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Essay on Positive Thinking – 10 Lines, 100 to 1500 Words

Essay on Positive Thinking: Positive thinking is a powerful tool that can transform our lives and shape our reality. In this essay, we will explore the benefits of adopting a positive mindset and how it can lead to greater happiness, success, and overall well-being. By focusing on the good in every situation and maintaining an optimistic outlook, we can overcome challenges, attract positive outcomes, and live a more fulfilling life. Join us as we delve into the power of positive thinking and its impact on our mental, emotional, and physical health.

Table of Contents

Positive Thinking Essay Writing Tips

1. Start by defining positive thinking and explaining its importance in daily life. Positive thinking is the practice of focusing on the good in any given situation and maintaining a hopeful and optimistic outlook. It can help improve mental and physical health, enhance relationships, and increase overall happiness.

2. Discuss the benefits of positive thinking. Positive thinking can lead to increased resilience, better problem-solving skills, reduced stress levels, and improved self-esteem. It can also help individuals attract more positive experiences and opportunities into their lives.

3. Share personal anecdotes or examples of how positive thinking has made a difference in your own life or the lives of others. This can help make your essay more relatable and engaging for readers.

4. Provide tips and strategies for cultivating a positive mindset. This may include practicing gratitude, reframing negative thoughts, surrounding yourself with positive influences, and engaging in activities that bring you joy and fulfillment.

5. Address common obstacles to positive thinking, such as negative self-talk, fear of failure, and external stressors. Offer suggestions for overcoming these challenges and maintaining a positive outlook in the face of adversity.

6. Discuss the connection between positive thinking and mental health. Research has shown that positive thinking can help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, improve overall well-being, and enhance coping mechanisms during difficult times.

7. Emphasize the importance of self-care and self-compassion in fostering a positive mindset. Encourage readers to prioritize their mental and emotional well-being by practicing mindfulness, setting boundaries, and seeking support when needed.

8. Conclude your essay by summarizing the key points and reinforcing the importance of positive thinking in leading a fulfilling and meaningful life. Encourage readers to embrace a positive mindset and approach challenges with optimism and resilience.

By following these writing tips and incorporating personal experiences and research-backed information, you can create a compelling and informative essay on the power of positive thinking. Remember to keep your writing clear, concise, and engaging to captivate your audience and leave a lasting impact.

Essay on Positive Thinking in 10 Lines – Examples

1. Positive thinking is a mindset that focuses on the good in every situation. 2. It involves looking for the silver lining and finding the opportunities for growth and learning. 3. Positive thinking can improve mental and physical health by reducing stress and increasing resilience. 4. It can also enhance relationships by fostering a more optimistic and hopeful outlook. 5. Positive thinking can lead to increased motivation and productivity, as well as a greater sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. 6. It helps to create a more positive and optimistic atmosphere, both internally and externally. 7. Positive thinking can help to overcome challenges and obstacles by approaching them with a can-do attitude. 8. It can lead to a more proactive and solution-focused approach to problem-solving. 9. Positive thinking can increase self-confidence and self-esteem by focusing on strengths and achievements. 10. Overall, positive thinking can lead to a happier and more fulfilling life.

Sample Essay on Positive Thinking in 100-180 Words

Positive thinking is a powerful tool that can greatly impact our lives. When we choose to focus on the good in any situation, we are able to approach challenges with a sense of optimism and resilience. This mindset allows us to see opportunities where others may only see obstacles, and helps us to overcome setbacks with grace and determination.

Positive thinking also has a profound effect on our mental and physical well-being. Studies have shown that individuals who maintain a positive outlook on life are more likely to experience lower levels of stress, better overall health, and increased longevity. By cultivating a positive mindset, we are able to attract more positivity into our lives and create a ripple effect of happiness and success.

In conclusion, positive thinking is a key ingredient to living a fulfilling and joyful life. By choosing to see the good in every situation and maintaining a hopeful attitude, we can overcome challenges, improve our health, and attract more positivity into our lives.

Short Essay on Positive Thinking in 200-500 Words

Positive thinking is a powerful tool that can greatly impact our lives and the way we perceive the world around us. It is the practice of focusing on the good in any situation and maintaining a hopeful and optimistic outlook. This mindset can lead to improved mental and physical health, better relationships, and overall happiness.

One of the key benefits of positive thinking is its ability to reduce stress and anxiety. When we approach challenges with a positive attitude, we are better equipped to handle them with grace and resilience. Instead of dwelling on the negative aspects of a situation, we can shift our focus to finding solutions and opportunities for growth. This can help us to feel more in control of our lives and less overwhelmed by the pressures we face.

Positive thinking also has a profound impact on our physical health. Research has shown that individuals who maintain a positive outlook are more likely to have lower levels of stress hormones, reduced inflammation, and stronger immune systems. This can lead to a decreased risk of developing chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and depression. By cultivating a positive mindset, we can improve our overall well-being and increase our longevity.

In addition to its effects on stress and health, positive thinking can also enhance our relationships with others. When we approach interactions with a positive attitude, we are more likely to be kind, empathetic, and understanding. This can lead to stronger connections with friends, family, and colleagues, as well as improved communication and conflict resolution skills. By fostering a positive environment in our relationships, we can create a support system that helps us navigate life’s challenges with greater ease.

Furthermore, positive thinking can contribute to our overall happiness and sense of fulfillment. By focusing on the good in our lives and maintaining a hopeful outlook, we can increase our feelings of gratitude and contentment. This can lead to a greater sense of purpose and satisfaction, as well as a more positive self-image. When we believe in our abilities and approach life with optimism, we are more likely to achieve our goals and fulfill our potential.

In conclusion, positive thinking is a powerful tool that can transform our lives in countless ways. By maintaining a hopeful and optimistic outlook, we can reduce stress, improve our health, enhance our relationships, and increase our overall happiness. By cultivating a positive mindset, we can create a more fulfilling and meaningful life for ourselves and those around us.

Essay on Positive Thinking in 1000-1500 Words

Positive thinking is a powerful tool that can transform our lives and help us achieve our goals. It is the practice of focusing on the good in any situation and expecting positive outcomes. Positive thinking can have a profound impact on our mental and physical well-being, as well as our relationships and overall success in life.

One of the key benefits of positive thinking is its ability to reduce stress and anxiety. When we approach challenges with a positive mindset, we are better able to cope with difficult situations and find solutions to problems. This can help us avoid the negative effects of stress, such as high blood pressure, insomnia, and depression. By maintaining a positive outlook, we can improve our mental health and overall quality of life.

Positive thinking can also improve our physical health. Research has shown that people who have a positive attitude tend to have stronger immune systems and are less likely to develop chronic illnesses. By focusing on the good in our lives, we can boost our immune function and protect ourselves from the harmful effects of stress. In addition, positive thinking can help us adopt healthier habits, such as exercising regularly and eating a balanced diet, which can further improve our physical well-being.

Furthermore, positive thinking can enhance our relationships with others. When we approach interactions with a positive attitude, we are more likely to attract like-minded individuals and build strong connections with those around us. By radiating positivity, we can inspire and uplift others, creating a supportive and harmonious environment. This can lead to deeper and more fulfilling relationships, both personally and professionally.

In terms of success, positive thinking can be a powerful motivator. When we believe in ourselves and our abilities, we are more likely to take risks and pursue our goals with confidence. This can lead to greater achievements and a sense of fulfillment in our endeavors. By maintaining a positive mindset, we can overcome obstacles and setbacks with resilience and determination, ultimately reaching our full potential.

One of the key principles of positive thinking is the law of attraction, which states that like attracts like. By focusing on positive thoughts and emotions, we can attract positive outcomes and experiences into our lives. This can manifest in various ways, such as opportunities presenting themselves, relationships flourishing, and goals being achieved. By harnessing the power of the law of attraction through positive thinking, we can create the life we desire and deserve.

In order to cultivate a positive mindset, it is important to practice self-awareness and mindfulness. By being mindful of our thoughts and emotions, we can identify negative patterns and replace them with positive affirmations. This can involve reframing negative beliefs, practicing gratitude, and visualizing success. By consistently engaging in these practices, we can rewire our brains to think positively and create a more optimistic outlook on life.

It is also important to surround ourselves with positive influences and support systems. By surrounding ourselves with uplifting and encouraging individuals, we can maintain a positive mindset and stay motivated to achieve our goals. This can involve seeking out mentors, joining supportive communities, and engaging in activities that bring us joy and fulfillment. By building a strong network of positive influences, we can create a foundation for success and happiness in our lives.

In conclusion, positive thinking is a powerful tool that can transform our lives in numerous ways. By adopting a positive mindset, we can reduce stress and anxiety, improve our physical health, enhance our relationships, and achieve greater success. Through self-awareness, mindfulness, and the law of attraction, we can cultivate a positive outlook on life and create the reality we desire. By embracing the power of positive thinking, we can unlock our full potential and live a fulfilling and purposeful life.

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

February 14, 2024 by Prasanna

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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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.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

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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The Power of Positive Thinking

Klaus Vedfelt / Getty Images

What Is Positive Thinking?

• Benefits of Positive Thinking

How to Practice Positive Thinking

Potential pitfalls of positive thinking, frequently asked questions.

Do you tend to see the glass as half empty or half full? You have probably heard that question plenty of times. Your answer relates directly to the concept of positive thinking and whether you have a positive or negative outlook on life. Positive thinking plays an important role in positive psychology , a subfield devoted to the study of what makes people happy and fulfilled.

Research has found that positive thinking can aid in stress management and even plays an important role in your overall health and well-being. It can help combat feelings of low self-esteem, improve physical health, and help brighten your overall outlook on life.

This article discusses what positive thinking is and the health benefits of being positive. It also explores some of the strategies you can use to become a more positive thinker.

Positive thinking means approaching life's challenges with a positive outlook. It doesn't mean seeing the world through rose-colored lenses by ignoring or glossing over the negative aspects of life.

Positive thinking does not necessarily mean avoiding difficult situations. Instead, positive thinking means making the most of potential obstacles, trying to see the best in other people, and viewing yourself and your abilities in a positive light.

Some researchers, including positive psychologist Martin Seligman , frame positive thinking in terms of explanatory style. Your explanatory style is how you explain why events happened.

• Optimistic explanatory style : People with an optimistic explanatory style tend to give themselves credit when good things happen and typically blame outside forces for bad outcomes. They also tend to see negative events as temporary and atypical.
• Pessimistic explanatory style : People with a pessimistic explanatory style often blame themselves when bad things happen, but fail to give themselves adequate credit for successful outcomes. They also have a tendency to view negative events as expected and lasting. As you can imagine, blaming yourself for events outside of your control or viewing these unfortunate events as a persistent part of your life can have a detrimental impact on your state of mind.

Positive thinkers are more apt to use an optimistic explanatory style, but the way in which people attribute events can also vary depending upon the exact situation. For example, a person who is generally a positive thinker might use a more pessimistic explanatory style in particularly challenging situations, such as at work or at school.

While there are many factors that determine whether a person has a positive outlook, the way that they explain the events of their life, known as their explanatory style, plays an important role.

Positive Psychology vs. Positive Thinking

While the terms "positive thinking" and "positive psychology" are sometimes used interchangeably, it is important to understand that they are not the same thing. Positive thinking is about looking at things from a positive point of view. It is a type of thinking that focuses on maintaining a positive, optimistic attitude. Positive psychology is a branch of psychology that studies the effects of optimism, what causes it, and when it is best utilized.

Health Benefits of Positive Thinking

In recent years, the so-called "power of positive thinking" has gained a great deal of attention thanks to self-help books such as "The Secret." While these pop-psychology books often tout positive thinking or philosophies like the law of attraction as a sort of psychological panacea, empirical research has found that there are many very real health benefits linked to positive thinking and optimistic attitudes.

Positive thinking is linked to a wide range of health benefits, including:

• Better stress management and coping skills
• Enhanced psychological health
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Increased physical well-being
• Longer life span
• Lower rates of depression
• Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease-related death

One study of 1,558 older adults found that positive thinking could also reduce frailty during old age.

A 2018 study published in the Journal of Aging Research found that having a positive mental attitude was linked to decreased mortality over a 35-year period. People who had a more positive outlook were also more likely to get regular physical exercise, avoid smoking, eat a healthier diet, and get more quality sleep.

Clearly, there are many benefits of positive thinking . But why, exactly, does positive thinking have such a strong impact on physical and mental health ?

One theory is that people who think positively tend to be less affected by stress. Research suggests that having more positive automatic thoughts helps people become more resilient in the face of life's stressful events. People who had high levels of positive thinking were more likely to walk away from stressful life events with a higher sense of the meaningfulness of life.

Another possibility is that people who think positively tend to live healthier lives in general; they may exercise more, follow a more nutritious diet, and avoid unhealthy behaviors.

While you might be more prone to negative thinking, there are strategies that you can use to become a more positive thinker. Practicing these strategies regularly can help you get in the habit of maintaining a more positive outlook on life.

