The Power of Positive Thinking

When you feel negative emotions, all those self-help books about the power of positive thinking can seem to be more like wishful thinking than practical advice. Is there a scientific evidence on the power of positive thinking? Does having a positive outlook on life improve your health? Several recent studies have indicated that can be powerful.

What is positive thinking?

Critics often say that positive thinking is a naive worldview that refuses on looking at the facts. Their motto is "Life is hard and then you die". However, psychologists and other related professionals who have studied the subject disagree on this. Truly positive thinkers face life’s challenges head-on because of the lessons and growth from the negative experiences and are able to take advantage of the existing opportunities. Positive psychology is an emerging field of psychology that takes a scientific approach to the power of positive thinking and has revealed some findings:

• Happiness is not the result of positive outcomes in life, but the cause.
• People who are happy tend to have deep spiritual or religious beliefs.
• Wealth does not bring happiness, but using your wealth to help others does contribute to achieve personal happiness.
• Altruism is a surer road to happiness than hedonism. 
• Happiness (or positive thinking) is a "skill" that can be learned.

The Nnuroscience of positive thinking

Recent advancements in brain imaging and other neuroscience tools have increasingly agree with the findings of positive psychology. Psychologist Dr. Dacher Keltner of the University of California at Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center believes that there is scientific evidence that human beings are “hardwired” to be happy and compassionate. For generations, we have associated Darwin’s Theory of Evolution with the concept of “survival of the fittest.” However, Dr. Keltner states Darwin has argued that "sympathy is our greatest instinct" and it is the key to personal and collective survival. How is this possible?

Brain imaging technology has the ability to locate areas in the brain that become active when a person is engaging in a specific activity or feeling a certain emotion. When there is a feeling of compassion, a part of the brain that is directly connected to cerebral networks “lights up” and releases a hormone called oxytocin. Oxytocin, also called the “love hormone,” is associated with the bonding instincts of the person, whether sexual, parental, cultural, or religious. Additionally, oxytocin helps people feel happy and can be produced with or without an external object of love.

On the flip side, the amygdala is an organ in the brain responsible for triggering fear. When operating normally, it is a vital survival tool that helps in releasing adrenaline and other chemicals that cause people to react appropriately to immediate danger. In modern society where frightening news are constantly being reported, the amygdala is also being affected. For example, an economic downturn causes alarm, but it is also a call to action. When we cannot perform a positive action, the result is often anxiety and stress. Despite having a good night’s sleep is helpful in promoting positive thinking, when we wake up in the morning, we are being reminded of the crisis again, then we may plunge into anxiety again. If it is left unchecked, then it could lead a fatalistic sense of despair.

How to think positive

Neuroscientists have identified that the prefrontal cortex acts as the brain’s "decision maker." It is the area of the brain that allows a person to step back from a certain situation and analyze it from a distance. Interesting enough, brain scans of long term meditators have also revealed that during meditation, areas of the prefrontal cortex are becoming extremely active. Additionally, when the person is in a meditative state, the sense of happiness and bliss that they experienced is resulted from the release of endorphins, or “feel good” hormones. 

Also, neuroscientists and psychologists have studied the effects of "random acts of kindness" on positive thinking and emotional stability. Surprising enough, little things such as holding a door open for someone can have a more beneficial effect on the person performing the act of kindness than it has on the receiver. Compassion and kindness towards ourselves has a positive effect. Studies have revealed that "random acts of self-kindness" have the same effect as do those offered others. The simple act of physically giving yourself a hug or a pat on the back has been shown to decrease heart rate and stress levels brought by a hormone called cortisol while at the same time oxytocin is being released. 

Affirmations have also their place in positive thinking. Business magnate Henry Ford's statement, "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right" is often quoted by several self help gurus. If we are thinking, "I can't", we respond automatically with negative self imagery. When we think, "I can", we are affirming our skills in overcoming challenges. In neurological terms, "I can" pushes neurological activity to the positive, creative areas of the prefrontal cortex while "I can't" activates negative amygdaloid activity.  

The power of positive thinking on health

Stress has been identified as the most destructive emotion and there are several direct links between stress and heart and other life threatening diseases. While few long term studies have been conducted on the causal connection between positive thinking and health, they revealed that positive thinking helps in strengthening the immune system and assists the body in healing itself. 

Although, Science has only just started in changing its focus from the causes of mental illness and physical disease to the causes of happiness and health. Several scientific evidence affirm that positive thinking leads to positive results. Perhaps the greatest contribution made by neuroscience and positive psychology is that positive thinking is linked with virtues like kindness and compassion and is not solely dependent on material riches. It can incidentally lead to wealth, but most importantly, positive thinking leads to "wealth" of body, mind and spirit.