13 January 2009
Strategies to Improve Performance: Positivity
Posted by Dan DeMuth under: PIM Articles .
There have been numerous books and articles written on positivity and positive thinking. Take for instance Norman Vincent Peale’s book, “The Power of Positive Thinking.” There’s even a field of psychology called positive psychology. But is there really merit to all the hype? And is positivity truly enough to make a difference in our lives?
For starters, there is research to suggest that positive speech is the most effective way to communicate with others. Dr. Herbert H. Clark, a psychologist from Stanford, found that it takes people almost 50% longer to understand a sentence with a negative word like “no,” “not”, etc. than a sentence with positive or affirming words like “yes” or “will”. In other words people will be able to understand you better when you avoid negative expressions. Be mindful of what you say! It can make you a more effective communicator.
Another related phenomenon, supported by research, is that positive imagery can help us meet our targets. Dr. Shane Murphy, a psychologist and sports coach, conducted a study where some people were told to visualize a putt dropping into the hole just before they hit it. It turns out that these people were 10% more accurate than those who did not visualize the putt. Similar results were also yielded with free throws and bowling. Truly amazing — Positive imagery really does work!
A similar technique that you may have heard of is called positive affirmation - putting positive thoughts in your head in order to realign your belief system towards desired outcomes. It turns out that phenom Tiger Woods is a product of positive affirmations. His dad Earl had him say things like “I believe in me, I focus and give it my all” when he was young. I wouldn’t be suprised if Tiger still has these words echoing in the back of his head before he takes and successfully executes an important shot.
For more on positivity, check out these websites:
http://www.squidoo.com/positivethinkingpractices
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_06.htm
One Comment so far...
Timur Alhimenkov Says:
27 January 2009 at 8:47 pm.
Good work! Thank you!
I always wanted to write in my site something like that. Can I take part of your post to my blog?
Of course, I will add backlink?
Regards, Timur I. Alhimenkov