• Notice your thoughts : Start paying attention to the type of thoughts you have each day. If you notice that many of them are negative, make a conscious effort to reframe how you are thinking in a more positive way.
• Write in a gratitude journal : Practicing gratitude can have a range of positive benefits and it can help you learn to develop a better outlook. Experiencing grateful thoughts helps people to feel more optimistic.
• Use positive self-talk : How you talk to yourself can play an important role in shaping your outlook. Studies have shown that shifting to more positive self-talk can have a positive impact on your emotions and how you respond to stress.

While there are many benefits to thinking positively, there are actually times when more realistic thinking is more advantageous. For example, in some situations, negative thinking can actually lead to more accurate decisions and outcomes.

Some research has found that negative thinking and moods can actually help people make better, more accurate judgments.

However, research suggests that realistic optimism might be the ideal. The results of a 2020 study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin revealed that people who have mistaken expectations, whether those expectations are optimistic or pessimistic, tend to fare worse in terms of mental health when compared to realists.  

The authors of the study suggest that the disappointment that optimists experience when their high hopes are not realized can have a negative impact on well-being. This doesn't mean that people should strive to be pessimistic thinkers. since studies indicate that people with a negative outlook tend to fare the worst. Instead, having a generally positive outlook that is focused on realistic expectations may be the best approach. 

In some cases, inappropriately applied positive thinking can cross the line into what is known as toxic positivity . This involves insisting on maintaining a positive mindset no matter how upsetting, dire, or damaging a situation might be. This type of excessive positivity can impede authentic communication and cause people to experience feelings of shame or guilt if they struggle to maintain such an overly positive outlook.

Positive thinking can have pitfalls at times. While it is important to have an overall positive outlook, unrealistically high expectations can lead to disappointment. Being unable to accept any negative emotions, known as toxic positivity, can also have a negative effect on mental well-being.

A Word From Verywell

Even if you are not a natural-born optimist, there are things you can do to learn how to think more positively and become a positive thinker . One of the first steps is to focus on your own inner monologue and to pay attention to your self-talk.

Strategies that can improve your positive thinking include noticing your thoughts and making a conscious effort to shift from negative thoughts to more positive one. Practicing positive self-talk and practicing gratitude can also be helpful ways to start having a more positive outlook.

Positive thinking is important because it can have a beneficial impact on both physical and mental well-being. People who maintain a more positive outlook on life cope better with stress, have better immunity, and have a lower risk of premature death. Positive thinking also helps promote greater feelings of happiness and overall satisfaction with life.

Positive thinking has been shown to help people live healthier, happier lives. When they have a positive outlook, they are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors such as exercising, eating healthy, and getting plenty of rest. Downsides of positive thinking include the risk of forming overly high expectations that result in disappointment and being affected by toxic positivity.

Practicing mindfulness can be a way to build self-awareness and become more conscious of how your negative thoughts affect your moods and behaviors. As you become better at identifying negative thought patterns, you can then take steps to shift into a more positive mindset. Actively replacing negative thoughts with positive ones can help you eventually learn to become a more positive thinker.

Kim ES, Hagan KA, Grodstein F, DeMeo DL, De Vivo I, Kubzansky LD. Optimism and cause-specific mortality: a prospective cohort study . Am J Epidemiol. 2017;185(1):21-29. doi:10.1093/aje/kww182

Seligman M.  Learned Optimism . Random House.

Chang E, Sanna L.  Virtue, Vice, And Personality: The Complexity of Behavior . American Psychological Association.

Johns Hopkins Medicine. The power of positive thinking .

Park N, Peterson C, Szvarca D, Vander Molen RJ, Kim ES, Collon K. Positive psychology and physical health: Research and applications . Am J Lifestyle Med . 2016;10(3):200-206. doi:10.1177/1559827614550277

Gale CR, Mõttus R, Deary IJ, Cooper C, Sayer AA. Personality and risk of frailty: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing . Ann Behav Med . 2017;51(1):128-136. doi:10.1007/s12160-016-9833-5

Paganini-Hill A, Kawas CH, Corrada MM. Positive mental attitude associated with lower 35-year mortality: The Leisure World Cohort Study .  J Aging Res . 2018;2018:2126368. doi:10.1155/2018/2126368

Boyraz G, Lightsey OR Jr. Can positive thinking help? Positive automatic thoughts as moderators of the stress-meaning relationship . Am J Orthopsychiatry . 2012;82(2):267-77. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.2012.01150.x

Kross E, Bruehlman-Senecal E, Park J, et al. Self-talk as a regulatory mechanism: how you do it matters . J Pers Soc Psychol . 2014;106(2):304-24. doi:10.1037/a0035173

Forgas JP. Don’t worry, be sad! On the cognitive, motivational, and interpersonal benefits of negative mood . Curr Dir Psychol Sci . 2013;22(3):225-232. doi:10.1177/0963721412474458

De Meza D, Dawson C. Neither an optimist nor a pessimist be: mistaken expectations lower well-being . Pers Soc Psychol Bull . 2021;47(4):540-550. doi:10.1177/0146167220934577

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

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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.
• Seaward BL. Cognitive restructuring: Reframing. Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. 8th ed. Burlington, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2018.
• Olpin M, et al. Stress Management for Life. 5th ed. Cengage Learning; 2020.
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Toxic Positivity

Positive or negative, our thoughts shape our lives, think about it..

Updated August 22, 2023 | Reviewed by Davia Sills

We’re all familiar with well-worn catchphrases extolling the benefits of positive thinking : “It’s the thought that counts.” “What you focus on expands.” Or, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” The message that our thoughts matter—and that positive thinking is a powerful tool—is nothing new. From classic titles like Dale Carnegie’s How to Stop Worrying and Start Living and Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking to modern titles like The Secret, the power of positive thinking has been part of our culture for a long time.

Why our thoughts count

Our thoughts lead to our perceptions, behaviors, actions, interactions, and choices. And thought disorders like anxiety and depression can cause headaches, muscle aches, chronic fatigue, chronic pain , digestive issues, heart palpitations, and other physiological symptoms.

We’re hard-wired to hold just one thought at a time—not two contradictory ones. When the thought that we hold fills us with fear or diminishes our self-esteem rather than building resilience and courage, we’re in for a rough ride. Self-doubt leads us to low moods and a loss of confidence in our ability to handle what life brings. We then make choices based on our fears, choices that can limit our ability to live the life we want.

This does not mean that we simply dismiss negative thoughts and fears, though. In fact, doing so can lead to hurt and harm.

When positivity turns toxic

Recently, the term toxic positivity has crept into discussions about the folly of glossing over negative events, feelings, worries, and concerns with platitudes. Psychology Today blogger Tchiki Davis has offered this concise explanation of the purpose of negative emotions: “Because negative emotions are tools we use to get important needs met , we don’t just want to be shoving them away without acknowledgment.”

In short, calling out someone who expresses a negative thought can result in hurt and harm. A more compassionate response, or non-toxic positivity, involves showing up for others at our strongest and best, not to lecture or dismiss or minimize their worries or concerns, but to help them move through and address their concerns in times of trouble and self-doubt.

How our thoughts play out

Drop a pebble in still water, and watch how it impacts the surface as it moves out in expanding concentric circles. Our thoughts, moods, and actions play out the same way. We have felt the energy shift when someone in a positive state of mind enters a room, and the mood lightens.

Our thoughts have a ripple effect because they lead to our moods and behaviors. And our moods and behaviors, in turn, affect those around us. When we can take control of our thoughts, we also begin to shift and change our moods, behaviors, and the people in our lives.

We have a choice

We can choose to think about the way we think about our lives and ourselves. We can choose to challenge the truth about our negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. We can go for that promotion and take a leap of faith that leads us into a more rewarding career or relationship.

To a large extent, we are what we think. If we think we can handle whatever comes our way, we move through the world with a sense of confidence rather than dread and trepidation. When we realize the power of how we think about ourselves and the world around us, we can begin to take control.

The past is in the past, and the future is just our imagination . We can pay attention to our thoughts, examine the veracity of our negative thoughts, and move out into the world—and the future—in a positive state of mind, at our authentically highest and best.

How to begin to build awareness around your thoughts

• Think about your thoughts. Pause and reflect at the end of each day. Think about your thoughts and how they played out over the course of your day.
• Stay connected to your authentic feelings. Acknowledge and address negative thoughts and feelings.
• Practice replacing a negative thought with a positive one. Pay attention to the effect this has on your day.
• Realize that you can take control of your thoughts, choose to examine the truth of negative thoughts, and replace thoughts that do not support you at your highest and best.

Click here to see my Think About It! TEDx talk on taking control of negative thoughts and self-limiting beliefs.

Monica Vermani, C. Psych., is a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of trauma, stress, mood and anxiety disorders, and the author of A Deeper Wellness .

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The Power of Negative Thinking

By Oliver Burkeman

• Aug. 4, 2012

Editors’ note: We’re resurfacing this story from the archives because who wouldn’t want to master their emotions?

LAST month, in San Jose, Calif., 21 people were treated for burns after walking barefoot over hot coals as part of an event called Unleash the Power Within, starring the motivational speaker Tony Robbins. If you’re anything like me, a cynical retort might suggest itself: What, exactly, did they expect would happen? In fact, there’s a simple secret to “firewalking”: coal is a poor conductor of heat to surrounding surfaces, including human flesh, so with quick, light steps, you’ll usually be fine.

But Mr. Robbins and his acolytes have little time for physics. To them, it’s all a matter of mind-set: cultivate the belief that success is guaranteed, and anything is possible. One singed but undeterred participant told The San Jose Mercury News : “I wasn’t at my peak state.” What if all this positivity is part of the problem? What if we’re trying too hard to think positive and might do better to reconsider our relationship to “negative” emotions and situations?

Consider the technique of positive visualization, a staple not only of Robbins-style seminars but also of corporate team-building retreats and business best sellers. According to research by the psychologist Gabriele Oettingen and her colleagues, visualizing a successful outcome, under certain conditions, can make people less likely to achieve it. She rendered her experimental participants dehydrated, then asked some of them to picture a refreshing glass of water. The water-visualizers experienced a marked decline in energy levels, compared with those participants who engaged in negative or neutral fantasies. Imagining their goal seemed to deprive the water-visualizers of their get-up-and-go, as if they’d already achieved their objective.

Or take affirmations, those cheery slogans intended to lift the user’s mood by repeating them: “I am a lovable person!” “My life is filled with joy!” Psychologists at the University of Waterloo concluded that such statements make people with low self-esteem feel worse — not least because telling yourself you’re lovable is liable to provoke the grouchy internal counterargument that, really, you’re not.

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Positive Mindset: How to Develop a Positive Mental Attitude

Positivity doesn’t always refer to simply smiling and looking cheerful, however—positivity is more about one’s overall perspective on life and their tendency to focus on all that is good in life.

In this piece, we’ll cover the basics of positivity within positive psychology, identify some of the many benefits of approaching life from a positive point of view, and explore some tips and techniques for cultivating a positive mindset.

This piece is a long one, so settle in and get comfortable. Let’s get started.

Before you read on, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises will explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology including strengths, values and self-compassion and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students or employees.

This Article Contains:

What is a positive mindset and attitude a definition, characteristics and traits of a positive mindset: 6 examples, a list of positive attitudes, why is a positive attitude considered the key to success, the outcomes of a positive attitude, 33 tips on how to have & keep a positive mindset in life and at work, helping students to develop a positive attitude towards learning and school, 46 activities and games to develop positive mindset skills (incl. group exercises), 10 worksheets for training a positive mindset (pdf), 32 quotes and affirmations on positive mindset/attitude, inspiring speeches and videos, recommended books, a take-home message.

You probably have an idea of what a positive mindset or positive attitude is already, but it’s always helpful to start with a definition.

This definition from Remez Sasson (n.d.) is a good general description:

“Positive thinking is a mental and emotional attitude that focuses on the bright side of life and expects positive results.”

Another, more comprehensive definition comes from Kendra Cherry at Very Well Mind (2017B):

“[P]ositive thinking actually means approaching life’s challenges with a positive outlook. It does not necessarily mean avoiding or ignoring the bad things; instead, it involves making the most of the potentially bad situations, trying to see the best in other people, and viewing yourself and your abilities in a positive light.”

We can extrapolate from these definitions and come up with a good description of a positive mindset as the tendency to focus on the bright side, expect positive results, and approach challenges with a positive outlook.

Having a positive mindset means making positive thinking a habit, continually searching for the silver lining and making the best out of any situation you find yourself in.

So, now we know what a positive mindset is, we can dive into the next important question: What does it look like?

There are many traits and characteristics associated with a positive mindset, including:

• Optimism : a willingness to make an effort and take a chance instead of assuming your efforts won’t pay off.
• Acceptance : acknowledging that things don’t always turn out how you want them to, but learning from your mistakes.
• Resilience : bouncing back from adversity, disappointment, and failure instead of giving up.
• Gratitude : actively, continuously appreciating the good things in your life (Blank, 2017).
• Consciousness/Mindfulness : dedicating the mind to conscious awareness and enhancing the ability to focus.
• Integrity : the trait of being honorable, righteous, and straightforward, instead of deceitful and self-serving (Power of Positivity, n.d.).

