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Power via positive thinking
Humans have up to 60,000 thoughts a day so make yours count!
With nearly half a million people unemployed in Ireland, finding a job, any job, can become more daunting a task than usual, testing one's patience and affecting one's outlook.
Alarmed at the figures which are showing that unemployment is affecting young people more than any other group, the Institutes of Technology, such as GMIT (Galway & Mayo Institute of Technology) have taken the lead by holding career and advice seminars, not just for graduates but the unemployed in general.
At GMIT, Paula Clarke, a 'people and business developer' delivered a talk on the power of positive thinking at the importance of staying upbeat – a challenge for many when jobless. Admittedly much of the talk drew on material from the US which more often than not possesses catchy phrases and buzzwords than concrete, substantial material and fails to convince even the most tame of skeptics.
The inclement weather outside the lecture theatre was, however, in contrast to Ms. Clarke's effervescent and enthusiastic manner, suggesting that the material must have some value. The advice on offer contained some common-sense ideas interspersed with nuggets of knowledge designed to help cope with unemployment and job seeking.
Failure is inevitable when one procrastinates, fails to change, has a negative attitude and lacks specific goals. Success, on the other hand, is attainable for all, but only if the effort is consciously made.
Drawing on a theory that suggests there are three spheres in life, Ms. Clarke described the first area over which we have no control, the second over which we can hope to influence and the third over which we have total control. Common sense dictates, she urged, that we forget the area we cannot control and waste no time on it – e.g. the introduction of NAMA – and concentrate our efforts on the other areas: e.g enrol in a new course, acquire a new skill and so forth.
Humans have up to 60,000 thoughts a day and as a result careful, conscience management of one's thoughts can strengthen a person and increase the chances of success. The power of positive thinking, Ms. Clarke stressed, is such that a person can alter his/her life just by altering his/her attitude. “If thoughts are things,” she said, “we should choose the good ones!”
By: Peter Harper
