One Sunday afternoon, a cranky grandfather was visiting his family. As he lay down to take a nap, his mischievous grandson decided to have a little fun by putting Limburger cheese on Grandpa's mustache.
Soon, Grandpa awoke with a snort and charged out of the bedroom saying: "This room stinks." Through the house he went, finding every room smelling the same. Desperately he made his way outside only to exclaim, "The whole world stinks!"
So it is when we fill our minds with negativity. Everything we experience and everyone we encounter will carry the scent we hold in our mind. Maya Angelou, one of my favorite poets and authors, said: "I am convinced that the negative has power, and if you allow it to perch in your house, in your mind, in your life, it can take you over."
We all have negative thoughts from time to time. But studies show constant negativity can lead to depression, anxiety, personality disorders and even mental illness.
That's why I don't recommend hanging around with negative people. A negative person sees the difficulty in every opportunity, while a positive person sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
According to the website Power of Positivity, there are three leading causes of negative thoughts:
Fear of the future. People often fear the unknown, which can lead to predicting failure and disaster. Accept that there is a limit to what you can change in the future and strive to focus on the present instead.
Anxiety about the present. Many of us worry about what people think of us, whether we're doing a good job at work and what the traffic will be like on the way home. Negative thinkers often come up with the worst-case scenarios. Organization and routine can help with banishing negative thoughts.