Not only are these characteristics of a positive mindset, but they may also work in the other direction—actively adopting optimism, acceptance, resilience, gratitude, mindfulness, and integrity in your life will help you develop and maintain a positive mindset.

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If you found the list above still too vague, there are many more specific examples of a positive attitude in action.

For example, positive attitudes can include:

• It is looking adversity in the eye… and laughing.
• Getting what you get, and not pitching a fit.
• Enjoying the unexpected, even when it’s not what you wanted originally.
• Motivating those around you with a positive word.
• Using the power of a smile to reverse the tone of a situation.
• Being friendly to those you don’t know.
• It’s getting back up when you fall down. (No matter how many times you fall down.)
• Being a source of energy that lifts those around you.
• Understanding that relationships are more important than material things.
• Being happy even when you have little.
• Having a good time even when you are losing.
• Being happy for someone else’s success.
• Having a positive future vision, no matter how bad your current circumstances.
• Paying a compliment, even to a total stranger.
• Tell someone you know that they did a great job. (And mean it.)
• Making someone’s day. (Not just a child’s… adult’s like to have their day be special, too!)
• It’s not complaining no matter how unfair things appear to be. (It is a waste of time… instead, do something!)
• Not letting other people’s negativity bring you down.
• Giving more than you expect to get in return.
• Being true to yourself… always (Jarrow, 2012).

Now we know a little bit more about what a positive mindset looks like, we can turn to one of the biggest questions of all: What’s the deal with having a positive attitude?

What is it about having a positive mindset that is so important, so impactful, so life-changing?

Well, the traits and characteristics listed above give us a hint; if you comb through the literature, you’ll see a plethora of benefits linked to optimism, resilience, and mindfulness.

You’ll see that awareness and integrity are linked to better quality of life , and acceptance and gratitude can take you from the “okay life” to the “good life.”

The Importance of Developing the Right Thoughts

Developing a truly positive mindset and gaining these benefits is a function of the thoughts you cultivate.

Don’t worry—this piece isn’t about the kind of positive thinking that is all positive, all the time. We don’t claim that just “thinking happy thoughts” will bring you all the success you desire in life, and we certainly don’t believe that optimism is warranted in every situation, every minute of the day.

Developing the right thoughts is not about being constantly happy or cheerful, and it’s not about ignoring anything negative or unpleasant in your life. It’s about incorporating both the positive and negative into your perspective and choosing to still be generally optimistic.

It’s about acknowledging that you will not always be happy and learning to accept bad moods and difficult emotions when they come.

Above all, it’s about increasing your control over your own attitude in the face of whatever comes your way. You cannot control your mood , and you cannot always control the thoughts that pop into your head, but you can choose how you handle them.

When you choose to give in to the negativity, pessimism, and doom-and-gloom view of the world, you are not only submitting to a loss of control and potentially wallowing in unhappiness—you are missing out on an important opportunity for growth and development.

According to positive psychologist Barbara Fredrickson, negative thinking, and negative emotions have their place: they allow you to sharpen your focus on dangers, threats, and vulnerabilities. This is vital for survival, although perhaps not as much as it was for our ancestors.

On the other hand, positive thinking and positive emotions “ broaden and build ” our resources and skills, and open us up to possibilities (Fredrickson, 2004).

Building a positive framework for your thoughts is not about being bubbly and annoyingly cheerful, but making an investment in yourself and your future. It’s okay to feel down or think pessimistically sometimes, but choosing to respond with optimism, resilience, and gratitude will benefit you far more in the long run.

According to Seligman (2006), optimism can be cultivated by challenging the negative stories we create in our minds. This “learned optimism” can be beneficial to feel happier and healthier, to release stress, and to increase performance and motivation.

The ABC Model, originally developed by Albert Ellis and later adapted by Martin Seligman, is an approach to help us think more optimistically. This model can be used for yourself or with your clients. Often, this technique can be found in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) as the approach results in restructuring beliefs through self-awareness.

This technique can be used in daily life situations – An obstacle in your way reflects Adversity . The way you think about Adversity turns into your Beliefs , which impact how you react (Consequence). The Consequences are not inevitable since you can challenge the way you think about them (Seligman, 2006).

Seligman added the components “Disputation” and “Energization” to the original ABC model in order to not only be aware of your thinking patterns but to be able to overcome pessimistic thinking and cultivate a more optimistic outlook.

To be optimistic, you have to change what you believe about yourself and the situation you are encountering. Positive beliefs result in a more positive consequence, which then leads to a more positive outlook.

Aside from enhancing your skills and personal resources, there are many other benefits of cultivating a positive mindset, including better overall health, better ability to cope with stress , and greater well-being (Cherry, 2017A).

According to the experts at the Mayo Clinic, positive thinking can increase your lifespan, reduce rates of depression and levels of distress , give you greater resistance to the common cold, improve your overall psychological and physical well-being , improve your cardiovascular health and protect you from cardiovascular disease, and help you build coping skills to keep you afloat during challenging times (2017).

You’ve probably heard of all these generic benefits before, so we’ll get more specific and explore the benefits of a positive mindset in several different contexts:

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• Recovery from cancer

10 Benefits of a Positive Mental Attitude in the Workplace

No construct better captures the essence of a positive attitude in the workplace quite like psychological capital (or PsyCap for short). This multicomponent construct is made up of four psychological resources:

PsyCap was first conceptualized as “positive psychological capital” by renowned management and leadership researchers Luthans and Youssef in 2004. The concept quickly took off among positive organizational psychologists, and by 2011 there were already hundreds of citations of PsyCap in the literature.

The first meta-analysis of all the research on PsyCap was conducted in 2011, and it outlined some of the many benefits of PsyCap in the workplace:

• PsyCap was positively related to job satisfaction , organizational commitment, and psychological well-being.
• PsyCap was also positively related to organizational citizenship (desirable employee behaviors) and multiple measures of performance (self-rated, supervisor evaluations, and objective measures).
• PsyCap was negatively related to cynicism, turnover intentions, job stress, and anxiety .
• PsyCap was also negatively related to negative employee deviance (bad employee behaviors; Avey, Reichard, Luthans, & Mhatre, 2011).

It seems pretty straightforward that positive attitudes like optimism and resilience lead to positive outcomes for the organization and for the employees!

Another study by a few of the giants in the field of positive psychology (Sonja Lyubomirsky, Laura King, and Ed Diener, 2005) investigated the relationship between happiness and benefits to employees. They showed that positive attitudes in the workplace also benefit the employee in addition to the organization:

• Happier employees are more productive than other employees.
• Happy salespeople have higher sales than other salespeople.
• Happy employees are more creative than other employees.
• Happy employees are evaluated more positively by their supervisors.
• Happy employees are less likely to show job withdrawal (absenteeism, turnover, job burnout, and retaliatory behaviors).
• Happy employees make more money than other employees.

So, a positive attitude can have great benefits for the organization as a whole and for all of its employees.

It turns out that a positive attitude can also result in benefits for leaders and their followers (as well as spreading positivity throughout the organization).

The Importance of a Positive Mindset for Leadership

As important as a positive mindset is for the rank-and-file, it’s easy to see why it is vital for those in a position of leadership.

Researchers Hannah, Woolfolk, and Lord (2009) outlined a framework for positive leadership that rests on the idea that leaders with a positive self-concept (a positive idea of who they are and a habit of thinking positively about themselves) are more able to bring the “right stuff” to their leadership role.

In their theory, a leader with a positive mindset is not only more likely to be actively engaged and to perform at a high level, he or she is also more able to influence followers toward a more positive mindset through role modeling and normative influence.

A study completed around the same time provides support for the relationship between leader and follower positivity; trust in management influenced positive PsyCap, which had a big impact on performance for leaders and followers (Clapp-Smith, Vogegesang, & Avey, 2008).

Further, trust in management was linked to positive leadership and performance. While trust in management isn’t necessarily indicative of a positive mindset in both leader and follower, it is certainly a likely outcome of a generally positive attitude in the workplace.

Forbes writer Victor Lipman (2017) puts findings like these in simpler terms:

“It’s always easier to follow someone with a positive outlook.”

In other words, positive attitudes in a leader will draw followers and encourage motivation and engagement in subordinates. Lipman also notes that having a positive outlook and being resilient is vital in leadership positions because there is a lot of stress involved in managing and leading others.

Leaders must always be “on” and spend much of their time “performing” as a strong, confident leader and perhaps even a public face. This role is a tiring one, and being optimistic and resilient will help leaders stay sane and healthy in challenging contexts.

The Promotion of Positive Attitudes Towards Disability

Having a positive attitude is also a boon for those educating, interacting with, and caring for a disabled student, loved one, or patient.

A positive attitude toward disability facilitates disabled students’ education and helps them assimilate into postsecondary education (Rao, 2004).

This makes it even more troubling to learn that, according to a 2012 study on UK primary schools, only 38% of them had a Disability Equality Scheme in place and only 30% had included a plan to “promote positive attitudes towards disabled people” (Beckett & Buckner). Further, 76% of schools reported that their staff had not received any training in the promotion of positive attitudes towards students with disabilities.

With so many resources available for promoting positive attitudes toward disability, there is ample opportunity to rectify this lack; for example, research by The Children’s Society in the UK identified several ways to promote positivity:

• An inclusive ethos within the school.
• Staff teams who are knowledgeable, skilled, and committed.
• Better training, guidance, and support for teachers, including Disability Equality training and ongoing INSET for all staff.
• High levels of awareness across the whole school community.
• Disability equality teaching being part of a wider strategy and included across the curriculum and not just within subjects such as PSHE, Citizenship and Religious education.
• A designated member of staff to coordinate teaching across the curriculum
• A better understanding of why promoting disability awareness and equality is important.
• Links with disabled people within the school community and beyond, as well as links with special schools.
• The availability of good resources.
• Awareness of, and the challenging of, stereotypes.
• A critical approach to the use of ‘disablist’ language which reinforces discriminatory attitudes and negative stereotypes.
• Promotion of the social model of disability.
• The inclusion of positive and diverse images in all materials used within the school and undertaking an audit of existing materials and resources to ensure they promote positive attitudes (More information on these suggestions can be found here ).

A 2009 study also established that formal instruction in disability awareness combined with hands-on fieldwork experiences with people who have a disability can have a significant impact on the positive attitudes toward those with disability (Campbell, Gilmore, & Cuskelly).

The research found that teachers-in-training who participated in a one-semester course involving direct work with students who had Down syndrome greatly improved their knowledge of the syndrome as well as their attitudes toward those with Down syndrome.

All of these findings show that having a positive attitude towards those with a disability is not only the right thing to work toward, but it also has a significant positive influence on both those with disability and those around them.

Unsurprisingly, it’s also important for nurses and other health professionals to cultivate a positive attitude towards their patients with a disability—something that nurses sometimes struggle with (Tervo & Palmer, 2004).

Positive Attitude in Nursing and Health Care

On the subject of nursing and healthcare, this is another context where having a positive mindset (towards oneself and one’s patients—disabled or otherwise) can have a positive impact.

In fact, having a positive attitude is so important for nursing, expert Jean Watson describes nursing as the “Caring Science” (2009). Indeed, positivity and caring are ingrained in the field; just take a look at the five core nursing values:

• Human dignity
• Social justice (Fahrenwald et al., 2005)

These five values lay the foundation for a caring, positive mindset that is the hallmark of good nursing practice. Nurses who embrace these core values and adopt a positive mindset toward themselves, their work, and their patients can help them find the meaning and fulfillment that likely prompted them to enter the field in the first place.

Having a positive mindset in health care not only acts as a facilitator of meaning and purpose in the lives of healthcare professionals but it also:

• Improves the professional’s performance and helps patients find healing and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
• Reduces the frequency of accidents by enhancing focus.
• Helps the professional build a good reputation and advance in their career (Swanson, n.d.).

Luckily, there are evidence-backed ways for nurses to implement a more positive outlook, including:

• The “Three Good Things” exercise, in which the nursing staff maintains a “three good things” sheet that gets passed around all the nurses at the end of their shift; each staff member writes down at least one good thing that happened that day, and the charge nurse selects three of these positive things to share with the oncoming-shift nurses to help them start their day with positivity.
• Increasing social connections with patients by placing a “getting to know you” board in each patient room; on admission, nurses can encourage the patient to share something about themselves (not their illness or hospitalization, but about who you are).
• Encouraging random acts of kindness by nurses—a practice which has the potential to spread to patients and other healthcare professionals as well.
• Enhancing gratitude through a staff peer recognition board.
• Practicing loving-kindness meditation at staff meetings.
• Identifying and applying one’s Signature Strengths (Roberts & Strauss, 2015).

Speaking of the importance of positivity in health care, the benefits can extend to the patients as well.

Positive Attitude and Cancer Recovery

You’ve probably heard the common phrases and encouragements used when discussing someone’s cancer diagnosis.

A cancer patient will likely be told at least a few times that “You have to stay positive!” and “You can fight this if you maintain a positive attitude.”

This idea that being positive will help cancer patients to fight the disease is a common one, although the literature is a bit iffy on whether this phenomenon is real (Coyne & Tennen, 2010; O’Baugh, Wilkes, Luke, & George, 2003).

