{"id":1058,"date":"2013-12-10T08:29:02","date_gmt":"2013-12-10T08:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/?p=1058"},"modified":"2014-07-01T07:36:17","modified_gmt":"2014-07-01T07:36:17","slug":"the-power-of-positivity-by-noora-kobty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/the-power-of-positivity-by-noora-kobty\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of PosiTiviTy By Noora Kobty"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"power<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Modern day life is filled with constant stress. We often forget the power of our thoughts to
\nchannel positive energy to get us through difficult situations. Frankie Rozwadowska explores how
\nnecessary it is to train our minds to focus on the good in order to combat the bad.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Is the glass half full or half empty\u2019? We all answer
\n\u2018half full\u2019, but is that because we know that\u2019s
\nwhat we should say? The reality is, the majority
\nof us would say \u2018half empty\u2019, but we know that
\nhow we answer this question is a strong reflection
\non how we look at life. Negative thoughts act as
\na barrier – an inhibitor that stops us from seeing
\nand experiencing new things while preventing
\nus from dealing with and adapting to everyday
\nsituations or coping with stress. They also affect
\nour health, with research proving that positive
\nthinking creates lower levels of distress and
\ndepression, reduced risk of illness, and longer
\nlife expectancy. So why don\u2019t we want to say \u2018half
\nfull\u2019? Can we re-train our minds to become more
\npositive? We can if we want.
\nThe brain is extraordinarily powerful, responsible
\nfor everything from keeping our hearts beating
\nand our limbs moving to managing thoughts
\nand emotions. There are numerous sayings
\nsuggesting the power of thought, for example
\n\u2018mind over matter\u2019 or \u2018you can do anything
\nyou set your mind to.\u2019 If our mind controls
\neverything, and we control our mind – then we
\nhold the key to our happiness. It\u2019s all about The
\nLaw of Attraction, the principle that \u2018like attracts
\nlike.\u2019 If you think positively, positive things and
\npeople will generally come your way. Likewise
\nnegative thoughts bring about negative people
\nand experiences.
\nYet the challenge is that positive thinking is
\neasier said than done. We get stuck in a rut,
\npicking up bad habits and allowing stress or
\nnegative people to affect our state of mind. Noora
\nKobty, a Counseling Psychologist at the German
\nNeuroscience Center in Dubai, advises that to
\nchange our way of thinking we must assess our
\n\u2018self talk\u2019, our everyday thoughts. \u201cIt\u2019s how you
\nsee yourself and things around you. If you realize
\nyou\u2019re a pessimist, then that\u2019s where to start –
\nlearning to change your self thoughts.\u201d This is
\nsomething we are all guilty of, and according
\nto Noora, a big reason why \u201csocial media and
\ntechnology impacts our everyday lives. Social
\nmedia allows us to compare our lives to others.
\nIt\u2019s easy to look in the mirror or a magazine and
\ntell yourself you aren\u2019t good enough, that you\u2019ll
\nnever be that pretty or that skinny. When we
\nconstantly compare ourselves to others we enter
\ninto a vicious egotistical cycle; we constantly
\nfeel the need to achieve more, change ourselves
\ninstead of focusing on what we have. This will
\nnever prove self-satisfying.\u201d
\nIt\u2019s in these situations that positive thinking can
\nradically change how we feel about ourselves
\nand, consequently, about our life. Instead of
\nfocusing on the negative in a situation, focus on
\nthe positive. Noora uses the example of someone
\nwho discovers they didn\u2019t get their desired job.
\n\u201cThe positive thinker is more likely going to
\nthink of ways he can do better and resolve the
\nsituation, whereas a pessimist is likely to dwell
\non the situation and do nothing to help himself.\u201d
\nBy adapting our attitudes in this way, we
\nsubconsciously open the door to many new and
\nexciting opportunities. Sabina Christensen, a
\nPersonal Development Consultant at LifeWorks
\nDubai, strongly believes that \u201cthe benefits of
\npositive emotions don\u2019t stop after a few minutes of
\ngood feelings subside. In fact, the biggest benefit
\nthat positive emotions provide is an enhanced
\nability to build skills and develop resources for
\nuse later in life.\u201d Therefore, negative thoughts
\nshut you off from the world, limiting what you
\nsee, altering your perception of the good in any
\nsituation and the options available to bring
\nabout beneficial change. \u201cFor example, when
\nyou\u2019re stressed out about everything you have to
\nget done today, you may find it hard to actually
\nstart anything because you\u2019re paralyzed by how
\nlong your to-do list has become. Or, if you feel
\nbad about not exercising or eating healthy, all
\nyou think about is how little willpower you have,
\nhow you\u2019re lazy and don\u2019t have any motivation. In
\neach case, your brain closes off from the outside
\nworld and focuses on the negative emotions of
\nfear, anger, and stress. Negative emotions prevent
\nyour brain from seeing the other options and
\nchoices that surround you.\u201d
\nBoth Kobty and Christensen believe meditation
\nis one of the most effective ways to channel
\npositivity and clear out negative thoughts,
\nespecially in difficult or stressful situations. It
\nhelps us focus on learning to be in the present
\nmoment. As Christensen says, \u201cvery often we
\nare going around at 100 kilometers an hour,
\nnot even conscious of our thoughts or how
\nwe\u2019re doing in any one minute. Meditation and
\nmindfulness slows us down, making us aware
\nof the now – allowing us to live in the present
\nand not in the past or future.\u201d If you are new to
\nmeditation, Kobty suggests starting with a simple
\nprocess, \u201call it takes is for you to relax and allow
\npeaceful thoughts to enter your mind. Use words
\nor sentences that are meaningful to you, for
\nexample \u2018I am a good person\u2019, \u2018I have people that
\nlove me.\u2019\u201d
\nKobty also suggests making a list of the things
\nin your life that cause you stress according to
\nthe level of anxiety they cause. This helps you
\nrecognize what you find difficult and to focus
\non positive ways to overcome them. Christensen
\nrecommends writing down positive experiences
\nevery day. A study published in the Journal of
\nResearch in Personality showed that those who
\nwrote about a positive experience every day,
\nfor three consecutive days, versus those who
\nwrote about a control topic, had more positive
\nexperiences and better mood levels. So set aside
\nsome time for yourself, surround yourself with
\npeople who believe in you – and soon you will
\ntoo. When you\u2019re faced with a tough or stressful
\nsituation, use the power of your mind and positive
\nthoughts to get you through. Soon that glass
\nwon\u2019t just be half full – it will be overflowing.<\/p>\n

Masquerade_9_ThePowerofPositivity<\/a><\/p>\n

Noora Kobty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Modern day life is filled with constant stress. We often forget the power of our thoughts to channel positive energy to get us through difficult situations. Frankie Rozwadowska explores how necessary it is to train our minds to focus on the good in order to combat the bad. \u00a0Is the glass half full or half<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}