positive and negative thinking essay

Essay on Positive Thinking

Positive thinking refers to a belief or mental attitude which makes us think that good things will happen eventually and our efforts will pay off sooner or later. It is the opposite of negative thinking which makes our mind full of stress and fear. Thus, an essay on positive thinking will show us how it reinforces thoughts like optimism and hope and works wonders.

Benefits of Positive Thinking

Let it be clear that positive thinking does not mean you do not notice the bad things in life. It means you try to find a solution in a productive way instead of whining about it. There are many benefits of positive thinking.

The first one is better health. Negative thinking gives rise to anxiety, stress, frustration and more. However, positive thinking helps you avoid all this and focus on staying healthy and doing better in life.

Further, it is essential for us to fight depression which positive thinking helps with. Similarly, it will also help us to relieve stress. Positive thinking overwhelms stress and it will allow you to get rid of stress.

As a result, positive thinking helps you live longer. It is because you will be free from diseases that form due to stress, anxiety and more. Moreover, it is also the key to success. Meaning to say, success becomes easier when you don’t bash yourself up.

Similarly, it also gives us more confidence. It boosts our self-esteem and helps in becoming more confident and self-assured. Therefore, we must certainly adopt positive thinking to make the most of our lives.

How to Build a Positive Thinking

There are many ways through which we can build positive thinking. To begin with, we must inculcate the habit of reading motivational and inspiring stories of people who are successful.

All this will help in motivating and inspiring you and showing you the right path. Moreover, it is important to never let negative thoughts thrive in your mind and work towards putting end to this habit.

You can do so by replacing your negative thoughts with constructive and positive reviews. Start to pay attention to your ideas and don’t pay heed to negative thoughts. Further, it is helpful to use affirmations.

These positive statements will truly sink into your subconscious mind and guide you to take better action. It will also help in visualising your dreams and getting the right means to achieve them fast.

Finally, always stay guard and gatekeep your mind to make important changes in life. In other words, do not be afraid to take actions. Keep yourself busy and do different things to avoid becoming cynical and remaining positive.

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Conclusion of the Essay on Positive Thinking

To conclude, we must change our attitude and believe that we will succeed one day. Moreover, we also need to implement positive thinking techniques which will help us learn from our failures and stay focused. As positive thinking plays an essential role in our lives, we must make sure to adopt in our lives.

FAQ of Essay on Positive Thinking

Question 1: What is positive thinking?

Answer 1: Positive thinking is basically an optimistic attitude. In other words, it is the practice of focusing on the good in any given situation. This kind of thinking can have a big impact on your physical and mental health .

Question 2: Why is positive thinking important?

Answer 2: Positive thinking is important as it helps us with stress management and can even improve our health. Moreover, some studies show that personality traits like optimism can affect many areas of our health and well-being. Thus, positive thinking comes with optimism

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Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress

Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health. Practice overcoming negative self-talk with examples provided.

Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic — and it may even affect your health.

Indeed, some studies show that personality traits such as optimism and pessimism can affect many areas of your health and well-being. The positive thinking that usually comes with optimism is a key part of effective stress management. And effective stress management is associated with many health benefits. If you tend to be pessimistic, don't despair — you can learn positive thinking skills.

Understanding positive thinking and self-talk

Positive thinking doesn't mean that you ignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.

Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information or expectations due to preconceived ideas of what may happen.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.

The health benefits of positive thinking

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

• Increased life span
• Lower rates of depression
• Lower levels of distress and pain
• Greater resistance to illnesses
• Better psychological and physical well-being
• Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke
• Reduced risk of death from cancer
• Reduced risk of death from respiratory conditions
• Reduced risk of death from infections
• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body.

It's also thought that positive and optimistic people tend to live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and don't smoke or drink alcohol in excess.

Identifying negative thinking

Not sure if your self-talk is positive or negative? Some common forms of negative self-talk include:

• Filtering. You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all the positive ones. For example, you had a great day at work. You completed your tasks ahead of time and were complimented for doing a speedy and thorough job. That evening, you focus only on your plan to do even more tasks and forget about the compliments you received.
• Personalizing. When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself. For example, you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled, and you assume that the change in plans is because no one wanted to be around you.
• Catastrophizing. You automatically anticipate the worst without facts that the worse will happen. The drive-through coffee shop gets your order wrong, and then you think that the rest of your day will be a disaster.
• Blaming. You try to say someone else is responsible for what happened to you instead of yourself. You avoid being responsible for your thoughts and feelings.
• Saying you "should" do something. You think of all the things you think you should do and blame yourself for not doing them.
• Magnifying. You make a big deal out of minor problems.
• Perfectionism. Keeping impossible standards and trying to be more perfect sets yourself up for failure.
• Polarizing. You see things only as either good or bad. There is no middle ground.

Focusing on positive thinking

You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it does take time and practice — you're creating a new habit, after all. Following are some ways to think and behave in a more positive and optimistic way:

• Identify areas to change. If you want to become more optimistic and engage in more positive thinking, first identify areas of your life that you usually think negatively about, whether it's work, your daily commute, life changes or a relationship. You can start small by focusing on one area to approach in a more positive way. Think of a positive thought to manage your stress instead of a negative one.
• Check yourself. Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them.
• Be open to humor. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times. Seek humor in everyday happenings. When you can laugh at life, you feel less stressed.
• Follow a healthy lifestyle. Aim to exercise for about 30 minutes on most days of the week. You can also break it up into 5- or 10-minute chunks of time during the day. Exercise can positively affect mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and body. Get enough sleep. And learn techniques to manage stress.
• Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback. Negative people may increase your stress level and make you doubt your ability to manage stress in healthy ways.
• Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else. Be gentle and encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about you. Think about things you're thankful for in your life.

Here are some examples of negative self-talk and how you can apply a positive thinking twist to them:

Practicing positive thinking every day

If you tend to have a negative outlook, don't expect to become an optimist overnight. But with practice, eventually your self-talk will contain less self-criticism and more self-acceptance. You may also become less critical of the world around you.

When your state of mind is generally optimistic, you're better able to handle everyday stress in a more constructive way. That ability may contribute to the widely observed health benefits of positive thinking.

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• Forte AJ, et al. The impact of optimism on cancer-related and postsurgical cancer pain: A systematic review. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2021; doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.09.008.
• Rosenfeld AJ. The neuroscience of happiness and well-being. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 2019;28:137.
• Kim ES, et al. Optimism and cause-specific mortality: A prospective cohort study. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2016; doi:10.1093/aje/kww182.
• Amonoo HL, et al. Is optimism a protective factor for cardiovascular disease? Current Cardiology Reports. 2021; doi:10.1007/s11886-021-01590-4.
• Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. 2nd ed. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition. Accessed Oct. 20, 2021.
• Seaward BL. Essentials of Managing Stress. 4th ed. Burlington, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2021.
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Benefits of Positive Thinking for Body and Mind

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

People sometimes say that they prefer to "look on the bright side" of a challenging situation or that they "see the cup as half full." Chances are good that the individuals who make these comments are positive thinkers, and they may be getting many benefits because of this approach.

Research is finding more and more evidence pointing to the many benefits of positive thinking and staying optimistic. Such findings suggest that not only are positive thinkers healthier and less stressed, but they also tend to have greater overall well-being and a higher level of resilience.

Press Play for Advice On Thinking More Positively

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how to find the positive things in life. Click below to listen now.

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Benefits of Positive Thinking

Even if positive thinking doesn't come naturally, there are plenty of great reasons to start cultivating affirmative thoughts and minimizing negative self-talk .

Reduced Stress

When faced with stressful situations, positive thinkers cope more effectively than pessimistic thinkers—and with less anxiety and worry . Rather than dwelling on their frustrations or things that they cannot change, they will devise a plan of action and ask others for assistance and advice.

Pessimistic thinkers, on the other hand, are more likely to assume that the situation is out of their control. They often believe that there is nothing they can do to change it.

Increased Immunity

In recent years, researchers have found that the mind can have a powerful effect on the body. Immunity is one area where one's thoughts and attitudes can have a particularly powerful influence.

According to one published article, the more positive thoughts a person has, the better their ability to fight off disease. The authors also suggest that the opposite is true—the fewer positive thoughts a person has, the greater their disease risk.

Improved Wellness

Not only can positive thinking impact the ability to cope with stress and compromise immunity, but it also has an impact on overall well-being. Specifically, it is tied to a reduced risk of death from cardiovascular issues, lower depression risk , and an increased lifespan.

While researchers aren't entirely clear on why positive thinking benefits health, some suggest that positive people might lead healthier lifestyles. By coping better with stress and avoiding unhealthy behaviors, they are able to improve their health and well-being.

Better Resilience

Resilience refers to our ability to cope with problems. Resilient people are able to face a crisis or trauma with strength and resolve. Rather than falling apart in the face of such stress, they have the ability to carry on and eventually overcome such adversity.

Positive thinking can play a major role in resilience. When dealing with a challenge , optimistic thinkers typically look at what they can do to fix the problem. Instead of giving up hope, they marshal their resources and are willing to ask others for help.

By nurturing positive emotions, even in the face of terrible events, people can reap both short-term and long-term rewards, including managing stress levels , lessening depression, and building coping skills that will serve them well in the future.

When Positive Thinking May Not Be Helpful

Before trying to put on rose-colored glasses in every situation, it's important to note that positive thinking is not about taking a "Pollyanna" approach to life. In fact, in some instances, optimism might not be beneficial.

One instance is when it's unrealistic to be optimistic. As an example, someone who is unrealistically optimistic may not correctly evaluate their risk of developing a major disease such as cancer, causing them to engage in behaviors that further elevate their risk.

Instead of ignoring reality in favor of the silver lining, positive thinking centers on such things as a person's belief in their abilities, a positive approach to challenges, and trying to make the most of the bad situations .

Bad things can happen. Sometimes we will be disappointed or hurt by the actions of others. This does not mean that the world is out to get us or that all people will let us down. Instead, positive thinkers look at the situation realistically, search for ways that they can improve the situation, and try to learn from their experiences.

Yalçin AS. Importance of positive thinking . In: Advances in Health Sciences Research .

Eagleson C, Hayes S, Mathews A, Perman G, Hirsch CR. The power of positive thinking: Pathological worry is reduced by thought replacement in generalized anxiety disorder . Behav Res Ther . 2016;78:13-18. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2015.12.017

Shankar P, Dinesh P, Preetha S. Impact of positive thoughts on immunity. Ind J Forensic Med Toxicol . 2020;14(4):5364-5371.

