Make positive thinking your super power

Young students never cease to amaze me. At a recently concluded examination stress workshop I asked the clichéd question that we all ask to demonstrate the power of positive thinking: Is the glass half full or half empty? Needless to say that if you think that the glass is half full then you are approaching the situation positively and if you think that the glass is half empty then you are viewing it negatively. However the answer that completely stunned me during this workshop was from a young student. “The glass is full to the brim: half with water and half with air.” Now that is the true power of positive thinking where not only are you able to see reality in a positive light but you are also able to imbue a positive glow on the negatives as well. Just like that glass all of us are full to the brim: half with strengths and half with challenges that are truly opportunities in disguise.

During the same workshop on exam stress another student raised the concern that his mind blanked out during an exam even though he knew the majority of the questions but the tough questions blew the fuse in his mind and made it blank. To follow Aristotle who said, “We are what we repeatedly do,” I encouraged him to try and systematically incorporate positive thinking in his day-to-day life.

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