How You Should Think Positive and Stay Motivated
Thoughts are an essential component of human existence. Depending on whether they change us in a good or bad way, we associate a qualitative sign with them. Thus, a thought that makes us feel happy is called positive. To develop a propensity to think positive, let’s explore how the philosophy of Pythagoras can help us stay motivated.
The Pythagoreans, like the followers of most ancient philosophies of life, emphasized on waking up in the wee hours and making resolutions for the day. They believed that if you could conquer the early hours, you were in a better position to conquer the rest of the day. By managing to repeat the feat of waking up early for a few days, one would be able to ingrain this as a habit. Here’s how you can go about it.
Morning Ritual
Pythagoras would set aside the first hour of the day for silent meditation. This was not a mere religious hour where he would worship a deity, but moments for affirming his goals for the day. In today’s busy lives, this is the time we spend on taking a bath or having breakfast in a hurry. Instead, we should eat in silence and contemplate. The first hour marks the crucial period of the day, and the tasks performed during that period should not be belittled by referring to them as preparatory acts.
Night Regime
Take account of your day and have an honest look of at your accomplishments at night—positive or negative. The exercise will have a soothing effect on those who complain of sleeplessness due to overthinking about bad things that happened during the day. It ensures that a person does not hide his flaws from himself and guards himself against self-indulgence. Moreover, it allows a person to take stock of his thoughts, actions, and achievements.
Strategic Thinking for Positive Results
One needs to understand that the day may not be so rosy after all—you could meet people who will be complete mood spoilers –they would be noisy, disturbing, ungrateful, nagging, arrogant, volatile, pick fights, etc. There is good in them, and we should learn to accept their annoying habits. You cannot part ways with such people or insult them as it will make you one of them.
Fight Your Demons
Pythagoras wants us to be prepared for the most challenging tasks and overcome the fear of the worst outcome. He wants us to be like Muhammad Ali who fought Forman; like MS Dhoni who never gives up even in the toughest of circumstances, like Sania Mirza who played against the Venus sisters. Pythagoras’ theory is powerful and is meant to be therapeutic. It is unlike autosuggestion where we fake good thoughts only to feel sad when the world gives reasons to do so.
Think Before You Act
The Pythagorean theory trains a person to be cautious and not to do anything without thinking. So, you will feel less inclined to shirk work, e.g. you will not get tempted with impulsive acts that might mess up the entire work schedule. It is important to take into account and be ready for any possible catastrophe.
The Three-Step Formula
1. A person should mentally review mistakes made during the day–think about the half an hour break that turned into an hour.
2. You should recount things you did well and reward yourself in small ways. It is a great way to reinforce a constructive behavior.
3. Plan alternative reactions for situations that may arise in the future. Be careful about not repeating a mistake
Positive people only think about happiness, health and success. Their body language is different as they walk tall and speak more assertively. It is easy to be happy when everything is great in life, but it takes courage to keep smiling in spite of unexpected setbacks and difficulties.
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Remember – think positive, and you will be halfway through achieving whatever you set your mind to! Read here about how to think positive and develop it as a hobby.