Buigues C, Queralt A, De Velasco JA, et al. Psycho-social factors in patients with cardiovascular disease attending a family-centred prevention and rehabilitation programme: Euroaction model in Spain .  Life . 2021;11(2):89. doi:10.3390/life11020089

Bortolotti L, Antrobus M. Costs and benefits of realism and optimism . Curr Opin Psychiatry . 2015;28(2):194-198. doi:10.1097.YCO.0000000000000143

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Positive Attitude — The Power of a Positive Mindset

The Power of a Positive Mindset

• Categories: Attitude Human Behavior Positive Attitude

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Published: Aug 30, 2022

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The Power of Positivity

Why is positivity so important and how do you grow yours find out here..

Posted January 1, 2021 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

• What Is Emotion Regulation?
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Positivity refers to our tendency to be optimistic in life. This is in contrast to negativity, which is all about thinking, feeling, and doing negative things. When we have positivity, we might think positive, have positive emotions, and do positive things.

Positivity can lead to better mental health and well-being (take the well-being quiz here ). For example, self-directed positive thinking can buffer us from the effects of stress (Taylor & Brown, 1994). So try being positive toward yourself, for example, by building your self-compassion skills.

Future-oriented positivity can also be powerful. For example, optimism can lead to better social relationships and a better ability to cope with stress (Taylor & Brown, 1994).

Examples of Positivity

Here are some examples to help you use the power of positivity in your life.

• Self-oriented positivity: “I'm a good person.”
• Other-oriented positivity: “My friends aren't perfect, but they are there for me when I need them.”
• Gratitude : “I’m so lucky to have such a great husband."
• Paying attention to the positive: “That movie was so cool.”
• Savoring: “That vacation last year made me feel so relaxed and connected.”
• Future-oriented positivity: “I'm looking forward to my friend's 'Friendsgiving' this year.”

Brain Training and Positivity

Research has shown that we can improve cognitive function in ways that boost positivity. For example, computerized training that leads people to focus on the positive over the negative contributes to positive outcomes (Wadlinger & Isaacowitz, 2008).

Power of Positivity Practices

Here are some practices that can help you increase your positivity.

1. Write a self-compassion letter

Being comfortable with yourself—and showing yourself some compassion—can make it easier to find, express, and receive positivity. To build your self-compassion, try writing yourself a self-compassion letter (Shapira & Mongrain, 2010). In this letter, you say nice things to yourself and give yourself a break for anything that you might have been judging yourself for.

2. Practice positive reappraisal

Positive reappraisal is an emotion regulation strategy that involves trying to reframe the situation to find its benefits and decrease our negative emotions.

3. Practice gratitude

Gratitude journals and lists are good ways to grow positivity. Just try to think of something you're grateful for each day or every few days to boost your gratitude.

4. Try doing a positivity meditation

Mindfulness meditation has become wildly popular. But what about positivity meditations? These can help you focus your thoughts on the positive and improve your mood. You can find several of these meditations on YouTube.

When Positivity Might Backfire

It turns out that forcing people into positivity can backfire. For example, putting pessimists into a positive mood not only hurts performance, but it can also actually make them feel more anxious . Sometimes we use worry and other negative outcomes to help us. Also, suppression and other forms of emotional avoidance are not good for well-being. So if positivity doesn't feel right for you, or doesn't feel right in a specific situation, that's okay.

How to Boost the Power of Positivity

Sometimes we just need to get our minds open and ready to think more positively. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• What positive qualities do you have?
• What strengths do you have?
• What are you grateful for?
• What do you have to look forward to (or what can you create so you do have things to look forward to)?

In Sum: Capitalizing on the Power of Positivity

If you want more positivity, you can build it. Just be sure not to force positivity when it doesn't feel right. The more you practice skills that generate positivity, the happier you can become.

Created with content from The Berkeley Well-Being Institute.

Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1994). Positive illusions and well-being revisited: separating fact from fiction.

Wadlinger, H. A., & Isaacowitz, D. M. (2008). Looking happy: The experimental manipulation of a positive visual attention bias. Emotion, 8(1), 121.

Shapira, L. B., & Mongrain, M. (2010). The benefits of self-compassion and optimism exercises for individuals vulnerable to depression. Journal of Positive Psychology, 5, 377-389.

Norem, J. K., & Chang, E. C. (2002). The positive psychology of negative thinking. Journal of clinical psychology, 58(9), 993-1001.

Tchiki Davis, Ph.D. , is a consultant, writer, and expert on well-being technology.

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The Automaticity of Positive and Negative Thinking: A Scoping Review of Mental Habits

• Original Article
• Published: 15 March 2021
• Volume 45 , pages 1037–1063, ( 2021 )

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• Eamon Colvin 1 , 2 ,
• Benjamin Gardner 2 ,
• Patrick R. Labelle 3 &
• Darcy Santor 1  

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Our thoughts impact our mental health and there is a distinction between thought content (what we think) and thought process (how we think). Habitual thinking has been proposed as one such process. Habits, which are cue-dependent automatic responses, have primarily been studied as behavioural responses.

The current scoping review investigated the extent to which the thinking patterns important for mental health have been conceptualized as habits. Using systematic search criteria and nine explicit inclusion criteria, this review identified 20 articles and 24 empirical studies examining various mental habits, such as negative self-thinking, self-criticism, and worry.

All of the included empirical studies examined maladaptive (negative) mental habits and no study investigated adaptive (positive) mental habits. We categorized the characteristics of each study along several dimensions including how mental habits were defined, measured, and which constructs were studied as habitual.

Conclusions

Although mental habits appear to be relevant predictors of mental health, habitual thinking has not been well-integrated with psychological constructs related to mental health, such as automatic thoughts. We discuss the implications of mental habits for future research and clinical practice.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Curtis Gough for independently coding a sample of abstracts and full-text articles. The authors would also like to thank the Canadian Insititutes of Health Research Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement for providing the travel award that led to this international collaboration.

This project was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement.

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Colvin, E., Gardner, B., Labelle, P.R. et al. The Automaticity of Positive and Negative Thinking: A Scoping Review of Mental Habits. Cogn Ther Res 45 , 1037–1063 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-021-10218-4

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Managing Negative Thinking Reflective Essay

Introduction.

I believe that every person has peculiar talents that help him/her reach his/her goals, build a successful life and help other people. On the other hand, he/she often has to struggle against negative ideas and behaviors to fully and successfully apply his/her abilities.

This essay is devoted to my experience of overcoming the problem of negative thinking with the help of the technique offered by Prochaska and Diclemente. Having walked through six stages of this program, I managed to bring the positive change into my behavior and get the habit of being a positive thinker.

Negativism is a human spirit that can be defined as a deplorable plight connected to whining, in the aim of finding an excuse for a situation. According to Chansky (2008), negative thinking is comparable to complaining that negates human happiness and obscures progress by causing confrontation cynic and apathetic feelings. However, the key to overcoming negative thinking is understand that it has the essence of an addiction.

Stages of Change Model

According to the American counselling association (ACA) (2011), the process of counselling requires some mental, physical or psychological measures to address well-being, personal growth, pathological development or career growth. The counselling programs have to be systematic, effective, and cognitive in addition to need for behavioural interventions. Considering that negative thinking can be also considered an addiction, it is reasonable to apply this approach in struggling with it.

It took me four months to go through Prochaska and Diclemente’s “Stages of Change Model”: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. Below, I describe the essence of each stage of the Model and describe my experience of fulfilling it.

Pre-Contemplation

The first stage of change model, which is pre-contemplation (Thombs, 2006), implies that one is not aware of the problem or is ignorant of the behaviour that requires change. At this stage, a person is not thinking seriously about any form of change being not aware of the problem.

He/she may notice that some problem takes place in the course of his/her life but perceive it as an impact of certain external factors and not show interest for any form of assistance. He/she may also try to defend “negative thinking behaviours” failing to recognize their effects and the necessity to make an effort to cancel them.

For a long time I did not admit I was a “negativist” and called myself a “realist” highlighting that one’s life is full of problems and troubles he/she is not able to avoid. I paid much attention to the problems that took place in my life and lacked enthusiasm when my first attempt of fulfilling some task failed.

Therefore, I did not take resolute steps and avoided working on tasks that seemed difficult to fulfil being afraid of a failure. My self-esteem was low despite evident achievements in studying and extracurricular activities, as well as successful communication with friends and acquaintances. Thus, at that moment, my slogan was: “Let it be anyone but me”.

Contemplation

The second stage is contemplation: a person is aware that the negative behaviour exists but is ambivalent about the necessity to transform (Sasson, 2011). At this stage, one recognizes the problem but is not ready to spend time and efforts to understand how this problem should be overcome and get the intent to start changing his/her behaviour.

I did not understand I was a negative thinker for a long time until I received a certain push “from the outside”: the example of outstanding people who had to struggle against incredible miseries to reach their goals. During the vacation, I get familiarized with Maya Angelou’s novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings where the writer tells about her childhood full of suffering and humiliation, and her way to becoming a strong, independent personality.

I had a discussion of the book with my friend who told me another fascinating case: I learned that Beethoven, the musician of genius, composed his 9th Symphony being absolutely deaf and even managed to conduct the orchestra while performing it. Having listened to the famous Finale from the Symphony, I was very impressed; these sounds helped me re-evaluate my life and understand that my problems are incomparable to those many people have to deal with. I understood I was a negative thinker.

Preparation

According to Thombs (2006), the preparation stage implies that one is getting ready for change but needs time to find the willpower to engage a program during the “change of behaviour” process. The preparation process is a testing process where one tests whether it will be possible to accommodate the required change.

At first I did not believe that I could overcome my negative thinking addiction; seeing the problem and finding no way to deal with it was quite challenging and disappointing.

However, a case from my life helped me become ready for the process of change. My close friend asked me to help her with a social project, a holiday in the orphanage: it was necessary to develop an idea, construct the decorations, and play the parts. I refused to help her explaining that I would not able to cope with these tasks and that organizing this holiday was not a good idea in my opinion.

My friend was offended at me arguing she knew I was good at organizing events, drawing and acting, and decided that I just did not want to help her. This argument upset me and helped understand that with my negative thinking, not only do I miss my personal opportunities, but also do not use the chance to be helpful for other people. I decided to take part in the project, as well as work on my negative habit.

