Photo by Nikolay Loubet

One look at CRISIS = Opportunity and anyone can easily guess that it’s a book about using a positive mindset for overcoming challenges. Of course, given how there are also plenty of other books with similar themes, it can certainly provoke some rather cynical and skeptical responses to ideas like positivity.

Funnily enough, these critiques are also fairly common: positive thinking can be unrealistic, it’s wishful thinking, toxic positivity etc.

The problem is that these are criticisms that don’t understand the real benefits of a positive mindset.

In fact, their arguments rest on examples of positive thinking done badly. However, that’s like saying you shouldn’t eat because people around the world suffer from bad cooking.

Instead, one should go back and ask what are the benefits of being a positive thinker?

Is it the claims of wishes coming true? Is it the stories of terminal diseases suddenly getting cured? Sure, there are plenty of books that talk about how the universe suddenly aligned to make circumstances better for the believer.

However, that doesn’t have to be the definitive example of a positive mindset’s perks. There are plenty of very realistic benefits that are grounded in good psychology, common sense and proper professional development.

Rethinking the Why of a Positive Mindset

It is really natural some people confuse positive mindset with wishful thinking only be to be disappointed when life does not validate their ‘happy thoughts.’

That is why you don’t confuse the two.

A good way to do this is to ask yourself, “Why is it important to have a positive mindset?”

If your answer is somewhere along the lines of expecting something out of your control to come in and change the situation, then you might be in wishful thinking territory.

On the other hand, if your positive mindset benefits include a reduction of stress or a clear assessment of your options in difficult situations, then you are on the right track.

Even today, people try to brute force positivity by fantasizing and then getting lost in the daydream. At best, that is just a temporary relief that’s akin to drinking when stressed.

You will only get to the real benefits of a positive mindset when you assess your objectives for doing so. Is it to relieve tension? Is it to search for a solution? Those are good steps. Keep following that!

Such an approach is still counterintuitive to a negative mindset that persists in pessimistic feelings and maintains a focus on problems rather than solutions.

The Benefits of a Positive Mindset Require Trained Focus

Photo by Paul Skorupskas

Now, people who doubt the concept of positive thinking can’t really be faulted when they assume it means forcing oneself to feel joy even when they really feel something else. The same goes if you are forcing yourself to be content in your situation when, deep down, you desire something better.

It all boils down to the misconception that a positive mindset requires tremendous strength of willpower to just steel one’s mind away from negativity. On the contrary, the power of positive thinking isn’t entirely about strength, but about focus.

It is about channeling all your energies on the things that can be done, rather than being stuck as your mind loops through only the things you can’t do.

Even something as simple as staying calm in an intense environment, or in the midst of a challenging situation can show that focus is key. How powerful is a positive mindset when it is only about blanking out and trying to force emotions? Not much.

On the other hand, there is a lot you can do when you know how to manage your negative emotions so that they don’t block your focus on all the solutions you can still act on.

Having a Positive Attitude Isn’t About Being Unrealistic Either

Photo by Steve Harvey

On a last note, sometimes critics of positive thinking are actually taking more issue with the idea of having this positive attitude while in rather bleak environments or facing negative outcomes (like a bad economy, societal injustice, unequal treatment etc). It is not just about the thoughts but what comes off as forced positive behavior when it is not appropriate.

Granted, this does prompt the question of what is a positive attitude and its benefits?

The answer is mainly resilience.

It is a combined mental and emotional approach to tough challenges that acknowledges them without being weighed down to inaction. It is about using the advantages of positivity to cultivate yourself to keep functioning even when the chips are down.

So, when it is all put together, one can see that the benefits of a positive mindset aren’t some unhealthy tendencies that deny reality or downplay any serious problems. On the contrary, it is a mindset that confidently addresses those same problems and realities with more effectiveness than wishful thinking.For great examples of positive mindset done right, check out CRISIS = Opportunity. It’s available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and BookBaby.