Psychologists have estimated that the average person has over 62,000 thoughts each day centered on ordinary activities and responsibilities. People rarely “track” their thoughts – whether they’re positive or negative, fleeting or introspective, directed or unrelated to the moment. Never the less, our internal dialogue for decision-making, actions, and behavior hums constantly in our brains.
When most of the mental chatter is negative, it is built on messages like, “Don’t do this” and “Don’t do that.” Our work environments reinforce this negative messages like, “Don’t rock the boat,” and “That will never work here.” Negative perspectives serve an important function when it comes to seeking clarity and direction. However, when they take over as the controlling element in the thinking process, it becomes divisive and self-defeating. Negative thinkers look for negative outcomes, accept negative outcomes and create negative outcomes.
Guests on my radio program, The Patricia Raskin Show believe in and practice the power of positive thinking. Positive outcomes are based on the belief that good always triumphs.
For over twenty-five years, I have been interviewing people who have shared inspiring stories. They come from all walks of life, but they have one thing in common: They were inspired by someone. In every case, my guests have a strong belief and passion in what they do and they know how to move through obstacles. They have a positive energy that comes through the phone lines, and they inspire and teach me and my listeners.
One of the main reasons I do my work is that it helps me to stay positive. Week after week and year and after year, I am continually exposed to people who have transformed their lives. My motto comes from the book “Illusions” by Richard Bach. In it, Jonathan Livingston Seagull states that “we teach others what we need to learn most for ourselves.” How true it is and how fortunate I am to have found this calling.
The father of a journalist once told me that his daughter often quotes the saying in the media, “If it doesn’t bleed, it doesn’t lead,” which means if a story is not sensational, it won’t make the front page. I would rephrase that adage to read, “If it doesn’t feed, it shouldn’t lead,” meaning that if it doesn’t nourish our positive beliefs, it shouldn’t be the focus of media coverage. Think about what would happen if television and newspapers focused on positive stories of human achievements rather than negative behaviors and events.
It is when we hold positive thoughts and truly believe them, in spite of negative circumstances, that we can create the future we want. That future comes from the pictures we create in our imagination and in fact, positive thinking is the “stuff” dreams are made of.