The preparation stage is very essential for the transformation into the action stage. This stage of putting the new behaviours into practice takes the longest period of approximately two months. The stage requires active involvement into behavioural change techniques. Much depends on a person’s readiness and motivation to change, as well as external support.

My first step was the analysis of my previous experience and understanding the causes of the problem: having low self-esteem and being afraid of a failure, I preferred to avoid responsibility and blame the circumstances for my problems; thus the World around me seemed to be very “negative” and hostile towards me. My second step was helping my friend with the abovementioned project. Besides, having read several brochures devoted to positive thinking, I chose a range of techniques I decided to apply to become a positive thinker.

Firstly, I tried to struggle my low self-esteem: I started working on tasks that seemed challenging and tried new hobbies. Secondly, I got the habit of accepting any trouble or failure with a joke and finding something positive in it. Thirdly, I decided to share positivism with other people: I made compliments, supported their ideas and initiatives. I followed my new rules for about two months.

Maintenance

While the action or will power stage enables one to practice new behaviours that trigger the transformation, after accomplishing the process, there is a need for one to retain the change. The maintenance stage of the model assists in ensuring that a person under counselling has a constant commitment towards sustainability of a newly accrued behaviour.

The positive changes that came into my life together with my new rules inspired me to continue following my strategy. To monitor the changes, I created a blog where I wrote three positive things that happened to me every day. Gradually, I became able to find 5-10 positive issues each time I wrote about my day. I noticed that positive thinking became my habit.

Termination

The last stage of the model implies the possibility of relapsing or falling back to the old behaviours. A person may fail to understand the importance or feel the easiness of changing a negative behaviour and thus revert to the habit even after accomplishing results.

The positive changes were so evident that I completely understood the importance of being a positive thinker and thus avoided reverting to negativism. My new achievements improved my self-esteem, and I became more resolute and courageous in struggling with my routine problems. Positive thinking had its result, and I felt no desire to be a negativist any more.

The essence of addiction can be defined as one’s desire to cope with a problem in the easiest way that takes his/her littlest efforts. In this sense, negative thinking can be considered to have the addictive nature: with his/her negativism, he/she defends him/herself from admitting the necessity to take more resolute actions and change his/herself.

The “Stages of Change Model” offered by Prochaska and Diclemente gives an opportunity to deal with negative thinking as an addiction and change one’s behavior. Having gone through all six stages, I managed to understand the causes of my negative thinking and overcome this destructive habit.

While I received certain push from the external environment, I nevertheless had to develop a plan of action and follow it precisely. The positive changes that came into my life demonstrated that my efforts were reasonable and inspired me to continue working on myself.

American Counselling Association (ACA). (2011). Information . Web.

Chansky, T.E. (2008). Freeing Your Child from Negative Thinking: Powerful, Practical Strategies to Build a Lifetime of Resilience, Flexibility, and Happiness . Massachusetts, MA: Da Capo Press.

McWilliams, P. & Sedillos, J. (1995). You Can’t Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought. Los Angeles, CA: Prelude Press.

Sasson. R. (2011). The Power of Negative Thinking . Web.

Thombs, D. L. (2006). Introduction to addictive behaviours . New York, NY: The Guilford Publication Inc.

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Tackling negative thinking in the classroom

By Jessica Minahan | Oct 30, 2023 | Feature Article

Helping anxious students change their negative thinking patterns can reduce stress and improve their engagement. 

Teachers often feel overwhelmed and underprepared to meet the increasing mental health and behavioral needs of their students in the post-pandemic classroom. It is no wonder as anxiety, which has historically been the most prevalent mental health disability, affecting up to 31.9% students in the United States, was compounded by the pandemic (Benton, Boyd, & Njoroge, 2021; Merikangas et al., 2010; Racine et al., 2021; Salari et al., 2020). However, few teachers receive any training in their teacher preparation programs in mental health and behavioral best practices (Ginsburg et al., 2019). By and large, teachers are left on their own to learn about the effects of anxiety on learning and behavior and to figure out how to address it in the moment.

Given that such a large percentage of students currently are suffering from anxiety, it is no longer realistic to send every struggling student to the care of the counselor or the psychologist. Teachers can learn targeted and easy-to-implement strategies to reduce the negative impact of anxiety on students, leading to improvements in their social-emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning (Ginsburg et al., 2019; Zee & Koomen, 2016).

Negative thinking impacts learning and behavior

Anxiety is characterized by rumination and negative or distracting thoughts (Kertz, Stevens, & Klein, 2017; Vytal et al., 2012) and is related to diminished performance across a wide range of school-related tasks (Moran, 2016). Negative thinking patterns — such as all-or-nothing thinking (“I don’t understand fractions. I stink at math!”) and catastrophic thinking (“If I fail my spelling test, I will never get into college!”) — can become intrusive and ongoing, taking a toll on a student’s mood, attention to tasks, working memory, and academic and behavioral performance (Putwain, Connors, & Symes, 2010; Vytal et al., 2012). Further, persistent negative thoughts and inaccurate perception often lead to unproductive behaviors such as avoidance, defiance, and disengagement (Leahy, 2002; Mahoney et al., 2016). However, most teachers have no formal training in how to help foster more accurate thoughts and perceptions in students, so this underlying cause of disengagement or other problematic behavior largely goes unaddressed, resulting in ongoing negative behavior patterns.

We’ve all known students who will shut down as soon as you give them an assignment. Negative and inaccurate thoughts and perceptions are a huge culprit in why the student can’t engage.

For example, we’ve all known students who will shut down as soon as you give them an assignment. Negative and inaccurate thoughts and perceptions are a huge culprit in why the student can’t engage. In fact, when students are anxious, they often misperceive a task in three ways: 1) their ability, 2) the difficulty of the task, and 3) the amount of time the task will take. If a student is thinking “I can’t do this” or “this is too hard,” or perceives that “this is going to take forever,” they may struggle to even begin a writing assignment. Typical classroom strategies, such as offering a graphic organizer, may not help these students because they don’t address the cause of the disengagement. Negative thoughts and inaccurate perception, which can be observed and measured (Berle et al., 2011; Mahoney et al., 2016), are largely contributing to commonplace problematic classroom situations. Yet, supporting students to think more accurately and positively is an educational blind spot and is often overlooked as a means to improve students’ engagement and foster appropriate behavior.

Skill-building is key

Most teachers are sympathetic by nature, but their intuitive efforts to help anxious students are often ineffective in changing students’ thoughts and perceptions. Typically, for example, teachers may use incentives to encourage them (“Come on, buddy, if you get this done now, then you won’t have so much homework!” or “Recess is in 10 minutes. Let’s finish this so you can go outside”). On occasion, this may get the student to re-engage. However, this sort of encouragement does not teach students how to silence the internal chatter of negative thinking, and they are  likely to shut down again the next time they receive a similar assignment.

Clearly, thought-changing and skill-building strategies would be more useful over the long term, leading to more skills and less problematic behavior as the school year progresses. The fact is that teachers come face-to-face with students’ anxieties every day; they are in a position to provide support, in addition to outside therapists and school counselors; and they can do so effectively if they understand certain basic principles and strategies. Eight easy-to-implement strategies are particularly helpful and allow students to think more accurately.

Changing student perspective

When students are anxious, it impairs their ability to accurately perceive other’s thoughts and feelings (Kuru et al., 2018). For example, if you had a large coffee stain on your shirt you might misperceive that anyone glancing in your direction is thinking about you and thinking negatively. This distortion in perspective-taking can lead to negative misperception of an event or interaction, such as “all my classmates think I am stupid because I said the wrong answer” and can lead to avoidant or inappropriate social interactions.

Additionally, anxious students are more prone to negativity bias, which means they overly focus on the small negative aspects of an event (Kuru et al., 2018). Imagine checking in with a student at 3 p.m. to ask how the day went, and she says, “Horrible!” However, she seems highly engaged and upbeat most of the time, and it’s hard to believe that her entire day was horrible. It’s more likely that she’s focusing so intently on the few negative moments she experienced that they eclipse everything else that occurred during the day, including many moments that were positive and others that were more or less neutral.

1. Reframe with specifics

When a student says her day was horrible, ask her to explain exactly what happened to make it such a bad day. She may describe a significant disappointment (“I failed my math test” or “I had a fight with my best friend”) or something more serious, in which case the teacher should validate her feelings (“I’m sorry that happened”) and walk the student to the counselor’s office for a check-in. The counselor may then contact the parent.

However, she may describe events that sound trivial (“I spilled my water bottle in homeroom, and I couldn’t open my locker”), which suggests that negative thinking has led her to blow those mishaps out of proportion. In that case, keep in mind that those events were significant to her, and be careful not to minimize her feelings. But also try to suggest a factual lens through which she can look at what happened: “It sounds like the first few minutes of the day were frustrating. How did the other six hours go?” In another instance, if the student says, “the teacher hated my essay,” you can use facts to support a more accurate view. “Looks like she made three corrections on the first paragraph and only positive comments on the remaining five pages.”

The point here is to interrupt a negative thinking pattern (in this case, an all-or-nothing pattern, in which a couple of disappointing incidents have colored the entire day as “horrible”) by framing the events in a way that changes and limits their scale. It’s a strategy that the student can easily learn to use on her own, giving her a way to take a more balanced — and not so emotionally fraught and stressful — view of her experiences (Jordan, McGladdery, & Dyer, 2014).

2. Reframe with visuals

Again, without minimizing the student’s experience or devaluing her feelings, and after talking through the events and hearing out the student’s account, you can point to the two small slices and say, “I’m sorry those two upsetting things happened today. It looks like the rest of the day went well” (gesturing to the remaining majority of the circle). The student can see for herself that the rest of the circle remains unmarked, visually representing the fact that most of the day went well.

3. Make accurate information noticeable

In addition to reframing negative events, you may be able to get the student to change their perception of the story using a strategy called narration (Minahan & Rappaport, 2012). For example, imagine you have a student who tends to be anxious about fitting in at recess and often dwells on the negative moments (such as the one minute he spent looking for somebody to play with) rather than the positives (such as the 15 minutes he spent playing, once he found a game to join). This will lead to a negatively biased memory of events: “I had no one to play with today at recess.” Balancing his hyperfocus from negative events to a more accurate account can be as simple as walking past and saying, “Wow, it looks like you two have been playing for 10 minutes straight.”

