Positive mental attitude

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Positive mental attitude (PMA) is a concept first introduced in 1937 by Napoleon Hill in the book Think and Grow Rich . The book never actually uses the term, but discusses the importance of positive thinking as a contributing factor of success. [1] Napoleon, who along with W. Clement Stone, founder of Combined Insurance, later wrote Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, defines positive mental attitude as comprising the 'plus' characteristics represented by words as faith, integrity, hope, optimism, courage, initiative, generosity, tolerance, tact, kindliness and good common sense. [2]

Contents

Positive mental attitude is that philosophy which asserts that having an optimistic disposition in every situation in one's life attracts positive changes and increases achievement. [3] Adherents employ a state of mind that continues to seek, find and execute ways to win, or find a desirable outcome, regardless of the circumstances. This concept is the opposite of negativity, defeatism and hopelessness. Optimism and hope are vital to the development of PMA. [4]

Positive mental attitude (PMA) is the philosophy of finding greater joy in small joys, to live without hesitation or holding back our most cherished, held in high esteem, and highest personal virtues and values.

Psychology

PMA is under the umbrella of positive psychology. In positive psychology, high self-efficacy can help in gaining learned optimism which ultimately leads to PMA. PMA is considered an internal focus of control that influences external factors. Research has shown that through emotional intelligence training and positive psychology therapy, a person's attitudes and perceptions can be modified to improve one's personal and professional life. [5]

Sports

A study of Major League Baseball players indicated that a key component that separates major league players from the minor leagues and all other levels is their ability to develop mental characteristics and mental skills. Among them were mental toughness, confidence, maintaining a positive attitude, dealing with failure, expectations, and positive self-talk. [6]

Health

Well-meaning friends in the US and similar cultures routinely encourage people with Disease to maintain a positive attitude. [7] However, although a positive attitude confers some immediate advantages and is more comfortable for other people, it does not result in a greater chance of cure or longer survival times. [8] [9]

A study done with HIV-positive individuals found that a high health self-efficacy, a task-oriented coping style, and a positive mental attitude were strong predictors for a health-promoting lifestyle which has a significant effect on overall health (coping and surviving). [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

Positive psychology studies the conditions that contribute to the optimal functioning of people, groups, and institutions. It studies "positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions... it aims to improve quality of life."

Psychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally, in addition or opposition to employing the scientific method, it also relies on symbolic interpretation and critical analysis, although these traditions have tended to be less pronounced than in other social sciences, such as sociology. Psychologists study phenomena such as perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Some, especially depth psychologists, also study the unconscious mind.

Stress management consists of a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of improving everyday functioning. Stress produces numerous physical and mental symptoms which vary according to each individual's situational factors. These can include a decline in physical health, such as headaches, chest pain, fatigue, and sleep problems, as well as depression. The process of stress management is named as one of the keys to a happy and successful life in modern society. Life often delivers numerous demands that can be difficult to handle, but stress management provides a number of ways to manage anxiety and maintain overall well-being.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. Clement Stone</span> American New Thought author (1902–2002)

William Clement Stone was an American businessman, philanthropist and New Thought self-help book author.

Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), previously called rational therapy and rational emotive therapy, is an active-directive, philosophically and empirically based psychotherapy, the aim of which is to resolve emotional and behavioral problems and disturbances and to help people to lead happier and more fulfilling lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homesickness</span> Distress caused by being away from home

Homesickness is the distress caused by being away from home. Its cognitive hallmark is preoccupying thoughts of home and attachment objects. Sufferers typically report a combination of depressive and anxious symptoms, withdrawn behavior and difficulty focusing on topics unrelated to home. Experienced by children and adults, the affected person may be taking a short trip to a nearby place, such as summer camp, or they may be taking a long trip or have moved to a different country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adventure therapy</span> Type of psychotherapy

Adventure therapy is a form of psychotherapy created as early as the 1960s. It is influenced by a variety of learning and psychological theories. Experiential education is the underlying philosophy.

Peer support occurs when people provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other. It commonly refers to an initiative consisting of trained supporters, and can take a number of forms such as peer mentoring, reflective listening, or counseling. Peer support is also used to refer to initiatives where colleagues, members of self-help organizations and others meet, in person or online, as equals to give each other connection and support on a reciprocal basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychological intervention</span>

In applied psychology, interventions are actions performed to bring about change in people. A wide range of intervention strategies exist and they are directed towards various types of issues. Most generally, it means any activities used to modify behavior, emotional state, or feelings. Psychological interventions have many different applications and the most common use is for the treatment of mental disorders, most commonly using psychotherapy. The ultimate goal behind these interventions is not only to alleviate symptoms but also to target the root cause of mental disorders.

Positive illusions are unrealistically favorable attitudes that people have towards themselves or to people that are close to them. Positive illusions are a form of self-deception or self-enhancement that feel good; maintain self-esteem; or avoid discomfort, at least in the short term. There are three general forms: inflated assessment of one's own abilities, unrealistic optimism about the future, and an illusion of control. The term "positive illusions" originates in a 1988 paper by Taylor and Brown. "Taylor and Brown's (1988) model of mental health maintains that certain positive illusions are highly prevalent in normal thought and predictive of criteria traditionally associated with mental health."

