read would stare at the farthest point in the stadium. All these strategies re-engage the player in the moment and back into blue-head mode.”
Enoka told The Telegraph that his role is “equipping our men with the tools to be able to perform under pressure – giving them the mental skills they need to be strong.” – NZ Herald
If you start off thinking you will mess up a task, the chances are that you will. Positive thinking, on the other hand, is often associated with positive actions and outcomes. You’re drawn to, and you focus on, the positive aspects of a situation. You have hope and faith in yourself and others, and you work and invest hard to prove that your optimism is warranted. You will enthuse others, and they may well “pitch in” to help you. This makes constructive outcomes all the more likely.
When it comes down to it, positive, optimistic people are happier and healthier, and enjoy more success than those who think negatively. The key difference between them is how they think about and interpret the events in their life.
Stay Positive!
Andy Burrows – The Trades Coach