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#Adulting #Health and Wellness #Well-BeingOverview:
- Life is made of perception and perception is made of thought patterns.
- Internal thoughts create the blue prints of the external world.
- Practice of positive thinking can defeat habitual negative thinking.
- A positive mindset demands practice of acceptance and self-forgiveness.
Life is a cycle of good and bad days. There is no one on this earth who can claim to have unlocked the treasure of “good days only”. Then, why is it that some people excel in the face of adversity while others become victims of it?
The answer lies in perception. Our thinking pattern shapes our perception and our perception molds our lives. People with a Glass-Half-Full attitude use positive thinking to attract good experiences. They ardently believe that every gray cloud has a silver lining and continue to fight for their victories.
On the other hand, Glass-Half-Empty folks develop thinking systems that only highlight the negatives. This pattern models their perception to seek negativity in all incidents and makes them dwell in the past for comfort. As a result, instead of aiming to win their battle, they sit and ruminate on what went wrong.

Practice makes perfect. Quoted to encourage consistent effort to master a skill also applies to negative actions. If one consistently focuses on the downside in all situations, one is likely to master pessimism. And, as the law of attraction predicts, their negative thoughts attract more negative experiences.
How can one release oneself from the chase-and-seek of blue seasons? They have to master the art of finding silver linings.
Butterfly Effect and Universes Conspiracies
Edward Lorenz, a meteorology professor at MIT, came up with the theory of the Butterfly Effect. This theory suggests that a butterfly flapping its wings in an African jungle could cause a tornado in Mexico. Although not intended as a metaphor, it is still a philosophical sound-bite. One can interpret it as “small things in life can cause unpredictable outcomes in future”.
For instance, think of how your best friend became your best friend. Had you not had a bad day and called them to get comfort, would you two have grown closer?

One dull day at work can make you quit and chase your passion. A bad remark from a professor can make you work extra hard and push you towards success. One boring date can lead you to a meet-cute with the person who you’ll eventually marry.
The universe is conspiring at every moment. Your actions and thoughts constantly send signals to alter your reality. If life is full of hopeful possibilities, then why not align your thoughts to make miracles happen? Why not treat every setback like a butterfly waiting to flap its wings to make your dreams come true?
Spotting Yellow Cars
Ancient Egyptians, Greek philosophers, and modern-day thought-provoking podcasters have one thing in common— their faith in the law of attraction. Historically, (specifically after Plato whispered it to his disciples) it is believed that our thoughts affect our reality. Our internal world draws up blueprints for our external universe.
Imagine that you watch a yellow car commercial before going to the market. You get in your car and leave at the usual time to follow your usual route to the store. You can almost predict what cars you will encounter in the traffic. However, today, you notice there are more yellow cars than usual. After reaching the parking area, you again notice that there are more yellow cars than on other days.

This is the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, also known as the Yellow Car theory. This frequency illusion postulates that what we think about often is what we see often.
A yellow car can be anything— a concept, product or even our most occurring thoughts. A negative thought is also a yellow car. If you wake up and feel that the day will not go well, your mind will spot signs of melancholy throughout the 24 hours. A missed cab will assure your doubts and make you irritated. This irritation will impact your conversation and lead to arguments. And, at the end of the day, you would have self-fulfilled your prophecy.
If a yellow car can be anything, why can’t it be a positive thought? A missed cab can give you more time to finish your coffee. Arguments can allow you to practice your conflict resolution skills. Ditching a tense situation with a positive coping mechanism can become your definition of resilience.
“Positive thinking is easy when you’ve had a great life,” some may argue. But does your negative past define the rest of your life?
Let Bygone Be Bygone
A Tumblr post recently went viral. It said, “if you went back and fixed all the mistakes you’ve made, you erase yourself”.

Most of us are guilty of wondering too much. Or, in psychological terms, we overthink. We take a box of memories and experiences. Shake it like a snow globe. And observe our dispersed mistakes from the lens of “What if I could change it?”
Life goes forward, it does not go backwards. Our obsession to change the past makes us attached to our pain. We stop thinking beyond what happened once and wire our minds to seek negative patterns. This becomes a habit. Soon, pessimism takes over our personalities because it becomes difficult for our minds to process hope.
We cannot carry moments of grief like a memorable pendant won at a fair. Or else, our grief will turn into an albatross around our neck, weighing us down. Someday, we will have to pack all our sorrows into a box and drop it off somewhere to move ahead.
Practicing positive thinking demands the sacrifice of our attachment to things that have turned into history. It is important to remind ourselves that every incident leads us closer to our destination. And, even more importantly, we need to be kind and forgiving to ourselves. Our hesitance to forgive ourselves for being silly when we were 10 often hurt the person we become at 30.
Conclusion:
Fredrick Backman once wrote, “You only need one ray of light to chase all the shadows away”.
The art of finding silver linings is all about chasing that one ray of light.
Theories of mindset or quotes on positive thinking sound bogus to someone struggling in the trenches of tough times. Their anguish makes it difficult for them to look at the brighter side of situations. But, what does their anger with bad days indicate if not their desire for good days?
Silver lining can be as big as someone’s faith in statements like “Life is a cycle of good and bad”. Or, it can be as small as writing an article on it for millions of internet users. And, hoping that it finds readers who are ardently seeking their one ray of light.