Breeding Positivity

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October 2014

At some point in our lives, in some form or fashion, we have probably heard the expression, “If you think you will, you will, and if you think you won’t, you won’t.”  This stems from the idea of positive thinking attracting positive results and negative thinking attracting negative results.  If we spend the time watering the positive flowers in our life, then they will continue to grow, but alternatively, if we look to water the negative flowers (otherwise known as weeds) in our life, then those will grow.  Whichever plants we focus on and water will dominate our garden of success.

With that said, we’ve all had times in our lives that we felt like everything is going our way, and we’ve had times where we feel everything is not.  The irony behind the situation is that neither situation is the truth.  In both situations, it’s our perception of our environment that determines the direction we feel the situation is going, positive or negative.  For example, if we are watering our negative flowers, our mind will make it a point to isolate the negative occurrences in our life and make them a priority, even when there are plenty of positive occurrences all around.  The reverse is true as well. 

The best real life example of this is with law enforcement.  If a detective assumes they know the suspect in a crime, then they will form their bias of the evidence to fit their desired result (conviction of the assumed suspect).  Think about that, if we assume someone is guilty, then our brain will naturally make the evidence fit that result.  That’s pretty powerful stuff.  So, if we apply the same thinking to our lives, and we focus on a negative outcome, then our brain will naturally seek out all of the evidence to support that case.  On the other hand, if we focus on a positive outcome, then our brain will seek out all of the evidence to support that case.  In either situation, the direction we push our thinking, and the way we view the world around us for that matter, is completely in our control.  

It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that our perception of the world is exactly that, ours.  We can choose to water the weeds in the garden and let them grow, or we can choose to water the flowers and breed success for ourselves.  It really is our choice!

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