Self-help groups for mental health are voluntary associations of people who share a common desire to overcome mental illness or otherwise increase their level of cognitive or emotional wellbeing. Despite the different approaches, many of the psychosocial processes in the groups are the same. Self-help groups have had varying relationships with mental health professionals. Due to the nature of these groups, self-help groups can help defray the costs of mental health treatment and implementation into the existing mental health system could help provide treatment to a greater number of the mentally ill population.

Fear appeal is a term used in psychology, sociology and marketing. It generally describes a strategy for motivating people to take a particular action, endorse a particular policy, or buy a particular product, by arousing fear. A well-known example in television advertising was a commercial employing the musical jingle: "Never pick up a stranger, pick up Prestone anti-freeze." This was accompanied by images of shadowy strangers (hitchhikers) who would presumably do one harm if picked up. The commercial's main appeal was not to the positive features of Prestone anti-freeze, but to the fear of what a "strange" brand might do.

Positive psychological capital is defined as the positive developmental state of an individual as characterized by high self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resiliency.

Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. This concept is also termed as psychosocial competency. The subject varies greatly depending on social norms and community expectations but skills that function for well-being and aid individuals to develop into active and productive members of their communities are considered as life skills.

Flexibility is a personality trait that describes the extent to which a person can cope with changes in circumstances and think about problems and tasks in novel, creative ways. This trait comes into play when stressors or unexpected events occur, requiring that a person change their stance, outlook, or commitment.

Relapse prevention (RP) is a cognitive-behavioral approach to relapse with the goal of identifying and preventing high-risk situations such as unhealthy substance use, obsessive-compulsive behavior, sexual offending, obesity, and depression. It is an important component in the treatment process for alcohol use disorder, or alcohol dependence. This model founding is attributed to Terence Gorski's 1986 book "Staying Sober."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optimism</span> Positive mental attitude

Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled with water to the halfway point: an optimist is said to see the glass as half full, while a pessimist sees the glass as half empty.

Suzanne C. Segerstrom is a professor of Psychology and biostatistician at the University of Kentucky. She is known for her clinical research on optimism and pessimism in relation to health, stress, and general well-being.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toxic positivity</span> Construct in psychology

Toxic positivity or positive toxicity is dysfunctional emotional management without the full acknowledgment of negative emotions, particularly anger and sadness.

Social constraints are a psychological term that can be defined as "any social condition that causes a trauma survivor to feel unsupported, misunderstood, or otherwise alienated from their social network when they are seeking social support or attempting to express trauma-related thoughts, feelings, or concerns." Social constraints are most commonly defined as negative social interactions which make it difficult for an individual to speak about their traumatic experiences. The term is associated with the social-cognitive processing model, which is a psychological model describing ways in which individuals cope and come to terms with trauma they have experienced. Social constraints have been studied in populations of bereaved mothers, individuals diagnosed with cancer, and suicide-bereaved individuals. There is evidence of social constraints having negative effects on mental health. They have been linked to increased depressive symptoms as well as post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in individuals who have experienced traumatic events. There seems to be a positive association between social constraints and negative cognitions related to traumatic events. Social constraints have also been linked to difficulties in coping with illness in people who have been diagnosed with terminal illness such as cancer.

References

  1. Hill, Napoleon (1960). Think and grow rich (Rev. ed.). Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Crest. ISBN   0449214923.
  2. Hill, Napoleon; Stone, W. Clement Stone; preface by Og Mandino; with a new introduction by W. Clement (1987). Success through a positive mental attitude. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN   0671743228.
  3. Eagleson, Claire (March 2016). "The power of positive thinking: Pathological worry is reduced by thought replacement in Generalized Anxiety Disorder". Behaviour Research and Therapy. 78: 13–18. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2015.12.017 . PMC   4760272 . PMID   26802793.
  4. Chang, Edward C., ed. (2001). Optimism & pessimism implications for theory, research, and practice (1st ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. pp. 101–125. ISBN   1-55798-691-6.
  5. Ellis, Ross; Ryan, J. A. (2005). "Emotional Intelligence and Positive Psychology: Therapist Tools for Training/Coaching Clients to Move Beyond Emotional Relief". Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association. 8 (3): 42–43.
  6. Wagner, Kimberly (2011). "The mental skills and characteristics related to a major league baseball player's performance: A qualitative study". Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. 71 (8–B): 5150.
  7. Flanagan, Caitlin (2021-08-23). "I'll Tell You the Secret of Cancer". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  8. Sulik, Gayle A. (2011). Pink ribbon blues : how breast cancer culture undermines women's health. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 243–244. ISBN   978-0-19-974993-5. OCLC   669499803.
  9. Hopewood, Peter; Milroy, Mary J. (2018-05-29). Quality Cancer Care: Survivorship Before, During and After Treatment. Springer. p. 157. ISBN   978-3-319-78649-0. ...longer survival time is not directly linked to being in a cancer support group
  10. Larry, R. S. (2010). "Exploring the relationships between perceived health self-efficacy, coping and health-promoting behaviors among non-substance abusing vs. substance abusing patients with HIV disease". Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. 71 (1–B): 661.