Positive Thinking: How To Practice It & Why, From Science

✅ Today's Saturday • 📖 10 mins read

First, two rules:

1. Don’t fake positivity; it doesn’t work.
2. Don’t do toxic positivity; it harms you eventually.

Instead, learn from the science of happiness how to use positive thinking to:

• be more gritty and resilient
• have more success, happiness, and health
• have greater self-esteem and self-conviction
• approach the uncertain future with hope and optimism.

Caprara & Steca (2005) found that positive thinking is linked to life satisfaction, self-esteem, and optimism.

Positive thinking about yourself helps you feel better overall. Read, save, and share these.

What Is Positive Thinking?

Positive thinking is having hopeful, resilient, yet realistic thoughts, especially during difficult times. It helps you see mistakes as opportunities to learn, see the good in people and situations, and see the silver lining in tough situations.

Tsutsui & Fujiwara (2015) say positive thinking includes:

1. Self-encouragement thinking: Thoughts that uplift and motivate oneself.
2. Self-assertive thinking: Thoughts focused on achieving success to benefit others.
3. Self-instructive and control thinking: Thoughts to guide and direct performance boost.
4. Self-affirmative thinking: Thoughts that foster self-confidence and belief in one’s abilities.

How To Practice Positive Thinking

Three of the most effective ways to cultivate a positive mindset are:

1. Focus your attention on the present moment (mindful awareness), as it reduces rumination and increases positive affect, concentration, and resilience. Practice a 5–10 minute daily mindfulness exercise (observe breath, note thoughts without judgment). Evidence: A study found mindfulness-based interventions reduce rumination and improve well-being (Khoury et al., 2015).
2. Persist toward personally meaningful goals when adversity appears, rather than abandoning dreams. Break big goals into weekly micro-steps, track progress, and adjust tactics after setbacks. Evidence: Research shows that pursuing self-concordant goals through sustained effort predicts greater attainment and higher well-being because need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, relatedness) mediates the effect (Sheldon & Elliot, 1999).
3. Practice gratitude regularly to shift attention to positive aspects of life. Keep a three-item gratitude journal each evening and briefly savor one item. Evidence: Brief gratitude journaling increases positive affect and well-being (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

Bekhet & Zauszniewski (2013) identified eight essential skills that help promote positive thinking, summarized by the acronym THINKING:

• T: Transform negativity: Change your perspective and shift negative thought patterns into positive ones. Example: Instead of “What if this fails?” think, “What if this turns out right?”
• H: Highlight the good: Focus on the positive elements of any situation to cultivate an optimistic outlook. Example: After a tough meeting, list one small progress point, such as “We clarified priorities,” and use that as a starting point for the next step.
• I: Interrupt negativity: Use stress relaxation techniques or distractions to break the cycle of pessimistic thinking. Example: When an anxiety spiral starts, stop and do a five-minute breathing exercise or go for a quick walk to reset your mood.
• N: Note the need for positive thinking: Acknowledge the necessity of practicing positive thinking regularly. Example: At the start of each day, write a single intention like “I will look for solutions, not problems.”
• K: Know how to break down a problem: Learn to deconstruct problems into smaller, more manageable parts to reduce overwhelm. Example: Instead of “Write the report,” break it into “outline,” “draft section A,” “draft section B,” and “edit.”
• I: Initiate optimism: Foster hopeful beliefs for each segment of the issue to maintain a positive mindset. Example: For each task in the broken-down plan, add a short optimistic note like “This section is doable in 30 minutes.”
• N: Nurture ways to challenge pessimism: Develop strategies to confront and question negative thoughts effectively. Example: Counter “I always mess up” thoughts with specific evidence: “Last month I completed three projects on time.”
• G: Generate positive feelings: Create positive emotions by actively managing and reframing negative thoughts. Example: After reframing a setback as a learning step, take a moment to acknowledge one thing you did well and feel that small win.

Why Be Positive: 10 Benefits of Positive Thinking

Here are 10 benefits of a positive attitude and positive thinking:

1. More success, less stress

Research by Taylor & Brown (1994) found:

• Seeing oneself in a more positive light than others seems to soften the impact of stress.
• When people believe in their abilities to succeed, they are more likely to achieve their goals.
• Optimistic thinking often leads to better well-being, social relationships, and stress management.
• Having positive thoughts or beliefs about our ability to control stressful situations can boost our coping skills.

Positive thinking can boost your output and creative problem-solving.

• It increases the serotonin and dopamine in the brain, which makes us happier and more motivated, ultimately leading to greater productivity.
• Those exposed to positive stimuli generated more solutions to problems as compared to those exposed to negative stimuli.
• A positive outlook can boost self-control and self-belief. When people believe in their potential to succeed, they are more likely to take proactive steps toward their goals.
• Positive thinking helps lower stress hormone levels, making it easier to focus, process information, and be more productive.
• Optimistic people tend to enjoy their work more, leading to greater success, which in turn reinforces their positive mindset, creating a cycle of increased productivity and satisfaction.

“People should cultivate positive emotions in their own lives and in the lives of those around them, not just because doing so makes them feel good in the moment, but also because doing so transforms people for the better and sets them on paths toward flourishing and healthy longevity.” — Barbara L. Fredrickson, 2004

2. Greater grit and resilience to face adversities

Positive thinking increases our resilience and grit.

• Grit is our ability to hold on in difficult times. Resilience is our capacity to bounce back after failing while fighting a tough time.
• The truth is, we will always have valid reasons to be sad and feel negative; that’s how life works. But if we continue to focus excessively on the negatives of a difficult situation, it can trigger more misery, like pessimism and insomnia.
• Instead, nurturing a positive outlook during difficulties and uncertainties can help us handle them better and make the present happier.
• It means, even when we are wading through a mire of suffering, we may allow ourselves the warmth of a little sunshine.

