The Power of Positive Thinking

What many people lack today is a positive attitude. Just to put a picture in your head, think of the grouchy old lady behind you in the long checkout line on Black Friday. The whole time she is complaining about how many people are there, how the sales aren’t the best, or how no one has respect for the elderly lady while they push her around. That is just one example of a negative attitude. I know that I may not be positive at all times, but at least I make an effort to find the good in all situations. I strongly believe in the power of positive thinking, and experiencing the negative side of a situation has strengthened my belief.

I know from experience that nobody likes a “Negative Nancy,” or someone who never has anything positive to say. In fact, that was the nickname of one of my field hockey coaches. I have been playing field hockey for nearly ten years now and I have had many different coaches. This coach sticks out in my mind because she was so negative. This woman never had any words of encouragement for the team and always pointed out our flaws. Never have I heard her say “good job” or “nice try,” it was always “you can do that better” or “if you play like that, you’ll never win a game.” She would never encourage us when we were upset and doubting ourselves. I could tell that my teammates were becoming discouraged, so I always tried to cheer them up with compliments and help them with the skills that they had trouble with.

That season, my team made it to the playoffs, and unfortunately we were thought to be the underdog. My team was scheduled to play the best team in the area. Once again, my coach was being negative and already wrote my team off. She figured we weren’t skilled enough to win. Because she was so negative, the team began to doubt one another as well as themselves. No matter what I did, I could not pick them back up again. My team ended up losing the game not because the other team was better, but because we went into the game with the wrong attitude. It amazed me how one negative attitude could spread through a number of other people so quickly. I honestly believe if the team would have had a positive attitude, we would have been pumped up and ready for the game.

I have encountered too many people that have negative attitudes. It is time that we all try to make an effort to be positive and optimistic. This world could be a much better place if everyone would try to find the good in every situation and look at everything optimistically.