This article was written with love by hand, not by AI.
If I asked, โWho wants to stay positive in life?โ, thereโs no doubt that everyone would raise both their hands and feet too.
No one wants to feel negative. Yet the truth is, everyone faces some degree of negativity in their lives and feel their effects.
Humans have been around for countless millennia. Have we really not figured out how to be positive by now?
Did you know the answer already exists? Weโve just been ignoring it.
The Brain Consumes a Great Deal of Energy
The ambitious Blue Brain Project was a massive undertaking that ran from 2005 to 2024. Spearheaded by Swiss scientists, its goal was to digitally reconstruct the mammalian brain for public use.
In one of Sadhguruโs talks, he showed a brain simulation from this project. Please ignore the title.
The crackling brain reminded me just how energy-hungry it is. According to scientists, it accounts for 20% of the bodyโs energy consumption despite comprising 2% of our body mass. This 20% is how much energy it slurps up at rest, mind you.
We donโt need science to tell us this. Everyone has felt mentally drained after a few hours of deep focus on a difficult task.
Humans Waste a Great Deal of Brain Power
One personal observation about the human mind fascinates me.
Among nearly all the people Iโve met, I can confidently say that over 90% of them lean towards thinking and talking negatively.
And yes, Iโm guilty as charged.
You might have heard some of these statements that people have made:
- Iโll never be able to let her go
- This is just too difficult
- Iโm pretty sure itโs impossible to do this
- I can never do better than him
- This is stupid
- He (the personโs child) never thinks for others
And the list goes onโฆ
It also doesnโt help that in Singapore, we often say โnot badโ (ไธ้) when we mean something is good. The constant self-deprecation and casual negativity shapes how we view ourselves and others.
Now imagine that our thoughts generated the electrical activity in the brain. That would mean a huge portion of our brain juice fuels negative thoughts patterns, both conscious and subconscious.
For someone dealing with depression, itโs possible that more than half their thoughts are negative. Itโs no wonder they constantly feel drained. This shows how strong the effects of negativity can be on mental fatigue.
Freeing the Energy Spent on Negative Thinking
What happens if someone manages to cut their negative thoughts in half, or stop them altogether? (Impossible, isnโt it? ๐) But letโs say they do. Think about how much energy they would get back!
These are the common feedback I get from hypnotherapy clients after a productive session:
- I sleep better
- The insomnia is gone
- I have better mental clarity
- Mental energy is better
- Better focus at work (due to lesser negative mental chatter)
Sadhguru goes to say in the video, โRight now, the way they are using it (the brain) is a very mediocre way. Increasing the size of the brain or increasing the number of neurons are not possible. They (the scientists) may be coming to this conclusion that human intelligence cannot be enhanced, but it can be better used.โ
Heโs absolutely right.
I always explain to my clients that their minds are wired to be negative. Feeling negative isnโt their flaw but a common pattern among everyone.
Itโs an observation and Iโm not being negative by saying this. We need to make the active effort to break old habit patterns and learn how to think positively and spend less hours feeling negative.
How to Be Positive, How to Think Positively
To help my therapy clients out of the rut, I guide them through a holistic plan that takes care of the mind and body. It works phenomenally for over 70% of them and itโs a sustainable approach to becoming more positive in life.
On the mental front, hypnosis is used to rewire the subconscious mind for positivity and to neutralise the negative effects of past trauma (or unhappiness). Meditation trains the mind to stay in the present, instead of vacillating between the past regrets and the future worries.
Thatโs not all.
The world is so caught up on the importance of the mind that we forget about the body. The bodyโs condition can also influence our thoughts and feelings. Toxic metals like lead and mercury can manipulate brain signals, causing anything from brain fog to depression.
This is why itโs crucial to detox and restore the bodyโs internal balance. Nutrition Therapy takes care of this. When your body is cleaned up, it becomes easier to feel well and think positively.
Thatโs when youโll stop wondering how to be positive in life because youโll already be living it!
Photo credits: Viktor Forgacs, Milad Fakurian, Uchral Sanjaadorj, Slang.net