“Positive psychology is not about denying difficult emotions. It’s about opening to what is happening here and now, and cultivating and savoring the good in your life.” — Ron Siegel

3. Better relationships and more fulfilling social connections

Cultivating a positive attitude is one of the best things you could offer your family, organization, and community.

• A positive thinking attitude can promote gratitude, kindness, and love in your relationships.
• Your positive energy can benefit those around you, and a negative attitude can harm both your life and those in your family, community, and workplace.
• Positive thinkers embrace failures as a part of the success journey, understanding that everything cannot go as planned.
• Positive mindset people learn from their mistakes and move forward with optimism and hope.
• You can cultivate positivity through positive interventions, like feeling grateful for the good things and good people in your life, feeling the power of awe, and engaging in charitable work.

4. Lower stress and anxiety during normal and stressful situations

A positive mindset can make out a silver lining, even in the most dismal clouds of anxiety.

• Cultivating a positive mindset arms people with a better ability to cope with stress. A positive attitude also increases life satisfaction. It helps refresh our minds and relieve our stress.
• Positive thinking can reduce present stress and help one feel better about future situations.
• Research showed employees with a more positive mindset made more coping efforts when expecting a high workload.
• Studies in both animals and people show that stress promotes inflammation. Intense stress over-activates the immune system, leading to a strong inflammatory response.
• Researchers suspect that the more positive people are, the better protected they are against inflammatory damage due to stress.

5. Less likelihood of sadness and symptoms of depression

Depression affects over 100 million people worldwide. The American Psychological Association (APA) recommends treatment with 10 psychotherapy sessions combined with antidepressant medication for moderate to severe depression.

However, both interventions are costly.

Positive activity interventions (PAIs) can be a cost-effective means to teach people ways to increase their positive thinking, positive affect, and positive behaviors, and reduce their symptoms of depression.

Here’s how to think positive with positive interventions:

• practicing optimism
• counting one’s blessings
• writing letters of gratitude
• performing acts of kindness
• using one’s signature strengths
• meditating on positive feelings toward others

Layous and Lyubomirsky, after a review of the relevant literature on the effectiveness of various types of PAIs, suggest PAIs might relieve depression.

Sin and Lyubomirsky’s meta-analysis of 51 PAIs with both depressed and non-depressed participants revealed they are effective in enhancing well-being and improving depressive symptoms.

6. More kindness and helpfulness to others and to self

Positivity enhances the feeling of gratitude and helpfulness. It makes you feel grateful for the many blessings in your life.

We can build a positive mindset around a sense of savoring, a stance of optimism, and an attitude of gratitude. These are proven mechanisms in positive psychology to boost our psychological well-being.

Self-kindness and self-compassion are also effective positive interventions.

7. Reduced risk of heart diseases and cardiovascular events

People with a family history of heart disease who also had a positive outlook were one-third less likely to have a heart-related event within 5 to 25 years than those with a negative outlook.

That was the finding, according to Lisa Renee Yanek, Assistant Professor of Medicine, at Johns Hopkins Medicine. (Effect of positive wellbeing on incidence of symptomatic coronary artery disease.)

In the UK, researchers looked at the psychological traits of 8,000+ people and found that those who were high on optimism and felt a better sense of well-being had a 30% lower risk of developing heart disease.

In the US Health and Retirement study, researchers found that the positive psychological traits had a significantly lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). These positive traits included optimism (38% lower risk), a positive outlook (32%), and having a purpose in life (27%).

8. Stronger connection to other people and to humanity in general

One of the most heartwarming benefits of positive thinking is that it makes us care for others.

More positive people do not quickly judge others harshly, initiate angry exchanges, or react aggressively to other people’s outbursts.

Research suggests that those more connected to nature experience more positive emotions, vitality, and life satisfaction.

9. Better mental health and more stable mental well-being

Embracing a positive mindset increases positive feelings and mood, whereas adopting a negative mindset increases negative emotions and decreases happiness.

This study, involving 537 students (seventh-grade to ninth-grade) at a large middle school in Israel, evaluated a positive psychology school-based intervention to enhance mental health.

Over the 2-year study period, the researchers spotted a remarkable decrease in the distress, anxiety, and depression symptoms in the participants. In addition, the students gained self-esteem, self-efficacy, and optimism, and reduced interpersonal sensitivity symptoms.

Positive thinking also increases self-esteem and self-reliance.

10. Higher overall immunity and more disease-fighting ability

A mind that is positive, optimistic, and worry-free can contribute to a more resilient immune system. With a positive attitude, you can protect yourself from several illnesses.

What Positive Thinking Is Not?

• Positive thinking is not ignoring or denying negative emotions or real challenges.
• It is not shaming someone for feeling depressed, grieving, or struggling.
• It is not forcing positivity on others, especially on those who are hurt or sad, like dismissing their pain with “Cheer up.”
• It is not unrealistic optimism that expects problems to vanish simply by acting happy while avoiding the underlying issues.

Final Words

Happy people tend to think more positively, and those who think positively tend to be happier.

3 key takeaways:

• Positive thinking means noticing the bright side, but not ignoring the difficult side.
• Positive thoughts induce positive emotions, which help make better decisions, and find more opportunities to succeed.
• Positive thinking can be cultivated through mindfulness, positive self-talk, and self-compassion practice.

√ Also Read: How To Have A Positive Mindset (Quiz: Do You Have It?)

√ Please share it with someone.

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