Think of it as narrating a movie as you watch it: You’re not looking to converse with the student but, rather, to articulate the accurate facts of the situation so that the student notices and encodes the positive information, too. Later in the day, he’ll think back on recess with more accuracy  and remember the good as well (“I played with Nathan!”) rather than just dwell on the bad (“I couldn’t find anybody to play with”).

Be proactive

If students start the day or begin an assignment with a negative perception of their own ability, the time the task will take, or the difficulty of the task, they may never be able to initiate a task and focus on their work. But teachers can take proactive steps to check for anxiety and head off negative perceptions and thoughts before they lead to disengagement and avoidance.

4. Conduct regular check-ins

A formal check-in and check-out sheet can give you a quick read on how everybody’s feeling, while encouraging students to tell you right away if they’d like to talk about anything that’s bothering them. This gives you the opportunity to schedule a few minutes early on to touch base with the student, which may prevent them from ruminating on negative thoughts throughout the day.

5. Give assignments that appear doable

The way in which you introduce and assign an academic task can do a lot to ward off anxieties and negative thoughts. For example, let’s say that your syllabus requires students to complete a complex social studies project, design and conduct a scientific experiment, or write an extended essay. If you simply ask a student to “get started,” he may become paralyzed by anxiety, focusing on the whole large assignment: “I have to write seven pages.” But he’s likely to be much less overwhelmed if you ask him to tackle a discrete, manageable part of the larger project.

By finding ways to reframe the initiation of a task into smaller (less intimidating) pieces, you can avoid triggering the negative thoughts that may cause students to shut down before they even begin. This can be as simple as telling the class, “As a first step in writing our essays, let’s see how far you get in 10 minutes, and then we’ll stop.” Or you can ask students to set a target for themselves — e.g., they can commit to writing a specific number of words before putting down their pencil and taking a deep breath. And here, too, it can be helpful to provide a visual. For instance, instead of showing an exemplar essay, you can post a document with only the first two sentences of an essay on the board paired with the direction “let’s get started,” giving students a concrete reminder that beginning a writing project is a small doable step, and shifting them away from an overwhelming focus of the whole length of the project.

Disprove negative perceptions with evidence

Another effective way to help students reduce their negative thinking about an assignment is to show them empirical evidence that contradicts their anxious perceptions (Minahan & Schultz, 2014). For example, students will often say, “I stink at writing,” even if they’re quite competent and struggle with just a couple of skills, such as writing a good opening line or coming up with vivid examples. But it can be simple to gather and present them with data showing that their perceptions are inaccurate and helping them recognize their own pattern of all-or-nothing thinking. (For examples of the tools described below, see Minahan, 2014.)

6. Ask students to monitor their own progress

One useful way to show students evidence of their own competence and disprove all or nothing thoughts (e.g., “I stink at all writing”) is to ask them to monitor their own work. For example, if students will be writing an essay, give them a three-column self-monitoring chart to follow that includes a column listing various parts of the writing process to be completed (e.g., coming up with an idea, outlining the piece, writing an introduction, proofreading) and a middle column listing strategies that might help them if they struggle with any of these steps (e.g., looking at pictures in a magazine to get an idea for writing, looking back at a previously written paper to see how it’s organized). When students finish writing the essay, ask them to look at their chart and put check marks in the third column next to the strategies they actually needed to use. Typically, students will check strategies in no more than one or two parts of writing. You can then point out that they don’t struggle with all parts of writing – they just needed strategies for one part (coming up with the idea), leading to more accurate self-perception.

Over time, this self-monitoring will help them understand that only some parts of the writing process tend to be challenging for them, and they can begin to replace anxious, all-or-nothing thoughts like “I stink at writing” with more specific (and manageable) ones like “I am a good writer but I often have trouble coming up with an idea.”

7. Ask students to rate their expectations and recollections

If you have particular students (or a whole class) who seem anxious about an assignment (i.e., once asked to start a task they immediately raise their hand and ask to go to the bathroom), ask them to begin by rating (on a scale of 1-5) how difficult they expect it to be. After they complete the assignment, ask them to rate it again on the same piece of paper in a second column so they can see the comparison. Repeat this without commenting or judging so there are five or more comparative “before/after” scores in one place.

Most students will give the assignment a lower difficulty rating after the assignment is over as they are no longer anxious, showing that it wasn’t as hard as they thought it would be. Once there are five or six examples of discrepant before and after ratings on a sheet, point out that there is a difference in their before and after ratings. Help them internalize the lesson by asking them to explain why they rate assignments as less difficult in retrospect, then promote a discussion about how anxiety impacts accurate thinking. Ideally, the next time the student becomes anxious about an assignment (shutting down, complaining it is difficult, or asking to go to the bathroom), you can show them the previous rating sheet, reminding them that their overwhelmed thoughts are not accurate.

This strategy can be also done with the whole class. You could ask the class to rate the difficulty of a test packet, and then when they have completed it, ask them to rate it again. You can normalize this concept by asking kids if their number went down and why that might be — answers may include “My first thought is not accurate” or “I shouldn’t listen to my first thought.”

8. Ask students to rate the parts of a task

Another way to disprove negative thoughts through rating is to give students a long list of discrete tasks that go into completing a stress-inducing activity — for writing an essay, for example, this might include sharpening a pencil, coming up with an idea, using punctuation, spelling words correctly, writing an introduction, and so on. Then have the student sort the small tasks into one of three columns based on their feelings about each part of the process: “I don’t like it,” “OK,” or “I like it.” The greater the number of tasks you put on the list, the more items students are likely to rate “OK” and “I like it.” (See Figure 1 for an example.)

The next time a student says, “I hate writing,” take out the sheet and encourage her to restate her comment: “Actually, you like most aspects of writing (while pointing to the long list of items in the “like” or “OK” columns), but you don’t like spelling and thinking of an idea. Let’s review your strategies for those.” Over time, she may change her language to a more accurate statement such as, “I’m a good writer, but I have trouble with spelling.” Once she has a more accurate view of her own ability, she’ll be more likely to engage in the task because “writing” itself is no longer vilified.

This approach can also be used with the whole class and in a variety of subjects. For example, in the beginning of the school year, a middle school teacher can have students list out many parts of doing math (e.g., order of operations, addition, multiplication) and sort them into the “I like it,” “OK,” and “I don’t like it” columns. Later in the year, before introducing an algebra unit (where students’ anticipatory anxiety may be high), the teacher can have students refer to their self-rating sheets: “If you like order of operations, multiplication, or addition, you are going to like algebra, because that’s all it is!”

Teachers can take many small steps, using fairly simple classroom strategies, to help students tackle their negative thinking patterns that may otherwise go unaddressed.

Small steps can make a big difference

As the number of students with anxiety increases, every anxious student ideally would receive coordinated and ongoing support from a whole team of adults, including mental health providers, school counselors, teachers, and family members. However, even on their own, teachers can take many small steps, using fairly simple classroom strategies, to help students tackle their negative thinking patterns that may otherwise go unaddressed. The more teachers can do to help anxious students learn to recognize and reduce their negative thoughts, the more likely they are to see those students reduce their unproductive, avoidant, and defiant behaviors, allowing them to develop a more positive self-concept and engage in academic, social, and extracurricular activities to the best of their abilities.

Benton, T.D., Boyd, R.C., & Njoroge, W.F. (2021). Addressing the global crisis of child and adolescent mental health. JAMA Pediatrics, 175 (11), 1108-1110.

Berle, D., Starcevic, V., Moses, K., Hannan, A., Milicevic, D., & Sammut, P. (2011). Preliminary validation of an ultra brief version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 18 (4), 339-346.

Ginsburg, G.S., Pella, J.E., Piselli, K., & Chan, G. (2019). Teacher Anxiety Program for Elementary Students (TAPES): Intervention development and proposed randomized controlled trial. Trials, 20 (1), 1-16.

Jordan, J., McGladdery, G., & Dyer, K. (2014). Dyslexia in higher education: Implications for maths anxiety, statistics anxiety and psychological well-being. Dyslexia, 20 (3), 225-240.

Kertz, S.J., Stevens, K.T., & Klein, K.P. (2017). The association between attention control, anxiety, and depression: The indirect effects of repetitive negative thinking and mood recovery. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping: An International Journal, 30 (4), 456-468.

Kuru, E., Safak, Y., Özdemir, İ., Tulacı, R.G., Özdel, K., Özkula, N.G., & Örsel, S. (2018). Cognitive distortions in patients with social anxiety disorder: Comparison of a clinical group and healthy controls. The European Journal of Psychiatry, 32 (2), 97-104.

Leahy, R.L. (2002). Improving homework compliance in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58 (5), 499-511.

Mahoney, A.E.J., Hobbs, M.J., Newby, J.M., Williams, A.D., Sunderland, M., & Andrews, G. (2016). The Worry Behaviors Inventory: Assessing the behavioral avoidance associated with generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 203 , 256-264.

Merikangas, K.R., He, J.-P., Burnstein, M., Swanson, S., Avenevoli, S., Cui, L., . . . & Swendsden, J. (2010). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in US adolescents: Results from the national comorbidity study-adolescent supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49 (10), 980-989.

Minahan, J. (2014). The behavior code companion: Strategies, tools, and interventions for supporting students with anxiety-related or oppositional behaviors . Harvard Education Press.

Minahan, J. & Rappaport, N. (2012). The behavior code: A practical guide to understanding and teaching the most challenging studen ts. Harvard Education Press.

Minahan, J. & Schultz, J. (2014). Interventions can salve unseen anxiety barriers. Phi Delta Kappan, 96 (4), 46-50.

Moran, T.P. (2016). Anxiety and working memory capacity: A meta-analysis and narrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 142 (8), 831-864.

Putwain, D.W., Connors, L., & Symes, W. (2010). Do cognitive distortions mediate the test anxiety-examination performance relationship? Educational Psychology, 30 (1), 11-26.

Racine, N., McArthur, B.A., Cooke, J.E., Eirich, R., Zhu, J., & Madigan, S. (2021). Global prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents during COVID-19: A meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 175 (11), 1142-1150.

Salari, N., Hosseinian-Far, A., Jalali, R., Vaisi-Raygani, A., Rasoulpoor, S., Mohammadi, M., . . . & Khaledi-Paveh, B. (2020). Prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Globalization and Health , 16.