Although it is unclear whether simply cultivating a positive mindset will help a patient beat cancer, there’s no doubt that getting support, focusing on a healthy mental state, and maintaining a positive attitude will help patients reduce their tension, anxiety, fatigue, and depression, and improve their overall quality of life (Spiegel et al., 2007).

Cancer Treatment Centers of America expert Katherine Puckett agrees that positivity can be helpful for patients being treated for cancer, but clarifies that other emotions are perfectly acceptable as well.

“So often I have heard a loved one say to a cancer patient who is crying, ‘Stop crying. You know you have to be positive’… However, when we make space for people to express all of their feelings, rather than bottling them up inside, it is then easier for them to be optimistic. It is okay to allow tears to flow—these can be a healthy release.” (Katherine Puckett, as reported in Fischer, 2016).

This indicates that the most important factor regarding positivity in cancer recovery is that it is authentic . False smiles and superficial cheerfulness will likely do nothing for the cancer patient, but working on cultivating an authentically positive mindset and focusing on the activities and techniques that build well-being can have a significant impact on a cancer patient’s quality of life and—possibly—their chances of beating cancer.

Do a quick Google search on how to cultivate a more positive mindset, and you’ll see that there are tons of suggestions out there! We’ve gathered some of the most popular and most evidence-backed methods here, but don’t hesitate to search for more if you need them.

Larry Alton (2018) from Success.com lists 7 practical tips to help you get more positive:

• Start the day with positive affirmations (scroll down to see some example affirmations).
• Focus on the good things, however small they are.
• Find humor in bad situations.
• Turn failures into lessons—and learn from them!
• Transform negative self-talk into positive self-talk.
• Focus on the present instead of getting mired in the past or losing your way in the future.
• Find positive friends, mentors, and co-workers to support and encourage you.

A successful author, speaker, and coach Brian Tracy (n.d.) echoes some of these tips and adds a couple more:

• Remember that it’s your response that determines the outcome of a situation.
• Use positive affirmations or phrases to chase off negative thoughts.
• Find inspirational quotes and messages to bolster your positivity.
• Decide to be happy by being grateful and assuming the people around you have the best of intentions.
• Challenge yourself to maintain a positive attitude when something goes wrong—show the world how resilient and positive you are!

For a more specific list of habits and actions you can take to develop a more positive mindset, try these 10 suggestions from Megan Wycklendt (2014) of Fulfillment Daily:

• Keep a gratitude journal .
• Reframe your challenges as opportunities for growth .
• Get good at being rejected—it happens to everyone!
• Use positive words to describe your life.
• Replace have with get (e.g., I have to go to work → I get to go to work).
• Don’t let yourself get dragged down into other people’s complaints.
• Breathe—consciously, purposefully, and mindfully.
• Notice the righteous and good in times of tragedy and violence.
• Have solutions ready when you point out problems.
• Make someone else smile.

Finally, these 11 techniques from Dr. Tchiki Davis (2018) can also help you adopt a more positive attitude:

• Ask yourself, “Do I think positively?” Take a test or quiz on positivity to see where you stand.
• Strengthen your memory for positive information by using positive words more often.
• Strengthen your brain’s ability to work with positive information with exercises that involve positive words.
• Strengthen your brain’s ability to pay attention to the positive by routinely redirecting your focus away from the negative to the positive.
• Condition yourself to experience random moments of positivity (use classical conditioning on yourself to build positive associations).
• Think positive—but not too much—and think negative when you need to; sometimes we need to grieve, think about the negative consequences, and use negative emotions to motivate and engage us.
• Practice gratitude (perhaps with a gratitude journal).
• Savor the good moments (stop to “smell the roses” and celebrate the positive).
• Generate positive emotions by watching funny videos
• Stop minimizing your successes and acknowledge the efforts you put in.
• Stop all-or-nothing thinking; this cognitive distortion is not in line with reality since things are very rarely “all good” or “all bad.”

To pass along the benefits of developing a positive mindset to students, you can encourage them to try the techniques listed above.

However, there are some methods for improving students’ attitude towards learning and school that may be even more effective.

Elliot Seif from the ASCD’s Edge website outlines 13 ways you can help students cultivate this mindset:

• “Reduce the emphasis on traditional testing as the key assessment tool, and focus on more “natural” and diverse assessment approaches such as essays and papers, reflective journals, oral presentations, and other demonstrations of their learning.
• Create the expectation that effort makes a difference in learning. Help students understand that when someone works hard, they are more likely to succeed. Give students more opportunities to put effort into areas that interest them and that they enjoy.
• Include narratives on report cards that focus on individual strengths and interests.
• Where possible, instead of or in addition to reading textbooks, find and have students read and choose books that are interesting to them, that opens them up to the world around them, that makes them think!
• Focus primarily on student strengths and student success. For each student, consider “ the glass as half full ” rather than “the glass as half empty”. Encourage students as much as possible. Understand that not all students will be strong in all areas and that it is important to help each student find his or her strengths and interests and to build on them. Also, see “failure” as an opportunity for student growth. Make it clear to students that not doing well is a cause for looking inside yourself to see how you can do something better (and that you will do the same). Give students more specific feedback, along with opportunities to redo their work and improve it. Provide mentors and tutors and other help and support for students who need it.
• Be willing to “slow down the learning process”. Focus learning on what you think is important. Figure out ways to teach an idea differently, and work on something for a longer period than you normally do if your students are not “getting it”. Figure out alternative ways to teach something if your approach isn’t working.
• Focus a good deal of your teaching on “learning how to learn” skill development. Read up on how to teach study skills, learning to learn skills, research skills, inquiry skills. Make sure that your students grow both in terms of content they learn and the “learning to learn” skills they need to develop in order to learn well in the future.
• Make “asking questions” central to your teaching and to your learning environment and school culture. Write course descriptions around key questions. Use essential questions to focus units, or have students develop essential questions as the focus for learning. As you teach, encourage students to ask clarifying and elaborative questions. Make it clear to students that no question is too small or too silly. Build open time for students to ask questions on the topics they are studying. Use “wait time” when you are asking for questions. Teach students study strategies such as SQ3R[i] that encourage students to turn statements (such as text headings) into questions.
• Give students more choices and options – in the classroom, by offering many electives, through multiple extra-curricular options. Choices/options should give students opportunities to develop and expand their interests, see connections and relevance in what they are learning, and expand their talents.
• Use inquiry strategies, research skill-building activities, interactive learning and projects as critical parts of teaching. Incorporate more interest-based projects into your curriculum.
• Where possible, make learning experiences more “authentic”. For example, consider how learning about the American Revolution might be tied to a current event happening in the world. Visit the area surrounding the school to demonstrate how math might be used for everyday activity. Through surveys, encourage students to provide feedback on whether they feel that their learning is interesting, motivating, and relevant and whether they are being encouraged to develop their talents and interests. Conduct student surveys to determine what types of school and classroom activities are most motivating and interesting. Create activities and experiences that enable students to get outside the school and learn from the outside world and perform community service.
• Create more ways to integrate learning across the curriculum and consider ways to redesign the curriculum. Use themes to create more interdisciplinary units. Connect separate subject areas, such as by teaching American history and literature in tandem so that history topics and specific literature that touch on similar time periods or themes are taught at the same time. When redesigning or renewing the curriculum, examine whether curriculum materials or programs have a significant component built around developing curiosity, motivation, relevance, and interest.
• See yourself as helping students build “pathways to adult success”. How can your subject, your grade level, your school contribute to making these pathways smoother? How can you provide students with a concrete understanding of their future options? Can you take field trips to different places of business? Colleges and universities? Bring in speakers?” (Seif, 2013)

However, these techniques are not always within a teacher’s (or parent’s) realm of control. If you these techniques are too overwhelming or the scope is out of your control, try these 7 strategies that you will likely have the power to implement:

• Be an example. Model a positive, encouraging attitude in all that you say, do and believe.
• Create a positive learning space for your student.
• Help your student visualize a positive outcome from every scenario before starting.
• Eliminate negative verbiage from your students’ dialogue (e.g., respond to “I can’t do it” with “Why can’t you do it? What’s holding you back? How can I help?”).
• Help your students change negative thinking patterns (encourage them to replace the negative thoughts with positive ones).
• Play the role of your students’ biggest fan (encourage them and help them develop self-confidence ).
• Incorporate a rewards system to encourage positivity at all times (Werrell, 2016).

For more tips and suggestions from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, check out their excellent resource on instilling positive attitudes and perceptions about learning here .

There are many positive thinking exercises and games that can give you a boost.

Some of the most popular ones are listed here, but feel free to search for more if none of them align with your interests—there are a lot to choose from out there!

Zdravko Lukovski from the Enlightenment Portal website has 10 exercises and activities that you can implement in your own life or encourage your clients to try in order to think more positively:

• Listen to your favorite music—it’s that easy! Music has a fairly unique ability to put you in a positive state of mind, so take advantage of that fact.
• Express your thankfulness and gratitude for all the good things in your life. Appreciate them, and write them down to help you remember.
• Remember to breathe. Breathe deeply, slowly, and mindfully to transport your mind to a positive, calm place.
• Don’t live according to a label—labels come from others, not from yourself, and you are so much more than a simple label could ever represent. Be authentic, and it will be much easier to be positive.
• Check your internal dialogue, and challenge that critical inner voice to make room for happiness.
• Engage in positive activities like meditation , yoga , hiking, playing a sport, or whatever other activity you enjoy.
• Take back control of the things you can change—and put in the effort required to actually change—but learn to accept the things you cannot change.
• Go easy on yourself. Don’t kick yourself when you’re down; everyone fails, and it doesn’t mean you’re not good enough.
• Pay attention to your diet, and ensure that you eat healthy food that will contribute to a healthy and positive mind.
• Embrace change—it’s happening whether we want it to or not, so it’s best to embrace it. Make an effort to step outside of your comfort zone (2015).

This list from Thought Catalog’s Kathy Mitchell (2017) has some of the same ideas as Lukovski, but she adds a few more activities as well:

• Listen to upbeat music.
• Have sex (that can certainly be an engaging and life-affirming activity!).
• Travel, even if it’s not very far—the point is to interact with different people and get to know other cultures.
• Eat healthy foods.
• Be thankful and cultivate gratitude.
• Journal and/or use a notebook to write things down—especially positive things.
• Breathe mindfully and deeply.
• Use positive words and avoid phrases like “I can’t” and “I won’t.”
• Practice positive affirmations or mantras.
• Try the Best Possible Self exercise (imagine yourself in your best possible future, and write about it).
• Volunteer and commit your time and efforts to helping others.
• Take control of the things you can, and accept the things you can’t.
• Remind yourself “Never a failure, always a lesson;” make every failure a learning opportunity.
• Try the mirror technique—say something positive about yourself (and truly mean it) every time you see yourself in the mirror.
• Socialize and spend time with others, including family, friends, your spouse or significant other, and new friends or acquaintances.

If you’re more interested in games you can play to boost positive thinking, try these suggested games from Mary Osborne (2017) at Live Strong.

Recognizing Positive Behavior

Gather your team (or family, friends, etc.) and review a list of a generic individual’s positive behaviors (like giving credit to others, smiling, saying thank you, and listening nonjudgmentally).

Next, ask players to identify their reactions to positive behaviors like these.

When everyone has listed their responses to these behaviors, talk about them as a group to show that engaging in positive behaviors like these will attract clients, customers, and coworkers rather than repel them.

The “Glad” Game

This game comes from the Disney movie Pollyanna, in which the main character actively cultivates positive thinking.

Have one person bring up a negative event, like losing a job or breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend.

The other players are challenged to turn the first person’s thoughts to the positive; for example, they can say something like, “ But now that I’ve lost my job, I’ll have more time to _______ .” The first person must come up with a word or phrase that fits the blank.

This game will encourage you to find the silver lining and look for opportunities instead of wallowing in despair.

Egg-Balancing Game

The egg-balancing game can be frustrating, but it can impart an important lesson in staying optimistic and open-minded.

Give your player(s) a raw egg and a flat, somewhat textured tabletop (use a tablecloth or placemat if you need to). Tell them to find a way to balance the egg in an upright position on the table. They might say it’s not possible, but assure them that it is!

Let them try for a while—they might actually be able to do it—but give them a small mound of salt to balance the egg in if they are struggling for too long. If you use the salt, remind them that this is an important thing to remember: sometimes things that seem impossible actually are possible when you think outside the box!

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Hunt for Happiness

This game is described as a “positive-thinking scavenger game” and it can be used with both children and adults.

Have the players make a list of things that they feel make life worth living or, for younger children, things that make them smile.

Once everyone has a list ready, send them off on a scavenger hunt to collect as many items on the list as possible. If it’s too big to collect and bring back, you can mark your “collection” of it on the list.

You’ll have to get creative to check off everything on the list, especially abstract things like “love,” but that’s part of the challenge. As a bonus, it will also help you boost your creative thinking in addition to your positive thinking.

To read more about these games, click here .

For Children

There are even more games and activities to help children develop a positive mindset. If you’re a teacher, parent, coach, or anyone else who interacts with kids, give these activities a try.

