{"id":3049,"date":"2020-08-17T08:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T06:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flow.bg\/?p=3049"},"modified":"2021-06-03T13:07:11","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T11:07:11","slug":"vazdejstvieto-na-pozitivnoto-i-negativnoto-mislene-varhu-zhivota-ni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flow.bg\/en\/vazdejstvieto-na-pozitivnoto-i-negativnoto-mislene-varhu-zhivota-ni\/","title":{"rendered":"The impact of positive and negative thinking on our lives"},"content":{"rendered":"
Positive thinking is much more than just being happy or having an optimistic attitude. Positive thoughts can actually create real value in your life and help you build skills that last much longer than a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The impact of positive thinking on your work, your health, and your life has been studied by many people, including Barbara Fredrickson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fredrickson is a positive psychology researcher at the University of North Carolina and published a landmark paper that provides surprising insight into positive thinking and its impact on our skills. Her work is among the most referenced and cited in her field and is surprisingly useful in everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let's talk about Fredrickson's discovery and what it means for us\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How negative thoughts affect our brain<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let's say you're walking through the desert and suddenly a tiger appears. When this happens, your brain registers a negative emotion\u2014in this case, fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Researchers have long known that negative emotions program your brain to do a specific action. When that tiger crosses your path, for example, you run. The rest of the world doesn't matter. You are focused entirely on the tiger, the fear it creates and how you can get away from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, negative emotions narrow your mind and focus your thoughts. At that very moment, you may have the option of climbing a tree, picking up a leaf, or picking up a stick\u2014but your brain ignores all of these options because they seem irrelevant when a tiger is standing in front of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our modern society, our brains are programmed the same way \u2013<\/strong> to react to negative emotions by shutting out the outside world and limiting the possibilities you see around you.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, when you're in a fight with someone, your anger and emotion can consume you to the point where you can't think about anything else. Or, when you're stressed about everything you need to get done today, you may find it hard to get anything started because you're paralyzed by how long your to-do list has become. Or, if you feel bad about not exercising or eating healthy, all you think about is how little willpower you have, how lazy you are, and how you lack any motivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Either way, your brain shuts itself off from the outside world and focuses on the negative emotions of fear, anger, and stress\u2014just like it did with the tiger. Negative emotions prevent your brain from seeing the other options and decisions that surround you. This is your survival instinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, let's compare what we've said so far with what positive emotions do to your brain. This is where Barbara Fredrickson returns to the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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