Vytal, K., Cornwell, B., Arkin, N., & Grillon, C. (2012). Describing the interplay between anxiety and cognition: From impaired performance under low cognitive load to reduced anxiety under high load. Psychophysiology, 49 (6), 842-852.

Zee, M., & Koomen, H.M. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy and its effects on classroom processes, student academic adjustment, and teacher well-being: A synthesis of 40 years of research. Review of Educational Research, 86 (4), 981-1015.

This article appears in the November 2023 issue of Kappan , Vol. 105, No. 3, p. 24-30.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessica Minahan

Jessica Minahan is a licensed and board-certified behavior analyst, special educator, and consultant to schools internationally. She is the co-author of The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students and author of The Behavior Code Companion: Strategies, Tools, and Interventions for Supporting Students with Anxiety-Related or Oppositional Behaviors.

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IELTS Preparation with Liz: Free IELTS Tips and Lessons, 2024

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Positive or Negative Development: IELTS Model Essay

An IELTS model essay for positive or negative development questions. It is common in IELTS writing task 2 to be asked to choose either something is a positive or negative development/trend. Your task is to answer the question in the introduction and explain your answer in the body paragraphs.

These instructions are asking for your opinion so it is important that you give it clearly. If you fail to present a position of your own (a view point), you will have failed to complete the task and that will affect your score.

IELTS Positive Negative Essay Question

Nowadays, more people are choosing to socialise online rather than face to face. Is this a positive or negative development?

IELTS Model Essay: Positive or Negative Development?

An increasing number of people meet and talk to their friends online instead of in person. In my opinion, this is a negative development which can lead to isolation, potentially harmful situations and also problems later on in life.

One serious problem that can arise from people socialising online is that it can lead to isolation. Before the internet, people would frequently go out to meet friends, for example in cafes, bars or restaurants, whereas now people prefer to stay at home alone, chatting online. As a result, people are starting to spend the majority of their time alone at home in their room without meeting others. Isolation of this kind is not healthy and can sometimes lead to depression and other issues.

Another issue is that meeting people online can be risky. In other words, people can assume fake identities online as well as hide their true characteristics. This is particularly concerning for teenagers who are impressionable and can easily be led into dangerous situations. Furthermore, as this interaction is online, parents have no way of monitoring it and protecting their children.

Finally, socialising online can end in difficulties years later as conversations and shared photos that had been forgotten reappear. This situation is currently critical for many people, again especially for teenagers who do not think carefully before posting online. That is to say, information which is put online can remain there forever and while people may share intimate communications with close friends, these words can then resurface later on leading to much embarrassment.

In conclusion, although it has become more popular for people to socialise through the internet, it has brought about too many problems for this to be considered a positive trend.

Examiner’s Comments: This essay provides a clear answer to the essay question. The position is clearly presented in the introduction and also explained and supported throughout the essay. Linking devices are well used and ideas are organised logically. Language is flexible and accurate. This would reach band 9. (Word count = 286)

More IELTS Model Essays:

IELTS Agree Disagree Essay (Opinion Essay)

IELTS Discussion Essay

IELTS Direct Question Essay 

IELTS Solution Essay

All IELTS Model Essays, Tips & Free Videos for Task 2

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Hi Liz, if the question ask to what entent it is an advantge and disadvantge, do I discuss both sides or give my opinion?

The questions are: To what extend do you agree or disagree? What are the advantage or disadvantages? Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? or Are the advantages more important than the disadvantages?

The first one is an Opinion Essay and your whole essay is about your opinion. The second requires you to give both sides The last one asks you to evaluate both with an opinion.

Make sure you don’t confuse wording and that you understand which essay type you are tackling. See my advanced lessons for detailed training. You can find them in my store: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

in the question there was no request to give your opinion, but you still wrote “in my opinion” i don’t understand IELTS ☠️

There was a clear request for an opinion in the instructions. If you are asked to choose between two options, it will require your personal choice (that means, your opinion). See the main writing task 2 page of this website and you’ll find a link to “When to give your opinion in writing task 2”: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

hi I have a question . when it said that positive or negative trend/ development is this an agree/disagree question or an advatages /disadvantages question?

It is a positive/negative trend essay question. It is a different essay type with one single question that you must answer.

Hi Liz, Thank you so much for your content. I wish you all the best! Thanks to your lessons, I got an 8.5 overall and 8.0 for Writing. I just can’t believe it! Thank you so much!

Great job! Very well done to you 🙂

you’re my favorite teacher, as well you look like my mother 🥰 My mother died in 2015😔

I’m so sorry to hear about your mother. That is a great loss for you. I hope I can remind you of happy memories

Hello Dear Madam: It’s my essay about this title that you provided. Could you please reply me, is it a good way that I should write? Thank you.

These days an increase number of individuals are opting to communicate on the internet instead of meeting each other. In my view, it’s a negative development which bring some obdurate problems and unstable result during their performances.

Firstly, the most important reason is which in the internet people cannot find trusts to each other. In fact it is very hard to have a stable relation with the public. For instance, when individuals start some conversations such as politics or about some social jobs, which will be difficult to everyone to do completely in a better way. Furthermore a research has shown which doing some talks on the internet not only may not have a good result but also it maybe wasteful of time.

Secondly, another prominent reason is which individuals may not have relation forever. Clearly having a social correlation physically is better than online. Because on the internet humans are in idiomatic world. On the other hand, if humans may not have access to internet they may miss or interrupt their communications. For example, if people may have meeting on the internet such as in (what s app, Telegram, Twitter and other social media applications which as a result it will not affect effectively whether they visit each other.

In conclusion, online communications may not be more effective which sometimes it will create unclear result and would be hardship to have relation in all parts of the life. It is a predication which individuals should evolve their visiting in a physical way.

Hi liz, from India here. Thankyou so muuuuuch for your content!! I got 8 overall, and a 7.5 in writing, the one I always dreaded. I had a question on the causes of (topic) and whether its a positive or negative development combined as a single question. Just days before I went through this particular essay, and I used it to structure my essay. I didn’t expect it to come as it rare to ask this type. Nonetheless, thanks once again!

Very well done to you!! A great score 🙂

Hello mam Can write an essay introduction without a background statement.

No. All good IELTS essays will introduce the topic and specifics of the question which your essay will tackle in a background statement (the first sentence of your essay and of your introduction paragraph).

Where are you mam,,,,, I have been missing you for ages,,,, Won’t you back YouTube?

As soon as my health is more stable and I’m stronger, I’ll continue making videos. Each year I hope it will happen, but each year my health continues to be an issue. Lets see what happens next year.

The rising numbers of people preferring to socialize online rather that to search for real life connections is perceived as a negative development due to the detrimental effect it had on mental well-being, making it questionable to consider social media as a beneficial invention, highlighting the necessity of face to face communication.

Firstly, people leaning to make friends and spend time texting online rather than meeting and socializing in real life have shown to be harmful to one’s state of mind, causing people to feel alienated due to the ease of making friends online in contrast with real life, making it a better alternative for a lot of teenagers regardless to the fact that such sites like Facebook and Twitter have the tendency to bring the worst in people, resulting in a hostile environment where many face constant bullying and abuse.

Such drawbacks made it logical to put social media under the microscope as it proved to have many disadvantages, making it less efficient as an alternative to face to face communication owing to the benefits people gain from real life conversation and overall, real life socializing. a clear example of that, is the rise in popularity, meeting apps are experiencing in the last years, which presented better virtual environment where people can get to know each other, removing many of the useless features other social media apps have, directing people’s attention to setting plans and meeting in real life.

to conclude, despite the rise of people choosing to use social media sites as an alternative to the real-life old ways of socializing, it’s often seen by many to be nothing but a trend because of it negative effects, as other apps that focus on pushing people to meet provide better outcomes both practically and commercially.

Nowadays, an increasing number of people with health problems are using alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their normal doctor. Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

Mam, Will it be okay if I will write the positive development means pros of visiting their usual doctors in P1, as well as, ( Negetive development means) cons of not visiting their usual doctors in P???

I think these(my above ) both views are almost same.

Or Is it okay if I write 1 benefit of Visiting their usual doctors in P1 and its explanation too with relevant examples.And another benefit of same with explanations and examples in P2 ?

Would you mind suggesting me which will be going to right?

Please help me with this. I am little bit confused 😕

Try not to change this into an advantage disadvantage essay. It isn’t. It is a direct question essay. It gives you only one issue – people turning to alternative medicines instead of conventional medicine. And it asks you for the positive and negative of this trend. What is positive about people using alternative medicine instead of conventional medicine? What is negative about people using alternative medicine instead of conventional medicine. Those are your two body paragraphs. Always follow the instructions very carefully and don’t try to change the essay type.

Hi Liz, it has been a long time you have not uploaded any video on YouTube. Are you okaY?

I’m battling a serious long-term illness. I will continue making videos when I feel my health is more stable.

Wish you all the best!

This generation prefers to communicate via social media instead of one-on-one interaction. I believe this trend has resulted in an increased incidence of social isolation and loneliness which is harmful to mental health.

Firstly, although social media has created a platform where a person can reach another across the globe, it has also increased the incidence of social isolation. People spend more time online interacting with strangers. They would rather spend time with people online than have meaningful conversations with close friends and family. Social isolation and loneliness have been associated with an increased risk of depression and other mental illnesses.

Secondly, social media has increased the incidence of cyberbullying. Some people connect online to retrieve people’s personal information which they use to incite rumors. These bullies attempt to make their victims self-conscious and insecure. Worst case scenario, these bullies can locate their victims using the information they got online, and at times cause bodily harm to their victims. Cyberbullying has been linked to an increased rate of suicides and suicidal ideation.

Finally, most teenagers spend the bulk of their time each day online. With time, it is estimated that most young adults will lose their social skills. Humans are social beings. Without social interactions, one of the key components of human existence will be lost.

To conclude, social media has created a platform to improve connectivity. Ironically, it has instead increased the incidence of social isolation and loneliness. it is estimated that if this trend continues, people will no longer be able to socialize and have meaningful interactions.

Hi Liz, I hope you’re doing better than before. Thank you for sharing all the great information on this website and on Youtube. I just had one doubt regarding this type: What does it mean when you wrote “If you fail to present the position of your own (a view point), you will have failed to complete the task”? Like should I only mention only one side, i.e, positive or negative, because I was thinking we can balance it out too by mentioning both of them?