Big Life Journal has a great infographic that lists the ways you can help children develop a positive attitude. You can find the whole blog post here , but we’ll outline the 7 activities they describe:

• Engage your child in loving-kindness meditation. You can teach him or her the four traditional phrases directed towards loved ones if you’d like: “May you feel safe. May you feel happy. May you feel healthy. May you live with ease.”
• Encourage your child to help others, whether that takes the form of assisting an elderly neighbor with yard work or chores, helping a friend with homework, or participating in a canned food, clothing, or toy drive.
• Have your child create and write in an “Awe Journal.” Tell them to write down any sights or moments from their daily life that they find beautiful, extraordinary, awesome, or just all-around wonderful.
• Encourage your child to set goals, visualize their path forward, and plan for obstacles before they come face-to-face with them (this is the WOOP approach: Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan).
• Share your own positive experiences with your child. Laugh with them, hug them, and set aside quality time to simply be together.
• Identify your child’s strengths and encourage him or her to put them to good use and develop them further with productive, fun activities.
• Guide your child through the process of coming up with positive affirmations like, “I am kind. I am enough. I am loving. I am good.” (Cullins, 2018).

Another collection of activities that can help children (and the whole family) develop and maintain a positive mindset comes from Sharon Harding at the Rediscovered Families website:

• Keep “Quote Books,” or notebooks for your children to write in. Every week, choose a positive quote to share with your kids and encourage them to write it down along with their thoughts, drawings that correspond to the quote, or insights from a family discussion or activities based on the quote.
• Try the “Success of the Day” activity, in which each family member is encouraged to talk about a success they had that day, like helping someone, standing up for a peer, finishing a project, or committing (or receiving) a random act of kindness. Your children can keep a journal of their successes to look back on and draw inspiration from.
• Create Warm Fuzzy Jars for each of your children; whenever they do something kind or helpful, they can place a pom-pom ball in their jar to represent the warm fuzzy feeling they gave to another person. When their jar is full, they get to choose a special or fun activity to do—with either parent, both parents, their sibling, or the whole family.
• Write Morning Love Notes (sweet notes for them to read in the morning and get a good start to their day) for your children, and encourage them to write them for their siblings.
• Choose an Act of Kindness to help your kids understand the impact a simple kindness can have. Try something like shoveling a neighbor’s walkway when it snows, bringing a meal to a family in need, or volunteering.
• Creating art that helps them to manage their feelings and turn their mind towards the positive (more info here ).
• Have each family member create a Slinky Character Trait Person. Encourage each family member to identify some positive character traits in each other and write them on the slinky person. You can find more detailed instructions here .
• Help each child make a vision board to share their hopes, dreams, goals, and aspirations with each other.
• Complete the Buggy and Buddy motivational art activity to help your children boost their creative confidence and self-esteem .
• Make gratitude stones and encourage your children to practice gratitude every day. All you’ll need is a small, smooth stone and some paint to create a heart on the stone. Tell your children to carry them around and use them as a reminder to think about the things they are grateful for. You can also use them in other ways, detailed here .

If games and activities aren’t really your “thing,” there are lots of other ways to cultivate a positive attitude.

One effective technique is completing worksheets designed to help you develop a positive mindset.

A few of the many worksheets on this topic are described below.

Strengths Exploration

Becoming more positive can start with a fun and uplifting exercise—identifying your strengths.

This worksheet lists 36 individual strengths, with room to add 4 more, that you can use to pick out which strengths you embody. You can choose as many as you like, but try to keep the list to those traits that you think are your biggest strengths .

Once you have your strengths identified, move on to the rest of the worksheet: learning about your strengths in specific areas, how you apply them now, and how you can use them more often.

The second page concerns your relationships—romantic relationships, family relationships, and relationships with friends. There are three questions to guide you here:

• List the strengths you possess that help you in your relationships.
• Describe a specific time your strengths were able to help you in a relationship.
• Describe two new ways you could use your strengths in relationships.

On the third page, you will answer the same questions but with your profession in mind instead of relationships.

The fourth page repeats these questions but with a focus on personal fulfillment (hobbies, interests, pleasurable activities).

You can find this worksheet here .

Gratitude Journal

Cultivating a regular practice of gratitude will help you to become more positive, and this worksheet will guide you in establishing your practice.

First, the instructions for the sheet are as follows: “Two times a week, write a detailed entry about one thing you are grateful for. This could be a person, a job, a great meal with friends, or anything else that comes to mind.”

Next, the worksheet includes some tips for effective journaling, like:

• Don’t rush to write down the first things that come to your mind. Take time to truly think about what you’re grateful for. Expect each entry to take between 10-20 minutes.
• Writing about the people who you’re grateful for tends to be more powerful than writing about things.

To help get you started, you can use one of the journaling prompts listed in the worksheet, including:

• Someone whose company I enjoy…
• A fun experience I had…
• A reason to be excited about the future…
• An unexpected good thing that happened…

The next two pages provide you space to write up to four entries. It’s best if you get a journal specifically for this purpose, but this space can get you started until you obtain a journal.

Click here to download this worksheet .

Positive Journal

Similar to the gratitude journal, a positive journal is an effective way to use journaling to improve your mindset.

The worksheet encourages you to make a point of recognizing positive experiences throughout your day, however big or small. At the end of each day, use the worksheet to record three positive things that happened.

It’s good to have an actual journal for your positive entries (either the same journal you use for recording the things you are grateful for or a separate one), but this worksheet includes space for entering three positive things for 7 days to help you get started.

Click here to read the instructions in more detail.

Protective Factors

The Protective Factors worksheet will get you thinking about all of the positive traits, attributes, and skills that contribute to your resilience and overall mental health. Identifying these factors is essential to knowing when and how to use them.

The instructions are to review each of the protective factors listed and marking where you are on the scale (from weak to strong). These factors include:

• Social Support
• Coping Skills
• Physical Health
• Sense of Purpose
• Self-Esteem
• Healthy Thinking

Once you have given thought to each protective factor, the next page poses some questions about them:

• Which protective factor has been the most valuable to you during difficult times?
• Specifically, how have you used this protective factor to your advantage in the past?
• What are the two protective factors that you would like to improve?
• Describe how things might be different if you able to improve these protective factors.
• List specific steps or actions that might help to make these goals a reality.

To download this worksheet and learn about your own protective factors, click here .

Looking Back, Looking Forward

This worksheet will help you to identify times in your life when things have gone well, when you got things right, and when you thrived.

First, for the “Looking Back” portion, you will be instructed to choose a timeframe to reflect on (for example, “the past year” or “since starting my new job”).

Next, you will answer several questions about the positive events and accomplishments from this time period, including:

• List your accomplishments from this timeframe, even if they seem minor.
• Describe a great day from this timeframe. What made this day special?
• How have you grown, or what lessons did you learn, during this timeframe?
• What are you grateful for from this timeframe? Try to list at least three examples.
• What was a challenge that you overcame during this timeframe?

For the “Looking Forward” portion, you will complete a similar exercise but with a future time period in mind.

Instead of the questions above, you will answer these five questions:

• What would you like to achieve during this timeframe?
• What are you looking forward to during this timeframe? Try to list at least three examples.
• What relationships would you like to strengthen during this timeframe?
• What can you do to help others during this timeframe?
• Ideally, how will your life be different at the end of this timeframe? Give specifics.

Once you have completed this worksheet, you will have a list of good things and accomplishments already behind you, and a list of good things you have to look forward to and work towards. Click here to get started.

Why I’m Grateful

This is a great worksheet for cultivating gratitude, and it can be used with children or adults.

It lists six prompts for you to complete that will help you focus on the good things in your life:

• I am grateful for my family because…
• Something good that happened this week…
• I am grateful for my friendship with… because…
• I am grateful for who I am because…
• Something silly that I am grateful for…
• Something else I am grateful for…

To start thinking about all the things you have to be grateful for, click here .

Positive Activities for Behavioral Activation

This worksheet is focused on the therapeutic technique of behavioral activation—encouraging the patient to get more active, engage in positive activities, and gain the rewards inherent in these activities.

It instructs you to create a list of activities that you find personally rewarding and leaves space for you to do so.

Next, it instructs you to rate the ease of each activity on a scale from 1 (difficult) to 10 (easy) and the reward you get from each activity on a scale from 1 (not at all rewarding) to 10 (very rewarding).

Completing this worksheet will leave you with a list of activities that you can refer to whenever you need a quick boost, and help you learn about what you enjoy most.

Click here to download this worksheet.

Positive Experiences

The Positive Experiences worksheet is a simple one in theory, but it can be difficult to actually complete. The difficulty comes with an equivalent reward though; you can get a great boost in your mood, self-esteem, and self-confidence from completing it.

The only instruction is to consider each of the positive traits listed and write briefly about times when you have displayed each of them.

The positive traits include:

• Selflessness
• Determination

If you’re feeling particularly down, you may be tempted to skip one or two, but fight this urge! You have definitely displayed each of these traits at one time or another—don’t sell yourself short!

Positive Steps to Wellbeing

This resource is actually a handout, but you can certainly make it interactive by taking notes or using check marks to indicate what you have tried, or what you would like to try.

It lists 12 things you can do to improve your wellbeing. These 12 activities include:

• Being kind to yourself
• Exercise regularly
• Take up a hobby and/or learn a new skill
• Have some fun and/or be creative
• Help others
• Eat healthily
• Balance sleep
• Connect with others
• Beware drink and drugs
• See the bigger picture
• Accepting: “It is as it is”

To read more about how each of these activities contributes to your wellbeing, download the handout here .

Positive Self-Talk/Coping Thoughts Worksheet

The positive self-talk/coping thoughts worksheet is a great way to turn your focus from the negative to the positive and come up with positive statements you can use to cope in future stressful or difficult situations.

Example coping thoughts and positive statements listed on the worksheet include:

• Stop, and breathe, I can do this.
• This will pass.
• This feels bad, and feelings are very often wrong.
• I can feel bad and still choose to take a new and healthy direction.
• I feel this way because of my past experiences, but I am safe right now.

After reading the example statements, the worksheet encourages you to write down some coping thoughts or positive statements for difficult or distressing situations in your life. You can write them directly on the worksheet, but it may be most helpful to copy them onto a note card and carry them with you.

While we’re on the subject of positive statements, we should also mention that quotes and affirmations can be an excellent way to encourage positive thinking.

Affirmations

If you’re interested in affirmations, try the Mind Tools Content Team’s (n.d.) list of positive thinking affirmations:

• I have plenty of creativity for this project.
• My work will be recognized in a positive way by my boss and colleagues.
• I can do this!
• My team respects and values my opinion.
• I am successful.
• I am honest in my life, and my work.
• I like completing tasks and projects on time.
• I’m grateful for the job I have.
• I enjoy working with my team.
• I’m bringing a positive attitude to work every day.
• I am excellent at what I do.
• I am generous.
• I am happy.
• I will be a leader in my organization.

If none of these appeal to you on a deep level, refer to their tips on developing your own personal affirmations:

• Think about the areas of your life that you’d like to change.
• Write affirmations that are credible and achievable (based on reality).
• Use your affirmations to turn negative into positive (note a persistent negative thought and choose an affirmation that is the opposite).
• Write your affirmations in the present tense—affirm yourself in the here and now, not a vague future version of yourself.
• Say it with feeling! Your affirmations should be personally meaningful to you (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.).

If you’re having trouble coming up with your affirmations or you just like to hear a different perspective on positive thinking, you might find some quotes helpful.

Lydia Sweatt (2017) from Success.com shares 13 great quotes on optimism and having a positive attitude.

“Optimism doesn’t wait on facts. It deals with prospects.”

Norman Cousins

“Be fanatically positive and militantly optimistic. If something is not to your liking, change your liking.”

Rick Steves

“No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.”

Helen Keller

“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.”

Noam Chomsky

“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.”

Lucille Ball

“An optimist understands that life can be a bumpy road, but at least it is leading somewhere. They learn from mistakes and failures, and are not afraid to fail again.”

Harvey Mackay

“Optimism is a kind of heart stimulant―the digitalis of failure.”

Elbert Hubbard

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

John Wooden

“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.”

Benjamin Franklin

“Optimism refuses to believe that the road ends without options.”

Robert H. Schuller

“What is hope but a feeling of optimism, a thought that says things will improve, it won’t always be bleak [and] there’s a way to rise above the present circumstances.”

Wayne W. Dyer

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Winston Churchill

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

Martin Luther

Quotes can be fantastic motivators, but you probably agree that a rousing speech or inspiring video can be even more effective.

Check out these TED Talks and YouTube videos on positive thinking when you need a boost.

Jim Rohn’s A Positive Attitude Attracts Success

Brendon Burchard’s How to Reprogram Your Mind (for Positive Thinking)

Carol Dweck’s TED Talk The Power of Believing That You Can Improve

Shawn Achor’s TED Talk The Happy Secret to Better Work

If you’re more of a fan of books than videos, never fear—we’ve got book recommendations too!

