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This simple but accurate statement indicates that what we say, what we do, and what we feel – all have their origin in the mind. The energy of the human mind is one of the greatest, but also one of the least understood energy resources of the universe. When we understand and harness this energy, we possess the keys to happiness and contentment as well as to improving our relationships and circumstances. A person’s mind is so powerful that we can invent, create, experience and destroy things with our thoughts alone.

Thoughts are like seeds. Loving and happy thoughts produce beautiful flowers and nourishing fruits; or thoughts can be spiteful and depressed, producing painful brambles or poisonous weeds. We can master our life by producing those ‘fruits’ which are wholesome, attractive and nourishing and which give us the most happiness and contentment.

It is all about your thinking. If you think positively and take things with a positive and healthy attitude, positive things will happen to you. And if you nag about the situation, and look at things negatively, most probably negative things shall happen to you. So be positive because being positive can make you a better man.

A famous writer was in his study room. He picked up his pen and started writing, “Last year, I had a surgery and my gall bladder was removed. I had to stay stuck to the bed due to this surgery for a long time. The same year, I reached the age of 60 years and had to give up my favourite job. I had spent 30 years of my life in that publishing company.  The same year I experienced the sorrow of my father’s demise. And in the same year, my son failed in his medical exam because he had a car accident. He had to stay in bed at hospital with the cast on for several days. The destruction of car was another loss.” At the end he wrote, “Oh God! It was such bad year.”

When the writer's wife entered the room, she found her husband looking sad and lost in his thoughts. From behind his back, she could read what was written on the paper. She left the room silently and came back with another paper and placed it on beside her husband's writing.

When the writer saw this paper, he found his name written on it with the following lines,

“This year, I finally got rid of my gall bladder due to which I had spent years in pain. I turned 60 with sound health and got retired from my job. Now I can utilise my time to write something better with more focus and peace. The same year my father, at the age of 95, without depending on anyone or without any critical condition, met his Creator. The same year, God blessed my son with a new life. My car was destroyed but my son stayed alive without getting any disability.” At the end she wrote, “This year was an immense blessing of God and it passed well.” The writer was indeed happy and amazed at the beautiful and encouraging interpretation.

According to Buddhism, positive thoughts decreases desire, greed, anger, jealousy and delusion and encourages meritorious deeds. A person with negative thinking or due to lack of positive thinking, may feel himself incapable or miserable or insufficient. But change of thinking or attitude can bring the matter in right perspective.

Once, a very poor man came to Buddha. He asked, “Why am I so poor?”

Buddha answered, “You are poor because you don’t practice generosity. You don’t practice charity.”

To this the poor man said, “But how can I practice charity if I don’t have anything to give? Buddha answered, “You have five treasures that you can share with others.

First, you have your face. You can share your smiles with others. It's free. And awesome. And has an amazing impact on others.

Second, you have your eyes. You can look at others with eyes full of love and care. Genuinely, you can impact millions. Make them feel so good.

Third, you have your mouth. With that mouth you can say nice things to others. Talk good. Make them feel valued. Spread joy and positivity.

Then, you have a heart. With your loving heart you can wish happiness for others. Touch their lives. The last treasure that you possess is your body.

With that body you can do many good things to others. Help the people who need help. Help is not money. A small caring gesture can light up lives.”

No one is going to love you or appreciate you, unless you are not going to love or appreciate yourself. People appreciate those, who appreciate themselves. Transform yourself. Do some workout. Get some new clothes. Be smart. Be confident. And when you start loving yourself, you will find that people also start appreciating you.

When there's a mess inside you, you only clean the outside. When we clean our utensils in the house or anywhere else, we have to give more attention to cleaning them from the inside. Sometimes, the problem is not in our looks but it is in our attitude. We think, everything will be fine after doing this or that but the problem is never going to be solved like that. They are only going to solve, when we change our attitude, working style and the way to see the world. The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. It’s a new day and you need to start afresh. Forget your past glories or fallouts. Focus on what you are doing today. You will be judged on your present feats and not on your past performances.

We must remember the words of Swami Vivekananda who said, “We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have to make ourselves.” For this to happen, we have to understand that every man is born with the same potentialities. It is the upbringing and the environment that make up the attitude. This attitude is the difference. We have to believe in our own self. We must have faith in our own abilities. If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing – both ways you are right. Again, the difference is the attitude. Positive attitude has to be developed towards what we face, do and think in life, how we react to the situations, how we relate to others. Being a positive thinker is not about ignoring reality in place of aspirational thoughts. It is more about taking a pro-active approach to your life. Instead of feeling overwhelmed or hopeless, positive approach allows you to tackle life’s challenges by looking for effective ways to come up with solutions to problems. In order to become a positive thinker, determination and consistency are important. You must have focus on your goals single mindedly, without allowing any distraction.

One day a new employee went to the HR and said, “I am not interested in coming to the office anymore.” The HR responded, “But why?” Then the boy told “Ah! I can overhear many employees speaking badly about other employees on their back. Few employees look at their fellow employees in a wrong way. There are hell lot of things that are grossly wrong in our office. There are people who do a lot of politics and talk negatively all the time while few only gossips.” The HR replied, “OK. But before you go, can you do me a favour. Take a full glass of water and walk three times around the office area without spilling a drop on the floor.

After that you can leave the office.”

The boy complied and he walked three times around the office floor. He went back to the HR to say that he has completed the task. Then the HR asked him, “When you were walking around the office, did you see any employee speaking badly about another employee? Any gossips? Any disturbances? The young employee replied, “No.”

The HR then asked, “Did you see any employee looking at other employees in a wrong way?” The boy replied, “No.”

The HR told the boy, “You were focused on the glass, to make sure you didn't tip it and spill any water. The same goes with our life. When our focus is on our priorities, we don't have time to see the mistakes of others.”

We should know that everyone can become a positive thinker. However, some rules apply.

l Accept people as they are and not as you want them to be.

l  Don’t be jealous. Feel good about the success or happiness of people around you. Ignore negativity.

l Don’t assume, expect or pre-suppose

l  Don’t over think or over-react

l Take failure in your strides. Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.

l Have patience. Persevere.

l  Live in the present.

l Don’t take things personally.

l  Learn to move on.

l  We cannot control the situations, but surely, we can control how we react. This reaction in turn depends on our thinking. So, we must keep our thinking on high pedestal.