You need to be careful with your understanding of ” a balanced approach”. You can’t say that one thing is positive and negative at the same time. But you can QUANTIFY. This means you are very very specific about in which why it is positive and in which way it is negative and this is presented in your introduction as your position. Your whole essay will then support your position. Having a clear position is vital. For example: children watching TV – you think it’s positive and negative and your essay discusses this. In this case, you have converted an opinion essay into a discussion essay – you will lose marks. But if you say that watching too much TV is negative, but watching only some educational programs are positive – you now have a position which you will explain in your essay. Never take this approach unless you are 100% sure you know what you are doing. Otherwise, you will lose marks.

Thank you for sharing this great essay. The conclusion paragraph has only one sentence. Can we write a paragraph which contains only one sentence?

The conclusion is short and the essay is short. The average IELTS essay contains only around 13 – 15 sentences. That’s a very short essay. This means the introduction and conclusion will be short so that you can extend your body paragraphs for a high score.

“An increasing number of people meet and talk to their friends online instead of in person.”

Where is the verb?

There are two verbs: meet / talk

A simple way of writing this is with one verb:

“People meet their friends online instead of in person.”

From the simple sentence above, it is easier to spot the verb.

Hi Liz, Why are you not uploading new videos on YouTube?

Due to illness. I’ll try to make a video about my personal situation soon

God will heal you completely ma.

May God heal you. I have never know and very cheerful and happy person online. Watching your videos gives me so much joy

Dear Liz, I would like to know how many body paragraphs should a Positive Negative essay have? Does the marking scheme specify two or three to makes it decrestionary? I ask because some samples I’ve seen on this essay type, including yours, consistently give three body paragraph , whilst generally giving two for the other essay types.

Is the rule or mere coincidence, Please?

God bless you and your team for your selfless and humanitarian acts. The world is grateful.

There is nothing in the marking criteria which states how many paragraphs or body paragraphs you should have for any type of essay. Paragraphs need to be logically organised. Body paragraphs need to long enough that idea are sufficiently developed which means having too many body paragraphs would be a problem because they are likely to be too short. This means that either two or three body paragraphs are appropriate. You can’t have one body paragraphs because you are being marked on dividing main ideas into logical paragraphs. Thanks for your best wishes to my team – I work alone 🙂

Q.In the world today, the families has become smaller..

Is it a positive or negative development for families and society?

I approached this question by talking about the positive side of having a small family in the first paragraph and then in second para I discussed the negative side of having a small family while comparing it with having a bigger family with some relevant examples and finally concluded by saying it is a negative development by my personal view.

Is this approach correct for this question?

This question requires your opinion – not a discussion. If you think it is only negative, then you can’t write about the positive side. Your opinion must be consistent throughout the whole essay. If you think it is largely negative, but not completely negative, then you have a chance to present both sides.

Hi liz! hope you are all doing well.

I am wondering whether you can write ” in my opinion ….” in this question type. because it does not ask your opinion and just ask ” is this positive or…..” .

i think if the question was like this: ” Do you think this is a positive…..” you would be able to write “in my opinion”.

i am not sure and now i am confused! please let me know what do you think about this.

“Is this positive or negative” AND “do you think this is positive or negative” are the same questions. 100% the same. They are both directed to you personally and you must choose. It is a personal choice. It is your opinion in both.

Thanks mam for clearing this

In a positive or negative development question, can you choose both sides as your own opinion? Thanks

You can present both sides, but your opinion should favour one more than the other. It is asking for your opinion – not just a plain discussion.

Now a days, more people are choosing to socialize online rather than face to face. It is a positive or negative development.

These days, many people are communicating online rather than meeting in person. From my perspective, using online to stay connected is a negative development and it will create lots of problems. Technology had helped people to stay connected but it has also lead to unhealthy disorder. For example, 90% of younger generation had undergone depression and suicidal attempt due to loneliness. As they started to isolate themselves from others and had been interacting with people only through internet. Which is very unhealthy and cause these disorder. Moreover, it is very difficult for parent to monitor their kids and protect them through social network. Another negative aspect of this will harm individual life. To illustrate, people especially younger generation tend to make a relationship through different social website like facebook without even knowing him/her. Besides this, people used fake identities to make business and some even make their living through it. Which is very risky and will create lots of obstacle in people life. Non the less people will lost their trust in humanity. Lastly, choosing social network to socialse will make them distance between family and friends. It will also cause jealousy and lost in fait in one another. For example, my sister does not stay with us and we rarely meet. We used to interact like once in a blue moon through video calling and it did create a lots of distance between us as we work in different country. To conclude, socializing through social network have way more negative development. As it create lots of problems and it is very unhealthy. Therefore, it is much better to meet rather then connecting through online.

Dear Liz, Thank you for your outstanding Tips and Tricks. I have taken CD-IELTS today. I feel that it went good. In writing Task-II, the Question was: In some societies, fashion is more and more changing many people’s choice. Why is this? Do you think it is a negative or positive development?

I planned it in the following way.

Intro=Background statement+ reason+my opinion BP1= Reasons (Why?) BP2= ideas supporting my points-(negative opinion) Conclusion= restatement of background and reasons along with my opinion. (272 words)

Now I just want to know, what do you think? Was my approach right? Thanks in Advance Best Regards

All sounds fine. However, Task Response is more than just a brief outline of ideas. It’s about how you write topic sentences, how you explain yourself, how you connect ideas to the many task to make them 100% relevant. Good luck with your results 🙂

Your samples are really helpful and thanks to your work, I find it more easier from now.

Hmm, is it really correct sample? I mean there is no opinion or view written. What do you think? If I am wrong, please let me know why. And also I should mention that I am not professional like you 🙂

I’m a bit confused by your comment. The opinion is presented in the introduction: In my opinion, this is a negative development which can lead to isolation, potentially harmful situations and also problems later on in life. It is then explained in the body paragraphs. The thesis statement of the introduction always presents the opinion if the instructions ask for it.

If question asks for do the topic has more positives than negatives than the format to follow is same as advantages outweigh disadvantages?

I can’t thank you or praise you enough for the amount of good materials and information that you provide via your YouTube videos or your blog or your paid videos. I took your writing videos subscription along with your ebooks and they are of immense help to me.

However, I could not come across this ‘postive negative development’ type of essay types in any of your videos i subscribed to. If you could please help provide your two cents on correcting my understanding of this essay type of it falls under ‘advantages outweigh the disadvantages essay type with our won opinion’ OR does it fall under the bucket of opinion based essay that is ‘ do you agree or disagree and write your own opinion’. please help provide the structure just like your writing videos or direct me to one. Pretty please.

It falls under the label of “Direct Questions Essay”. This means you are given a direct question or questions. Not all teachers use the same names for essays or categorise them in the same way. It’s best to go for a balanced view with your opinion clearly leaning to one side more than the other.

We should try to use “phrasal verb” in writing or not?

You should use appropriate language and that might include phrasal verbs.

Dear Liz, I am a big fan of you and I appreciate your lessons and blog. Unfortunately, when I read your model essay about positive and negative developments I saw in the conclusion paragraph there is a big mistake because at the beginning you supported it is a negative development but later at the end, you said that is a positive trend. So, please read the essay again and correct it otherwise it could be confusing for us.

All the best for your future…

There is no error. The introduction and conclusion match You’ll need to review your understanding of this phrase in the conclusion “it has brought about too many problems for this to be considered a positive trend.”. It means – this cannot be positive because there are too many problems.

I am really sorry, that was my mistake because I couldn’t understand the inner meaning of this phrase. I am extremely sorry, I shouldn’t say that way before a clear review. Anyway, I wish you good luck and want more lessons from you…

All the best

No need to apologise. This is the kind of language that comes in the reading or listening test to check your understanding. The more familiar you are with such language, the better 🙂

Thank you so much for your kind information.

Dear mam, “Discuss it’s positive or negative sides”. In this types of question, is it mandatory to write our opinion? e.g. In my opinion………………..

And should we discuss only one side or we have to discuss its both side? Plz mam guide me how to write this types of question.Thanks❤️

I have never seen such instructions. You either get “discuss both sides” or “Is this a positive or negative development”. It isn’t actually possible in English to have “Discuss its X or Y” – it should be “and” when you have “Discuss it’s …”.

Plz mam tell me that i have discuss both postive and negative in the essay in which or was given if this will be wrong or not as i have attempted it partially

It is completely fine to have a partial approach – present both sides with your opinion clearly favouring one side.

Dear liz, In your above example task 2 can we write negative in para 2 and positive in para 2 or we have to justify any one of it in a complete essay. Thank u

I’m not sure why you would put negative first. You should keep a logical order when it comes to paragraphs. The examiner should never feel confused about the order.

Hi Liz, firstly, thank you so much for sharing your expertise and knowledge freely. my question is: some teachers categorize Task 2 questions into only 4 primary types, the so called “Opinion” / “Discussion” / “Opinion-Discussion” / “Situational (Direct Question)” and then suggest paragraph and content planning based on those. For example, it is recommended to NOT discuss both views in the “Opinion” type, which includes what you’d usually call “positive or negative” questions as well as the plain “what is your opinion” questions, and so on.

What is your take on this kind of classification? is it too broad? or just broad enough? (this might or might not be relevant, but I’m aiming to improve my band score from 7 to 8, so I tend to be extra vigilant when it comes to these types of guides/tips)

It makes no difference how a teacher categorises essays. The key aspect is if you feel fully prepared for all essay types. I break it down into five essay types, but within those five there are more variations. But again, there is no right or wrong – there is only full preparation or not enough preparation from a candidates perspective.

Hi Liz, Please if you don’t mind, can you summarily help to suggest how to go about this kind of question if we meet it in the exam. It seems to be a bit confusing in the approach expected.

“People born today can expect to live longer than people in the previous generation. What are some of the positive and negative implication of this phenomenon”

This is a simple advantage and disadvantage essay. It is asking for both sides = one body paragraph for each side.

Mam my local teacher has taught me that positive negative and adv outweigh disadv essays can be written with same style. Is it a right approach?

Yes, it is possible to do that – it would be a partial agreement where you admit one side and favour the other.

Sorry, I forgot to mention what my teacher writes in the outline of positive negative essay— In this essay advantage outweigh disadvantage

If it is still right then can a person score a 8 band with partial agreement?