Here are just a few of the many books on developing a positive mindset:

• Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment by Martin E. P. Seligman ( Amazon )
• Attitude: Your Most Priceless Possession by Elwood N. Chapman ( Amazon )
• The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life by Shawn Achor ( Amazon )
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck ( Amazon )
• Getting Back to Happy: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Reality, and Turn Your Trials into Triumphs by March Chernoff and Angel Chernoff ( Amazon )
• Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life by Martin E. P. Seligman ( Amazon )
• Mindset: How Positive Thinking Will Set You Free & Help You Achieve Massive Success in Life by Benjamin Smith ( Amazon )
• Hard Optimism: How to Succeed in a World Where Positive Wins by Price Pritchett ( Amazon )

17 Top-Rated Positive Psychology Exercises for Practitioners

Expand your arsenal and impact with these 17 Positive Psychology Exercises [PDF] , scientifically designed to promote human flourishing, meaning, and wellbeing.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

If you’re still with me after this very long read, thanks for sticking with it! I hope you will find that the time invested in reading this piece was worth the information you gleaned from it.

The one takeaway from this piece that I really hope sticks with you is this: Positive thinking is a powerful tool that can result in a lot of benefits for you and those around you; however, thinking positive 100% of the time is unrealistic and could even be disastrous.

We have a lot of different emotions and thoughts, and we have such a wide variety for a reason. There are times when being a bit pessimistic can help us, and it is a good idea to let out the negative emotions you experience once in a while (especially if the alternative is bottling them up).

If you’re an optimist by nature, cultivate gratitude for your inherent positivity, but make sure you don’t push aside the negative feelings that crop up. They’re part of life too.

If you’re a pessimist by nature, don’t despair of ever thinking positively. Try a few of the techniques that seem most applicable and give yourself a break if it takes some time. Remember, the goal is not to become a “ Pollyanna ,” but to become the best version of yourself that you can be and maintain a healthy and happy mental state.

How do you feel about the positivity movement? Are you naturally optimistic, pessimistic, or somewhere in between? Do you have any thoughts about how to cultivate a positive mindset? Let us know in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading, and best of luck in developing a positive mindset!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

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• Fischer, K. (2016). Can a positive attitude help defeat cancer? Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health-news/can-positive-attitude-help-defeat-cancer#1
• Fahrenwald, N. L., Bassett, S. D., Tschetter, L., Carson, P. P., White, L., & Winterboer, V. J. (2005). Teaching core nursing values. Journal of Professional Nursing, 21, 46-51.
• Fredrickson, B. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotion s. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 359, 1367-1378.
• Hannah, S. T., Woolfolk, R. L., & Lord, R. G. (2009). Leader self-structure: A framework for positive leadership. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30, 269-290.
• Harding, S. (2016). 10 activities to encourage a positive attitude in our kids. Rediscovered Families. Retrieved from https://rediscoveredfamilies.com/positive-attitude/
• Jarrow, C. (2012). 21 ways to define a positive attitude. Time Management Ninja. Retrieved from https://timemanagementninja.com/2012/02/21-ways-to-define-a-positive-attitude/
• Lipman, V. (2017). Why a positive mindset is a manager’s indispensable ally. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2017/10/12/why-a-positive-mindset-is-a-managers-indispensable-ally/#39c5269f4425
• Lukovski, Z. (2015). 10 positive thinking exercises & activities that will change your life. Enlightenment Portal. Retrieved from http://enlightenmentportal.com/development/positive-thinking-exercises-and-activities/
• Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855.
• Mayo Clinic Staff. (2017). Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress. Mayo Clinic Healthy Lifestyle. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950
• Mind Tools Content Team. (n.d.). Using affirmations: Harnessing positive thinking. Mind Tools. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/affirmations.htm
• Mitchell, K. (2017). 15 positive thinking exercises & activities to transform your life. Thought Catalog. Retrieved from https://thoughtcatalog.com/kathy-mitchell/2017/03/15-positive-thinking-exercises-activities-to-transform-your-life/
• O’Baugh, J., Wilkes, L. M., Luke, S., & George, A. (2003). ‘Being positive’: Perceptions of patients with cancer and their nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 44 , 262-270.
• Osborne, M. (2017). Positive thinking games. Live Strong. Retrieved from https://www.livestrong.com/article/14685-goal-setting-in-relationships/
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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! Is it possible for you to check out my essay? If not, it’s okay. I hope you take care and thank you so much for providing the best IELTS lessons for free!

Recently, many people have preferred to meet with others online rather than in person. In my opinion, this is a negative development that could lead to isolation and being dependent on technology.

One serious problem that arises from people preferring to socialize online is isolation. This is because they are glued to their screens most of the time, ignoring their surroundings and the people near them. There is no spare time to bond with family and friends in person, which leads to feeling left out and alone. For example, going outdoors with friends for a simple walk or doing sports can have a positive impact on a person’s mood. However, they find it difficult to stop meeting people online since hiding behind their screens gives them a false sense of identity, which results in fake confidence and online dependency.

Another issue that stems from talking and meeting people on the internet is becoming dependent on technology. If their computers, laptops, or phones break one day, they do not know how to interact in person since they are used to communicating online. For example, they cannot express their feelings well in person compared to typing what they want to say. There is no healthy balance between socializing online and offline which has its own consequences.

In conclusion, the internet is being used recently to communicate with people more often than in person. Problems arise from this such as being isolated from family and friends who are near and turning to technology as the only means of socialization. There should be a healthy balance between spending time with people that you love offline and interacting online.

My website isn’t aimed at providing feedback but I will make a quick comment so that you and others can learn more. You have excellent English and the potential to really nail IELTS. Be careful of having a conclusion longer than your introduction. It is usually shorter than the introduction. So, pay attention to that in my model essays on this website. You can find more model essays on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ .

However, there is a more serious problem with a lack of direction in your body paragraphs and disconnected supporting points. Your topic sentence said that your main point was about isolation. But then you talk about having no time for people and ignoring surroundings (those two points aren’t actually directly connected to isolation which is your main point). You can see the connection in your own mind, but you haven’t connected these points to in writing inside the sentence. IELTS isn’t just about having ideas, it’s about connecting those ideas and presenting them according to IELTS band score requirements.

1) ignoring surroundings….”Socialising online not only isolates people from each other, but also isolates people from the outside world. In other words, the lack of time people spend being outside in nature because they are glued to their gadgets has a huge impact on their mental health which can lead to depression and other chronic illnesses.”

– As you see, I’ve now connected the idea of the outside world to the main point which is isolation.

IELTS writing isn’t just about good English. It’s 50% about writing skills and techniques for IELTS. Now you know how you must improve to hit band 8 or 8.5 or even 9. Either review my free model essays (link above) or get my advanced lessons to help you focus: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/ .

I really appreciate your feedback Liz. You give me more motivation for my exam. You are such a wonderful person. Again, thank you!

I have my exam in four day’s time, could you please check my response and provide me a score to the essay question.

In today’s world, people are preferring to socialize online as compared to meet each other like earlier days. In my opinion, it is a negative development as both the persons involved in socialization can get misguided, addicted and develop trust issues.

Misguidance can occur in myriad ways. An imposter can post a fake profile, a fake photo or even a fake description which can misguide the person socializing on the internet. As internet is open to people of varying age groups, young children being at tender age and easily gullible are influenced easily. Their ability to challenge is not formed and are at age where they refuse to listen to their elders making them even more vulnerable.

The other issue with socializing online is addiction to the internet and harming one’s own health. There has been a trend where children are always glued to the screens. This has not only affected their physical health but also mental health. Their ability to use own brain and take part in various activity has been significantly reduced making them a ‘couch potato’. Young children are getting obese and are acquiring lifestyle diseases.

To resolve the growing issue of people socializing online than offline, children should be encouraged from an early age to do a physical activity and an environment should be created for them to adopt a hobby where they direct their energies. Parents should also take an active part in child’s growth and the discipling should not be left to television or screens.

Just a few quick points: 1) you mentioned three reasons why it is negative in your introduction, but had only two main points for body paragraphs. This will lower your score. The points you mention in the thesis must reflect your body paragraphs which cover each point. This usually means you wrote your introduction before you planned your body paragraphs and supporting points. Never write one word until your whole essay is fully planned. 2) you lack a conclusion which will be a huge problem for your band score. Putting solutions in a final paragraph when the task never asked for solutions anyway, does not count as a conclusion. Your conclusion must summarise your main points. I strongly suggest you get my advanced writing task 2 lessons and learn the right way to tackle IELTS essays. There’s a discount on for the next few days: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

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/

Dear Liz, first of all, many thanks for the countless effort you’ve put into the content of this website! I’m a bit confused about the ”positive or negative development” subtype of essay: your advanced material catalogues this kind of question as being another variant of advantages and disadvantages; however, in the aforementioned example you’ve made it pretty clear on which side of the fence you at. I can’t figure out why then an opinion essay backbone was used here instead of the regular A vs D model? Fair wind to all the candidates!

This is definitely not an essay similar to “what are the advantages and disadvantages?”. That essay requires no opinion at all. The essay “Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages” is an essay which does require an opinion and so does the positive negative essay – but they are not the same essay type. They are different, even though they both require an answer based on your personal opinion. The essay “Is this a positive or negative development” is one that I call a direct question essay and I don’t have an advanced lesson for it yet, but I will be making one soon.

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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How to Write a Positive or Negative Development IELTS Essay

Posted by David S. Wills | Nov 22, 2021 | IELTS Tips , Writing | 0

In task 2 of the IELTS writing test, you could be asked to write a positive or negative development essay . This article will explain how to analyse the question, plan your answer, and then write an essay that can score you at least band 7.

What is a Positive or Negative Development IELTS Essay?

There are different kinds of question in task 2 of the IELTS writing test, but one of them will give you a statement and then say something like “Is this a positive or negative development?” In a sense, then, it is a form of opinion essay.

Here is an example:

Today, more people are waiting until their thirties to get married and have children. Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

This kind of question is quite simple because you are given a development (that more people now wait to have children) and you must decide whether that is positive or negative . There is nothing tricky about this.

Still, it is worth mentioning a few things because people often make mistakes with this sort of question:

• This is not a discussion essay , so you do not have to give a balanced answer
• If you say “this is a very negative development,” then don’t explain the positives
• Once you have given your answer, you should try to justify your perspective

Analysing the Question

Let’s consider the above question a little more closely. You must decide whether it is a positive or negative development that people now wait until their thirties to get married and have children. Thus, we can essentially have three possible answers:

• It is a positive development.
• It is a negative development.
• It is neither wholly positive nor negative.

I strongly recommend that you choose an approach that allows you to develop your answers clearly and convincingly. By that, I mean you should decide to give the answer that allows you to present good ideas and then justify them. Take a minute or two to figure this out before you begin properly planning and writing your essay.

For example:

When you look at these ideas, which ones do you think would be the easiest to develop? There is no correct answer here – it is totally up to you .

Remember that for a good score in Task Response and Coherence and Cohesion , you must develop your ideas and sequence them logically. Thus, choose carefully at this stage.

If you have trouble generating ideas , then you can research different topics in preparation for your essay by looking online. For example, here we are discussing having babies at an older age, so we might look for news articles and then take ideas and vocabulary from there. Here is an article from Forbes about why millennial women are waiting longer to have children. Here is one from The Guardian about waiting until you’re in your fifties! Remember: Good writers read a lot.

How to Structure a Positive or Negative Development IELTS Essay

There is no perfect way to structure an IELTS essay, but there are good ways and bad ways. I strongly recommend writing four paragraphs and making sure that each paragraph has a single focus. For a positive/negative development essay, it would be a good idea to pick two main arguments in support of your view, then provide them as the focus of each body paragraph.

That’s pretty simple, right?

Mistakes that people make here include:

• Putting too many ideas into each paragraph
• Feeling that they have to give balance
• Providing an unclear position

The best approach to IELTS is keeping things simple. I cannot stress enough that overcomplicating an issue is a bad idea . Thus, using the above structures is a really effective way to produce a great essay that is capable of achieving at least band 7.

Keep in mind that approach #3 (neither wholly positive nor negative) is naturally going to be a little more complicated than the others. If you are not confident in your ability to structure an essay, you might want to avoid this one.

Personally, I feel that this issue is not purely positive or negative, so I would choose the third option. Here is my sample answer.

Sample Band 9 Answer

While in previous generations it was normal for people to get married and start a family at a very young age, nowadays people tend to wait until they are in their thirties. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this development, and so this essay will explain why it is neither a wholly positive nor negative trend.

Traditionally, people would get married and settle down at a very young age because life expectancies were short and there were also few other options available to most people. Nowadays, with people expected to live into their seventies or eighties, it is reasonable to wait until later to get married and have children. This allows people to develop more prior to starting a serious relationship or embarking on the journey of parenthood. They can gain an education, see the world, find out more about themselves, and even have the sort of fun experiences that are difficult in the midst of parental responsibility.

However, it could also be argued that people are naturally inclined to settle down earlier. The human body has evolved over millions of years to reproduce at an early age and, when people try to have children later, it often ends in failure or even with birth defects. Therefore, perhaps it is more reasonable to settle down and do this at an earlier age, and then the parents can enjoy more freedom once their children have grown up and left home. In terms of love, people who meet later might also feel a sense of regret that they did not share their younger years as this is a special time when life can be more eventful and passionate.