You don’t get a particular band score because you chose a particular approach. Your score is based on other marking criteria. Even within Task Response it is about how you present ideas, how you use them, how you support them, much development you give them etc. Scores are not so simple to predict or estimate.

Thanks mam for your guidance I’ll keep that in mind

Dear Liz, I want to say a big THANK YOU for all your work. Your website is really helpful .I followed your tips many times and the explanations you give is so easy to be understood by everyone (even for those who have poor english😉).Keep going and don’t listen to those persons who are too frustated to understand the actually meaning of this website.By the way, tomorrow I have the second atempt for the IELTS test.The last one was overall 7 ,but W=6😕.Hopefully this time I will take it with at least 6.5.😁Many thanks again and hope you are feeling better now.😘😘

Fingers crossed tomorrow!! Remember that you need to take time to plan your task 1 and task 2. Then writing will be easier. Also keep your eye on the clock so that you manage your time properly. See this page for last minute tips on each section of the test: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-exam-tips-on-the-day/ . I’m really glad you found my site useful 🙂

thank u a lot mamm you are so nice 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️

Can we consider this kind of essay (Is this a positive or negative development) as an opinion essay when answering? I am asking just because I need to be clear on when planning this type of essay.

IT is asking for your opinion. Yes, you can consider it similar to an Opinion Essay.

Hello mam Can i apply a balanced opinion approach to a negative or positive development essay Like you have done in the advanced video of the opinion essay

Q- more and more measures to improve security in urban areas have been introduced in many countries because of the increased crime rate Is it a positive or negative development?

Intro Increasing level of crime rate have promoted authorities in many countries to strengthen their security through a variety of measures. While Some of these measures pose potential risk to individual privacy, I feel that their benefits to city residents and cities as a whole make these changes a positive development overall.

BP1– POSITIVE EFFECTS lowering of crime rate Which has increased sense of safety Attract more investments

BP2 NEGATIVE privacy intruded Agencies can access call details However this concern is undue, authorities have no self vested interest So chances of this is extremely low.

In conclusion, although some of the security measures have been introduced infringe on people’s right to privacy, it is largely a positive development as the improved security makes city dwellers’ lives more secure and cities more desirable place to live, work and invest in.

Could u please clear my doubt? Is this a right approach

It’s fine.

Thanks mam for helping me again☺ Now I can apply it. I feared that it would lower my band scores

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Essay on Positive Thinking | Short and Long Essays on Positive Thinking for Students and Children in English

Essay on Positive Thinking: Positive thinking is a belief, a mental attitude that admits into the mind thoughts, words and images that good things will happen and that one’s efforts will be crowned with success. Positive thinking is opposed to negative thinking which harbours the mind through thoughts on apprehensiveness, fearfulness, and unsure of success in efforts.

Positive thinking is reinforced by thoughts such as optimism, hope, and belief that hard work is never wasted. A positive mind anticipates happiness, health,  joy, and a successful outcome of every situation and action and works wonders like magic.

You can also find more  Essay Writing  articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

The Essay on positive thinking throws light on the power of positivity that helps individuals create and transform energy into reality. Besides, the article on positive thinking is broken into multiple essays of varying word count to help you prepare during events and even organise a small paragraph or speech on positive thinking.

Very Short Essay on Positive Thinking 150 Words

Positive thinking is a reflexive attitude developed or imbibed overtime that pushes you to expect fair and desired results. The power of positivity is to create, reinforce, and transform energy into reality with the mindset to seek a healthy and happy ending regardless of the situation.

Positive thinking leads an individual to success as they develop an attitude that helps them think that they can achieve the things and not be fettered by the problems that cross paths with success. Positive thinking is achieved through determination, perseverance, self-confidence, and hard work.

Positivity plays a significant role, and many prosperous people have achieved through reinforcing positive thinking in both their personal and professional lives. Thus, in challenging situations, people seek some light that leads them to positive thinking.

Positive thinking evokes more energy, leading to determination and hard work, ultimately translating to success. It would be best to remember that nothing gears up people to make wholehearted efforts to perform some task as positive thinking.

Short Essay on Positive Thinking 200 Words in English

Positive thinking is an optimistic attitude that helps individuals practice good things in any given situation. Positive thinking holds a significant impact on a person’s mental, emotional, and physical health.

Positive thinking does not mean you ignore reality or take light of the unresolved problems. It merely means that you approach the good and the bad situations in life with the expectation that things will fall into place.

Several studies have looked at positivism’s role, leading to optimism in an individual’s mental and physical health. Positive thinking holds multiple physical health benefits like better physical health, better stress management, longer life span, better pain tolerance, more excellent resistance to illness such as the common cold, lower chance of having a heart attack, and lower blood pressure.

Positive thinking harbours multiple mental health benefits such as better mood, less depression, more creativity, clearer thinking, better coping skills, and incredible problem-solving skill.

Studies have stated that people with a positive and optimistic outlook may be more likely to lead and live a healthy lifestyle since they hold a more optimistic view of the future. To wage a better world, human beings can choose to become better than they are now. Thus, positive thinking must start with ourselves.

Long Essay on Positive Thinking 250 Words in English

Introduction to Positive Thinking Essay: Positive thinking is an emotional and mental attitude that remains concerned with a bright and acceptable part of life focused on expecting positive thoughts from life. Positive thinking leads to happiness, healthy life, and ultimately success. A positive person can overcome any obstacle that might occur in a certain period of difficulty during a lifetime.

Positive thinking helps you expect good and favourable results; that is, positive thinking is the process of creating thoughts that creates and transforms energy into reality. A positive mind waits for happiness, health and a happy ending in any situation.

How to Apply Positive Thinking?

• Use positive words while talking
• Make use of words that evoke strength and success
• Redirect your thoughts
• Remove all the feelings that are not positive and focus on positive thoughts
• Practice positive affirmations
• Start thinking that you will succeed in meeting the objectives
• Forgive yourself and allow yourself to move on
• Analyse what went wrong to avoid future mistakes and look forward to more positive
• Working at your visualisation or imagination to build more positivity and motivation
• Think of failure as an opportunity
• Practice gratitude to reduce stress, improve self-esteem, and foster resilience during difficult times
• Practice self-talk and be mindful of the voice in your head and respond with positive messages

Conclusion on Positive Thinking Essay

In conclusion, you need to change our attitude and believe that we are going to succeed. You need to implement positive thinking techniques that help you learn from your failures, stay focused, forgive yourself, and make positive friends and mentors. Positive thinking can play a significant role in every individual’s life.

Long Essay on Positive Thinking 400 Words

Introduction to Positive Thinking Essay: Positive thinking is an attitude that helps a person highlight the brighter side of their life and helps to lead a healthy and happy life. Positive thinking brings an immense amount of satisfaction and leads to a healthy mindset. Positive thinking helps students overcome their obstacles and makes them healthy, determinant, and self-independent people. Positive thinking enhances energy, helps people have an open mind, keeps them happy, and attain success with confidence. A positive person spreads positivity and sorts out the negative thoughts and helps them relax and stay calm.

How to Build a Positive Attitude?

• People should inculcate the habit of reading motivational and inspiring stories of people who achieved success. These stories will motivate and inspire you and show you the steps they undertook to achieve success and implement those steps in your life.
• Do not allow your negative thoughts to thrive in your mind and work towards putting an end to this habit. Always stay on guard and replace your negative thoughts with constructive, positive reviews. Start paying attention to your ideas and replace the negative thoughts with productive, happy and positive thoughts.
• Make use of affirmations as these positive statements will sink into your subconscious mind, which in succession will guide, inspire, and motivate you to take action. The use of affirmations applies to visualisation, creating mental scenarios of what you want to hold and what to want to achieve.
• Finally, stay guard and play the role of the doorkeeper of your mind as it helps you make significant changes in your life. Do not be afraid to take action and do not remain passive in small matters and big ones. If you keep yourself busy by doing various things, there will be less likelihood of becoming cynical and hold a greater chance of remaining positive.

How to Remain Positive?

Try to remain positive during a profoundly distressing experience or grievance, and it’s essential to take the pressure off of yourself to find the silver lining. Instead, channel your energy into getting enough support from other people.

Positive thinking does not mean burying the negative thoughts experienced to avoid complicated feelings but to motivate oneself to move on and make positive changes. When facing hard times, comfort, and give yourself sound advice, acknowledge the feelings and remind yourself how strong you are to battle and get better.

You won’t undo the years of pessimism and negative thoughts overnight, but with practice, you can learn how to approach things with a more positive outlook and apply positivity through the ups and downs of life.

Very Long Essay on Positive Thinking 800 Words in English

Positive thinking is an emotional and mental attitude that helps individuals focus on the excellent aspect and expect results to benefit them. Positive thinking anticipates happiness, health, and determination, ultimately leading to success- practically, training oneself to adopt an abundance mindset and cultivate gratitude for one’s successes and those of others.

Positive thinking usually starts with self-talk as the process is a  never-ending stream of the unsaid point of view and can be either positive or negative. However, some of the self-talk can result from logic, while others can arise from misconceptions that can occur due to lack of information.

Negative thinking can cause depression and can supplement depression and other mental trauma. Negative thoughts can undermine an individual’s efforts to control depression. Thus, positive thinking is an approach that challenges the obstacles life throws at every individual with a positive attitude.

Benefits of Positive Thinking

There are several physical and mental health benefits offered by positive thinking, and every person would be amazed by how positivity can affect their health better.

Better Health: Positive thinking leads to better health. Refraining from negative thoughts like anxiety, stress, frustration, and worry can present you with a stronger immune system, thus relieving you from vulnerable and significant illnesses. Reinforcing positive thinking permits you to fight off whatever bug is going around. Studies have proven that those individuals who feel better, live together than those who do not.

Strengthens Immunity: Positive thinking can assist you a great deal in battling multiple ailments such as common colds and influenza. Negative thoughts can weaken your immune response. Medical research and studies have shown that negative thoughts can cause more significant electrical activity in a part of your mind that cuts the immune response.

Boost Confidence: Positive thinking can boost an individual’s confidence and is a crucial stigma that leads to self-confidence. Positive thoughts and behaviours leave individuals more confident and self-assured.

Fights Depression: It is proven that one of the most significant aspects of depression is pessimistic thinking. Studies have stated that any individual who changes their negatives into positive thoughts can start to fight depression and develop a way to elevate positive thinking.

Reduces Blood Pressure: Individuals suffering from high blood pressure and having a hard time to remain positive must start reviewing life and start with some positivity in life. Negative thoughts lead to high-stress levels and anxiety, leading to high blood pressure. Changing the negative thoughts into positive can significantly contribute to reducing your blood pressure.

Key to Success: It is the fact that it is positive thinking people are more probable to remain successful in life than negative thinking people. Individuals who implement positive thoughts in life aspects will notice that success becomes more manageable and is not severe as many people think.

How To Increase Positive Thinking?

Here are a few things that will help individuals increase positive thinking in life-

• Sleep: When an individual is tired, the brain cells can absorb glucose highly diminished and compensate for enough sleep. Individuals crave sugary snacks to reimburse for low glucose levels.
• Meditation: Studies state that people who meditate daily display more positive emotions than those who refrain from meditation. Meditation also builds valuable long–term skills such as increased mindfulness, purpose in life, social support, and decreased illness symptoms in individuals. Contemplation can also be replaced by writing and playing as it boosts self-confidence through positive thinking. These can help you fight the negative thoughts and remain positive throughout.
• Exercise: Exercising for as little as ten minutes releases a neurotransmitter GABA that soothes the brain and keeps the person in control of their impulses. If you have trouble resisting the impulse to walk to the office next door, insist and keep walking. It would be best if you have the urge under control by the time you get back.
• Forgiveness: A vicious cycle of failing to control oneself is often accompanied by the feeling of intense disgust and self-hatred in attempts at self-control resulting in offending behaviour. Forgiving yourself plays an important role and shifts your attention to what you’re going to do to improve yourself in the future.

Positive thinking is an emotional and mental attitude that focuses on a person’s determination, willingness, dealing with the brighter side of life, and positive results. People can achieve almost anything with a mind and allows a paradigm shift in the method of thinking. The negative thoughts and tragedies are a result of one’s own thinking and actions.

An individual with a positive mind can do many positive things and experience positive thoughts such as love, contentment, and joy removes all the obstacles. Positive thinking is a way of living life with comfort and is almost 99 percent effective. Positive thinking holds an intense impact on an individual’s health, offers them better career opportunities, and helps individuals build and develop better relationships.

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What is Ethical Leadership and Why is it Important?

Ethical leadership is not only the right thing to do, it is key to driving an organization's success.

Valerie Kirk

Errors, bad behavior, and poor judgment in leadership can negatively impact a company’s brand and reputation. For business success, it’s critical for organizations to fill their C-suite with ethical leaders.

Ethical leadership involves leaders and managers making decisions based on the right thing to do for the common good, not just based on what is best for themselves or for the bottom line. While profits are important, ethical leaders take into consideration the needs of customers, communities, and employees in addition to company growth and revenue when making business decisions. 

Ethical leaders encourage their team members to model this behavior, too. They help to build a workplace culture that values transparency, collaboration and inclusion, and where everyone feels safe to share their voice.

They can also help organizations recruit and retain top talent. Professionals are increasingly seeking out companies whose leaders strive to do the right thing. Generation Z, who will make up 25 percent of the workforce by 2025, demands leadership ethics more than generations that came before them. 

“Gen Z is not going to negotiate. They have really strong values and ethics, and they don’t bend them because of intimidation or because they are just getting a paycheck,” said Michael McCarthy, instructor at Harvard Division of Continuing Education’s Professional & Executive Development and host of the “ Happy at Work ” podcast. “The idea of letting harmful or hurtful behavior slide is not acceptable.”

Leaders who weigh ethical considerations before making key business decisions drive a company’s long-term success. 

The 6 Main Principles of Ethical Leadership

Having ethical leaders isn’t as simple as hiring “good” people. Companies should strive to fill their leadership ranks with people who embody the principles of ethical leadership. The six main principles include: 

Respect includes valuing others’ skills and contributions. While historically respect in the workplace may have been one-way (leaders demanding respect from employees), in an ethical work environment, respect is mutual. 

Mutual respect leads to healthier workplace relationships where both sides appreciate and support what the other is doing and feel secure in talking through issues and challenges. Healthy relationships create positive work environments, which drives increased productivity.

Current and upcoming business leaders should take mutual respect into account as workforce expectations continue to shift.  

“I tell current leadership to respect Gen Z. They have values and morals, and you’re going to have a better organization because of them,” McCarthy said. “They aren’t going to put up with the old hierarchy that doesn’t offer mutual respect.” 

2. Accountability

Ethical leaders hold themselves accountable for their actions. They make decisions based on integrity and stand behind their work. They also lead by example, communicate openly about challenges, and don’t look to place blame on others for any shortfalls.

Leaders make ethical decisions based on doing what is right for employees, customers, and the community. Because these constituents are always top of mind for ethical leaders, they often have a strong sense of service. They engage in activities such as charitable giving and volunteer work to give  back to their communities — and encourage their teams to do the same. 

Leaders who are transparent build trust amongst their organizations and amongst customers. 

To build and maintain trust, leaders must be good communicators who speak openly and honestly about issues. Regardless of the issue’s severity or unpopularity, leaders’ responsibility to be clear and candid  empowers others to make the right decisions with the information they have. 

Honesty and transparency also help to build a brand’s reputation, leading to long-term customer loyalty.

Justice is not just about following the law, but about ensuring that everyone is getting what they deserve. Ethical leaders approach situations with a focus on treating everyone fairly, and they expect their teams to treat each other and customers the same way. Through their actions, they build equitable work environments where everyone feels respected. 

6. Community

Ethical leaders view their companies as communities and consider everyone involved when evaluating situations and making decisions. By viewing their organizations this way, they build equity and inclusion into their decision-making process and create work environments that encourage collaboration across teams. 

Learn more about Harvard DCE’s Ethical Leadership program

Examples of Positive and Negative Ethical Leadership

The following three examples are of companies that were faced with ethical dilemmas and how different leadership styles led to vastly different outcomes. 

Johnson & Johnson

One of the most famous examples of ethical leadership was the case of the Tylenol cyanide poisonings in the early 1980s. Seven people died of cyanide poisoning, and the only connecting factor was that they had all taken extra-strength Tylenol. During investigation, it was discovered that the tablets were laced with cyanide.

Johnson & Johnson’s leaders acted quickly and pulled all Tylenol products off the shelves — 31 million bottles, worth over $100 million — and stopped all production and advertising. The swiftness of their decision, although costly, put customers’ well-being first and saved lives.

They partnered with law enforcement to find the perpetrator and subsequently developed the first-ever tamper-resistant packaging. They were transparent with the public about what they were doing to ensure this tragedy never happened again. 

The Tylenol brand recovered from the incident, largely because of Johnson & Johnson’s ethical leadership team’s swift action and transparent care for customers.

In 2008, JetBlue left passengers stranded on the tarmac at the John F. Kennedy International Airport for more than five hours during a snowstorm. The delay had a ripple effect — JetBlue had to cancel more than 1,000 flights over the following five days.

In response, JetBlue’s CEO wrote a letter of apology to customers. He also directed his team to draft a customer bill of rights, which outlined customers’ rights to information about flights and information about compensation in the event of delays or cancellations.

The CEO also participated in a public apology tour, taking full responsibility for the incident rather than blaming it on the weather.

His transparency and accountability created trust with customers, who stayed loyal to the airline.

Wells Fargo

In September 2016 , it was revealed that employees of Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the United States, opened millions of unauthorized accounts in order to meet aggressive sales targets. This widespread fraudulent activity was the result of a work culture that prioritized quantity over quality and pushed employees to engage in unethical practices.

Company leaders denied knowledge of fraudulent practices. The bank was hit with significant financial penalties, but because of the lack of accountability, they damaged the trust of their customers and investors. They reported a 50 percent profit loss in the quarter following the scandal.

Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership

Companies cannot underestimate the power of different leadership styles on their growth and long term success. Those who practice ethical leadership have positive corporate cultures where employees are engaged, motivated, and feel good about coming to work. Companies without ethical leadership face lower productivity and high turnover rates, impacting the organization’s bottom line.

Ethical leaders aren’t just born with these skills — they develop them over years of experience and training. 

Harvard DCE Professional & Executive Development offers a two-day Ethical Leadership program that helps leaders develop skills to make ethical choices and lead companies through challenging dilemmas. 

Topics covered include: 

• Making ethical decisions with conflicting responsibilities 
• Building a moral framework within yourself and the organization
• Understanding the role of employees in both their professional and personal lives 
• Navigating a slippery slope when seemingly good people do bad things
• Building a corporate culture that values moral behavior

Learn more about the ethical leadership program, including how to register.  

Leaders looking to expand their ethical leadership skills should also consider the two-day Authentic Leadership program , where they will learn how to develop mindfulness and authenticity to build trust, create engagement, and promote productivity. 

Explore all Executive Leadership and Management courses

About the Author

Valerie Kirk is a freelance writer and corporate storyteller specializing in customer and community outreach and topics and trends in education, technology, and healthcare. Based in Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay, she spends her free time exploring nature by bike, paddle board, or on long hikes with her family.

How to Successfully Negotiate a Salary Increase

Don’t be intimidated! With some preparation, research, and practice, you can master negotiation strategies to get the salary you deserve.

Harvard Division of Continuing Education

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) at Harvard University is dedicated to bringing rigorous academics and innovative teaching capabilities to those seeking to improve their lives through education. We make Harvard education accessible to lifelong learners from high school to retirement.

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5 Networking Tips for Introverts (and Anyone Else)

• Samantha Dewalt

A new study reveals the make-or-break factors for developing networking skills.

Even if you’re an introvert who dreads the notion of networking, you can develop your skills to get out there and do it. Research by the Lehigh@NasdaqCenter, a partnership between Lehigh University and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, identified make-or-break factors for developing networking skills. They include: the ability to adapt your thinking swiftly in response to changing situations; combating a tendency to focus more on avoiding errors and negative results and instead striving for positive outcomes; consciously trying to have faith in your networking prowess; being persistent; and focusing more on the future.

Professionals who are extroverts are better equipped than introverts to form social connections, right? After all, they’re outgoing and more comfortable talking with strangers.

• Willy Das is a research scientist at the Lehigh@NasdaqCenter , an exclusive education-industry partnership between Lehigh University and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center.
• Samantha Dewalt is managing director of the Lehigh@NasdaqCenter , an exclusive education-industry partnership between Lehigh University and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center.

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