In conclusion, there are both advantages and disadvantages to settling down early, and it is really just a personal choice that will suit different people in different ways.

Notes on the Answer

You may look at this and think, “But that’s an advantages and disadvantages essay …” Well, it certainly looks like it because I have used the phrase “advantages and disadvantages” twice! However, I have made it clear that it is about the positive vs negative issue and that my position is that it cannot be said to be either of them.

For me, this allows an in-depth discussion that gives nuance and allows me to show my critical thinking skills to the examiner. One thing to avoid, though, is cramming too many ideas into each paragraph, which can be a big problem with balanced essays like this.

Another Sample Essay

Ok, let’s take another look so that we can get an idea of how to give a straightforward answer.

Here’s the question:

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

And here’s my answer:

In the twenty-first century, the internet is changing the way that people socialise. Where we used to talk face-to-face, now we tend to use different types of technology to communicate. This essay will argue that it is a positive development.

The first reason why this is positive is that humans have always adapted in order to communicate more efficiently. In fact, our ability to communicate well has led us to be the most sophisticated and powerful animal on the planet. We have developed thousands of complex languages, then learned to write them down, and in the last few hundred years we have discovered printing and telephones. Now that we have the internet, our communication skills are becoming even greater as a species, and it is hard to see why that could be a negative development.

Furthermore, the internet has allowed people from all over the world to interact with each other. Rather than speak only with our immediate friends and family, or our social or national group, we can now speak with people from anywhere, and the communication is instant. This allows us to break down traditional cultural barriers and will hopefully lead to a worldwide decline in prejudice and hatred. This is an unprecedented development in world history, and one that I think is going to make largely positive changes for all humankind.

In conclusion, the switch from face-to-face to online communication is not a negative development in human history; instead, it allows us to communicate better and interact with other people from different backgrounds.

My position was clear throughout the essay, which is really important. I started by using this easy phrase:

• This essay will argue that it is a positive development.

I then transitioned nicely into the next paragraph by saying:

• The first reason why this is positive is that…

I built up my argument convincingly throughout that paragraph, then switched to my second argument with:

• Furthermore…

Again, that paragraph built up a nice argument, and this time is reached a sort of summary sentence:

• This is an unprecedented development in world history, and one that I think is going to make largely positive changes for all humankind.

That led naturally into the conclusion, which reaffirmed my position.

About The Author

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

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Essay On Positive Thinking: IELTS Practice Samples

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Updated on 13 April, 2023

Mrinal Mandal

Study abroad expert.

The International English Language System or IELTS exam aims to test the exam taker based on their English language proficiency. There are multiple sections– Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking in the exam to check the different levels of the English language.

Out of these sections, it can get complicated for students to cope with the writing section since it requires practice and skill. Going through some sample answers  on positive thinking and other common questions is a great way to better your chances of scoring well in the exam.

Table of Contents

Q: what is your take on positive thinking, do you believe in positive thinking, frequently asked questions, important ielts exam resources, essay on positive thinking: samples.

Are you an optimistic thinker, or do you have a pessimistic approach to life? 

This might sound like a simple question, but the answer is not easy. Sometimes life is harsh and unfair, and all you gather are negative thoughts that can push you to only think of the bad outcomes. 

But as the common saying goes, sometimes, when life gives you lemons, you have no choice but to make the best lemonade. So, facing a difficulty doesn't mean you go through it smiling and without a speck of doubt. Instead, it means that even with those negative thoughts, you do not give up your courage and will to fight the situation. 

This is not the same as adopting toxic positivity. I remember my school teacher saying, 'Don't cry; crying makes you appear weak.' This thought and sentiment ruled most of my teenage life. However, now as an adult, I understand that the key to positive thinking lies in being open to negativity and, most importantly, accepting your negative emotions.

Having said that, you must try to look at the brighter side of the situation along with managing your negative emotions. Sometimes, you might not see a brighter side; you should know it most often always exists. So, be open, embrace your failure and negative emotions, and realize genuine positivity lies in seeing the good no matter how low you feel.

Word count: 231

Tentative Band Score: 6.5

Read More Essay Samples For IELTS :

I have always believed that we must be positive in all situations, irrespective of our surroundings and the probable outcomes. Seeing life through pink glasses is the answer to a happy life, and that is how one should lead it. Over the years, I realized that sitting in a pool of negativity has only attracted more of it towards me and my life. On the other hand, trying to have a positive mindset is a way better solution to dealing with your problems.

But how can you do that? 

Studies say that the number one cause of negative thoughts and depression is not being active and having a sedentary lifestyle. So, in simple terms, if you want to be happy, try to engage in some dance form or exercise. Sometimes even a walk in the park can go a long way in lifting your mood and allowing you to think positively.

Secondly, positive thinking is a mindset that you need to build yourself. It is not easy to find goodness in a challenging situation or during a gloomy period of your life. Once you try getting into the habit of doing so, you will be better trained to handle a tricky situation. 

So, from now on, whenever you feel you are stuck and in a low phase, try to look at the positives. You can also list things you are grateful for to feel better and pumped about your life. Additionally, participating in hobbies and listening to the songs you love is a great habit of increasing the serotonin or happy hormones in the body and making you indulge in positive thinking.

Word count: 272

Explore More Resources About IELTS Essay:

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Do you think our environment defines whether you think positively or not?

Our environment can define our thinking to a certain extent. One's personality or outlook on life usually brings in positive or negative thinking. A person who thinks positively will continue to do so even in the most challenging situations. On the other hand, a depressed person will still be sad on the most eventful day of their life. 

Having said that, however, if exposed to a negative environment for too long, one might be influenced to think negatively.

Have you tried any methods to indulge in positive thinking?

Trying to be grateful for everything in your life is an excellent step toward positive thinking. Sometimes we don't understand how blessed we are or ignore the little things that bring us happiness. But reflecting on the same will most often make you feel much better.

IELTS Exam Overview

IELTS is required to be taken by international students and workers who wish to study or work in a country where English is the primary language of communication. Know the complete details.

IELTS Exam Syllabus

With the right knowledge of the IELTS exam syllabus and pattern, cracking the popular English test won’t be difficult.

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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

IELTS Academic writing is meant for students who are applying for top-ranked universities and colleges in English-speaking countries. The writing task one is an academic summary writing based on diagrammatic and graphical representation.

• IELTS Writing Task 2

Writing Task 2 is the second part of the writing section of IELTS, where aspirants are presented with a point of view, argument, or problem and asked to write an essay in response to the question.

Writing Task 1 IELTS

In IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 starts with a diagram, a visual representation of information. It can be a table, map, graph, process, diagram, or picture.

IELTS Essay Samples

The essay for IELTS is part of Writing Task 2. It is the same for the General Training and Academic of the IELTS. You will get a topic and have to write an essay on the same.

IELTS Cue Cards

The IELTS speaking cue cards come into play for the second part when the candidate will be choosing cue cards and then speaking on a topic for two minutes at least.

Important Exams

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Managing Negative Thinking Reflective Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Stages of change model.

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.

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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Positive And Negative Thinking

Positive and negative thinking are two distinct mindsets that greatly influence our perceptions, emotions, and actions. The way we perceive the world around us, interpret events, and respond to challenges is deeply rooted in whether we tend towards positive or negative thinking. While positive thinking often leads to resilience, optimism, and growth, negative thinking can foster pessimism, anxiety, and stagnation. Understanding the dynamics between these two mindsets is crucial for personal development and overall well-being.

Positive thinking is characterized by an optimistic outlook on life and the belief that challenges can be overcome with effort and perseverance. Individuals who adopt a positive mindset tend to focus on solutions rather than dwelling on problems. They approach setbacks as opportunities for growth and learning, viewing failures as temporary setbacks rather than insurmountable obstacles. This optimistic perspective not only enhances resilience but also boosts self-confidence and motivation, leading to greater success in various aspects of life.

Conversely, negative thinking involves a pessimistic view of the world and a tendency to dwell on shortcomings and failures. Those who habitually engage in negative thinking often perceive challenges as threats and setbacks as confirmation of their inadequacy. This mindset can fuel feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and low self-esteem, hindering personal growth and undermining overall well-being. Negative thinking can create a self-perpetuating cycle where pessimistic beliefs lead to negative outcomes, reinforcing the belief in one's inability to overcome obstacles.

The impact of positive and negative thinking extends beyond individual well-being to affect interpersonal relationships, work performance, and overall quality of life. Positive thinkers tend to exude optimism and enthusiasm, attracting others with their positive energy and resilience. They are more likely to build strong social connections and navigate conflicts constructively, fostering a supportive environment conducive to growth and collaboration. On the other hand, negative thinkers may struggle in interpersonal relationships, as their pessimistic outlook can create tension and distance, leading to isolation and alienation.

In conclusion, positive and negative thinking are powerful forces that shape our perceptions, emotions, and behaviors. While positive thinking fosters resilience, optimism, and personal growth, negative thinking can lead to pessimism, anxiety, and stagnation. Cultivating a positive mindset involves consciously challenging negative thoughts, focusing on solutions, and maintaining an optimistic outlook on life. By fostering a positive mindset, individuals can enhance their well-being, relationships, and overall quality of life.

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Psychology : Positive And Negative Psychology

Psychology is a multifaceted field that encompasses both positive and negative aspects of human behavior and mental processes. Positive psychology focuses on the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive, while negative psychology delves into the darker aspects of human nature such as mental illness and maladaptive behaviors. Positive psychology emphasizes the importance of cultivating positive emotions, such as happiness, gratitude, and optimism, in order to enhance overall well-being. By focusing on what is going right in a person's life, positive psychology aims to promote resilience and psychological growth. This approach encourages individuals to build on their strengths and develop a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives. On the other hand, negative psychology explores the causes and consequences of mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and addiction. By studying the factors that contribute to these negative outcomes, psychologists can develop interventions to help individuals overcome their challenges and improve their quality of life. Negative psychology also examines the impact of trauma and stress on mental health, highlighting the importance of early intervention and support for those in need. While positive psychology offers a hopeful and optimistic view of human nature, negative psychology provides a realistic and sometimes harsh perspective on the struggles that individuals face. Both approaches are essential for a comprehensive understanding of human behavior and mental health. By integrating the insights from both positive and negative psychology, psychologists can develop more effective interventions and treatments to help individuals lead happier and healthier lives. In conclusion, psychology encompasses both positive and negative aspects of human behavior and mental processes. By studying the strengths and virtues that enable individuals to thrive, as well as the challenges and obstacles they face, psychologists can gain a deeper understanding of the human experience. By embracing both the light and dark sides of human nature, psychologists can help individuals navigate life's ups and downs with resilience and compassion....

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Positive And Negative Reinforcement In The Classroom Analysis

Positive and negative reinforcement are two common strategies used by teachers in the classroom to encourage desired behavior and discourage unwanted behavior. Positive reinforcement involves providing a reward or praise when a student exhibits a desired behavior, while negative reinforcement involves removing a negative consequence when a student exhibits a desired behavior. Both strategies can be effective in shaping student behavior, but they have different impacts on students and should be used thoughtfully by teachers. Positive reinforcement is a powerful tool for motivating students and encouraging them to engage in desired behaviors. When students receive praise, rewards, or other positive consequences for their actions, they are more likely to repeat those actions in the future. For example, a teacher may praise a student for completing their homework on time, which encourages the student to continue completing their homework in a timely manner. Positive reinforcement helps to build students' self-esteem and confidence, as they receive recognition for their efforts and achievements. On the other hand, negative reinforcement involves removing a negative consequence when a student exhibits a desired behavior. This can be effective in motivating students to change their behavior in order to avoid a negative consequence. For example, a teacher may allow a student to skip a homework assignment if they participate actively in class discussions. By removing the negative consequence of having to complete the homework, the teacher is reinforcing the desired behavior of active participation in class. While both positive and negative reinforcement can be effective in shaping student behavior, it is important for teachers to use these strategies carefully and thoughtfully. Over-reliance on negative reinforcement can lead to students feeling anxious or demotivated, as they are constantly focused on avoiding negative consequences. On the other hand, excessive use of positive reinforcement can lead to students becoming dependent on external rewards for motivation, rather than developing intrinsic motivation for learning. In conclusion, positive and negative reinforcement are valuable tools for teachers to use in the classroom to encourage desired behaviors and discourage unwanted behaviors. By using a combination of both strategies thoughtfully and consistently, teachers can create a positive and supportive learning environment that promotes student engagement and success. It is important for teachers to consider the individual needs and motivations of their students when implementing reinforcement strategies, in order to create a balanced and effective approach to behavior management in the classroom....

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Positive And Negative Effects Of Electromagnetic Radiation

Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy that is all around us, coming from various sources such as the sun, electronic devices, and even the earth itself. While it plays a crucial role in our daily lives, there are both positive and negative effects associated with exposure to electromagnetic radiation. On the positive side, electromagnetic radiation is essential for various technologies that have revolutionized the way we live. For example, radio waves are used for communication, allowing us to stay connected with loved ones and access information from around the world. Additionally, microwaves are used in cooking, making meal preparation faster and more convenient. Without electromagnetic radiation, many of the conveniences we take for granted today would not be possible. However, there are also negative effects of electromagnetic radiation that cannot be ignored. Prolonged exposure to high levels of electromagnetic radiation, such as that emitted by cell phones and Wi-Fi routers, has been linked to health issues such as headaches, fatigue, and even cancer. Furthermore, some studies suggest that electromagnetic radiation may disrupt sleep patterns and contribute to anxiety and depression. As our reliance on technology continues to grow, so does our exposure to electromagnetic radiation, raising concerns about its long-term effects on our health. In conclusion, while electromagnetic radiation has brought about many benefits in terms of technological advancements, it is important to be aware of the potential negative effects it can have on our health. By taking steps to limit our exposure to sources of electromagnetic radiation, such as using devices at a safe distance and turning them off when not in use, we can mitigate some of the risks associated with this form of energy. Ultimately, striking a balance between reaping the benefits of electromagnetic radiation and protecting ourselves from its harmful effects is key to maintaining a healthy and sustainable lifestyle in our modern, technology-driven world....

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Positive And Negative Attitudes Of Eugenics

Eugenics is a controversial topic that has sparked debates for decades. The concept of eugenics revolves around the idea of improving the genetic quality of the human population through selective breeding. While some proponents argue that eugenics can lead to a healthier and more intelligent society, others believe that it is a dangerous and unethical practice that can lead to discrimination and human rights violations. On the positive side, supporters of eugenics argue that by selectively breeding individuals with desirable traits, such as intelligence, athleticism, and good health, we can create a stronger and more resilient population. They believe that by eliminating genetic diseases and predispositions, we can improve the overall well-being of society. Proponents also argue that eugenics can lead to advancements in medical research and technology, ultimately benefiting humanity as a whole. However, the negative attitudes towards eugenics are rooted in the potential for abuse and discrimination. Critics argue that eugenics can lead to the devaluation of human life and the promotion of a eugenic elite, where only those with desirable traits are deemed worthy of existence. This can result in the marginalization and oppression of individuals who do not fit the eugenic ideal, leading to a society that is based on exclusion and inequality. Furthermore, the history of eugenics is tainted with examples of forced sterilization, euthanasia, and genocide, such as the atrocities committed by the Nazis during World War II. These extreme measures highlight the dangers of allowing eugenic principles to dictate social policies and practices. It is essential to recognize the ethical implications of eugenics and to approach the topic with caution and skepticism. In conclusion, the attitudes towards eugenics are complex and multifaceted, with both positive and negative aspects to consider. While some argue that eugenics can lead to a healthier and more prosperous society, others caution against the potential for abuse and discrimination. It is crucial to approach the topic of eugenics with a critical eye and to consider the ethical implications of implementing eugenic practices in society. Ultimately, the debate surrounding eugenics serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding human rights and dignity in the face of scientific advancements....

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Positive And Negative Stereotypes Among Community College Students Essay

Community colleges play a pivotal role in higher education, offering accessible pathways to academic and professional success for a diverse range of students. However, within the realm of community colleges, there exist both positive and negative stereotypes that can shape perceptions and experiences. These stereotypes, while often rooted in societal biases, can significantly impact individuals' educational journeys and the overall culture of these institutions. One prevalent positive stereotype associated with community colleges is their reputation for fostering inclusivity and diversity. Unlike traditional four-year universities, community colleges often attract a more diverse student body, including individuals from various socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, and cultural identities. This diversity enriches the learning environment, providing students with opportunities to engage with peers from different walks of life and gain valuable perspectives. Additionally, community colleges are celebrated for their flexible scheduling options and affordable tuition rates, making higher education accessible to individuals who may face barriers in pursuing a degree. On the flip side, community colleges also contend with negative stereotypes that can undermine their reputation and hinder student success. One such stereotype is the perception of community colleges as inferior institutions compared to four-year universities. This misconception stems from outdated beliefs about the quality of education offered at these institutions and ignores the many success stories of community college graduates who have gone on to achieve notable accomplishments in their careers. Furthermore, negative stereotypes may contribute to feelings of stigma and self-doubt among students, potentially impacting their academic performance and sense of belonging within the college community. Moreover, another negative stereotype associated with community colleges is the assumption that they primarily serve students who are academically underprepared or unable to gain admission to traditional universities. While community colleges do provide essential academic support services for students who may need extra assistance, they also attract high-achieving individuals seeking to save money on tuition costs or explore their academic interests before transferring to a four-year institution. Dismissing community colleges as a last resort undermines the valuable role they play in higher education and overlooks the diverse aspirations and goals of their student body. In conclusion, positive and negative stereotypes coexist within the realm of community colleges, shaping perceptions and influencing individuals' experiences. While positive stereotypes highlight the inclusivity and affordability of these institutions, negative stereotypes perpetuate misconceptions about their academic quality and student demographics. It is essential to challenge these stereotypes and recognize the valuable contributions that community colleges make to the educational landscape, providing opportunities for personal and professional growth to students from all walks of life....

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Positive And Negative Effects Of Having Siblings

Having siblings can significantly impact individuals' lives, influencing their development, social skills, and overall well-being. Both positive and negative effects emerge from the dynamics of sibling relationships, shaping individuals' personalities and interactions with others. One of the primary positive effects of having siblings is the opportunity for companionship and emotional support. Siblings often form deep bonds that last a lifetime, providing a sense of belonging and security. This companionship can be particularly beneficial during challenging times, offering a source of comfort and understanding that may not be easily found elsewhere. Additionally, siblings can serve as confidants, offering advice and perspective on various aspects of life. Moreover, having siblings can foster important social skills and emotional intelligence. Interacting with siblings requires negotiation, compromise, and empathy, which are essential skills for navigating relationships in both personal and professional contexts. Siblings learn to share, cooperate, and resolve conflicts, laying the groundwork for healthy interpersonal relationships throughout their lives. These experiences also contribute to the development of empathy and compassion, as individuals learn to understand and consider the perspectives of others. However, sibling relationships are not without their challenges, and there can be negative effects associated with having siblings. One common issue is sibling rivalry, which can manifest in various forms, such as competition for attention, jealousy, and resentment. Sibling rivalry can lead to conflict and tension within the family dynamic, causing stress and emotional strain for all involved. Moreover, unresolved conflicts or unresolved issues between siblings can persist into adulthood, potentially impacting their relationships and mental well-being. Furthermore, birth order can also play a significant role in shaping sibling dynamics and individual personalities. First-born children may assume leadership roles and exhibit traits of responsibility and independence, while younger siblings may develop traits of adaptability and sociability. However, these roles and dynamics can also lead to feelings of pressure or resentment, particularly if they feel unfairly compared to their siblings or overshadowed by their accomplishments. In conclusion, having siblings can have both positive and negative effects on individuals' lives. While sibling relationships can provide companionship, support, and opportunities for social and emotional growth, they can also present challenges such as rivalry and conflict. Understanding and navigating the dynamics of sibling relationships is essential for fostering healthy and fulfilling familial bonds....

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The Positive And Negative Consequences Of The New Deal

The Positive And Negative Consequences Of The Digital Revolution The digital revolution, characterized by the rapid advancement of technology and the widespread adoption of digital tools and platforms, has brought about significant changes to nearly every aspect of modern society. From communication and entertainment to commerce and education, the impact of the digital revolution is profound and multifaceted, with both positive and negative consequences. One of the most notable positive consequences of the digital revolution is the unprecedented access to information and knowledge. The internet, in particular, has democratized information, allowing people from all walks of life to access a wealth of resources at their fingertips. This has empowered individuals to educate themselves on a wide range of topics, fostering lifelong learning and intellectual growth. Furthermore, the digital revolution has facilitated global connectivity, breaking down geographical barriers and enabling collaboration and communication on a scale never before possible. Through social media platforms and online communities, people can connect with others who share their interests and experiences, fostering a sense of belonging and facilitating the exchange of ideas. However, alongside these positive outcomes, the digital revolution has also brought about negative consequences that warrant consideration. One such consequence is the erosion of privacy in the digital age. With the proliferation of data collection and surveillance technologies, individuals are increasingly vulnerable to invasions of their privacy, whether through targeted advertising, data breaches, or government surveillance. This loss of privacy can have far-reaching implications for individuals' autonomy and freedom, raising concerns about surveillance capitalism and the potential for abuse of power by both corporations and governments. Another negative consequence of the digital revolution is the exacerbation of inequality. While digital technologies have the potential to level the playing field and create opportunities for socio-economic advancement, they can also widen existing disparities. The digital divide, referring to the gap between those who have access to digital technologies and those who do not, remains a persistent issue, particularly in marginalized communities and developing countries. Moreover, the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few tech giants has led to concerns about monopolistic practices and the erosion of competition, further entrenching inequalities in the digital economy. In conclusion, the digital revolution has brought about both positive and negative consequences that shape the fabric of modern society. While it has democratized access to information, facilitated global connectivity, and spurred innovation, it has also raised concerns about privacy, inequality, and the concentration of power. As we navigate the opportunities and challenges of the digital age, it is essential to critically examine these consequences and work towards harnessing the potential of technology for the benefit of all....

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Positive And Negative Effects Of Prohibition

Prohibition, enacted in the United States from 1920 to 1933, was a nationwide ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. It was an ambitious social experiment aimed at curbing the perceived negative impacts of alcohol consumption on society. While Prohibition had several intended positive effects, such as reducing crime rates and promoting public health, it also led to unintended consequences, including the rise of organized crime and the proliferation of illegal alcohol production and distribution networks. One of the primary positive effects of Prohibition was the decrease in alcohol consumption, particularly among heavy drinkers. With the legal sale of alcohol banned, many individuals either abstained from drinking altogether or significantly reduced their alcohol intake. This decline in alcohol consumption contributed to improvements in public health, as excessive alcohol consumption had been linked to various health problems, including liver disease, alcohol poisoning, and accidents. Furthermore, Prohibition was intended to reduce crime rates by eliminating the illegal alcohol trade. However, the reality was quite different. Instead of curbing crime, Prohibition inadvertently fueled the rise of organized crime syndicates, such as the notorious Chicago Outfit led by Al Capone. These criminal organizations capitalized on the lucrative black market for alcohol, engaging in bootlegging, smuggling, and violent turf wars to control the illicit trade. As a result, crime rates actually soared during the Prohibition era, undermining one of its primary objectives. Moreover, Prohibition had significant social and economic consequences. The ban on alcohol production and sales led to the loss of jobs in industries related to brewing, distilling, and hospitality. Many breweries and distilleries were forced to close their doors, and thousands of workers were left unemployed. Additionally, the illegal production and distribution of alcohol gave rise to widespread corruption within law enforcement agencies and government institutions, as bootleggers and speakeasy operators bribed officials to turn a blind eye to their activities. In conclusion, Prohibition had both positive and negative effects on American society. While it succeeded in reducing alcohol consumption and promoting public health to some extent, it also fueled organized crime, increased crime rates, and had adverse social and economic impacts. Ultimately, the experiment with Prohibition demonstrated the limitations of using legislative measures to regulate social behavior and highlighted the importance of considering the unintended consequences of sweeping policy changes....

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IELTS Task 2 Question Types: Positive Negative Development

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I have collected here a variety of positive or negative development question task types from the real IELTS test.

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In many countries nowadays, consumers can go to a supermarket and buy food produced all over the world.

Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

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Nowadays, there is more and more competition for getting into university.

Is this a positive or negative development?

In many societies, there is a growing emphasis on individualism, with people prioritizing their personal goals and desires over collective interests.

Is this is a positive or negative development?

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Around the world, rural people are moving to cities and urban areas, so populations in the countryside are decreasing .

Fossil fuels are the main source of energy around the world today. In some countries, the use of alternative sources of energy is replacing fossil fuels. 

Today, many people use the internet and smartphones to transfer money to friends, family, and businesses.

Nowadays, an increasing number of people with health problems are using alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their normal doctor.

Many cities are now turning parks and farmland into new housing developments.

Many supermarkets are selling more and more products that are imported from other countries instead of selling food that is locally sourced.

What are the reasons for this?

Many people put their personal information online (address, telephone number, and so on) for purposes such as signing up for social networks or online banking.

Read my sample answer here.

Nowadays some older people choose to live in retirement communities and centers with other people, rather than living with their adult children.

Film stars and celebrities often share their views on public matters that have little to do with their profession.

Some countries import a large amount of food from other parts of the world.

To what extent is this a postive or negative trend?

Many people nowadays tend to marry and have children in their thirties rather than at a younger age.

Some countries invest in specialized sports facilities for top athletes but not for the average people.

The number of people who are interested in and wearing fashionable clothes is increasing.

Many local languages today are dying out due to the rise of languages like English.

Due to television and the internet it is easier today for a large number of people to become famous.

More and more people today are becoming overly dependent on the internet and phones.

Nowadays more tasks at home and work are being performed by robots.

Is this a negative or positive development?

Nowadays because of digital technology it is possible for not only studios but also individuals to produce their own films.

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