Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 466

Proceedings of the 2020 4th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2020)

Great Power of Positive Thinking When Applied

Correctly
Xiuyi Jia1,a
The High School Affiliated To Renmin University Of China, 100010, Beijing, China
*Corresponding author. Email: angela@cas-harbour.org

ABSTRACT
This article summarizes the general advantages of positive psychology, optimism and the correct usage of it.
During the past decades, topics revolving around positive psychology have aroused attentions of the public.
Misinterpretations are frequent, whereby people are misled. Several literatures show the benefits of correct
applications of optimism including healing emotional issue, faster and better recovery, and preventative
effect. Another research has provided evidence that people cannot systematically fool himself. Therefore, the
suitable approaches are introduced. This article studies different groups of people, including patients,
teenagers, and people with longevity. Distinct measures are taken to conduct respective experiments, mostly
through surveys and interviews. Additionally, the article is based on ample authoritative researches published
within decades and represents the author’s personal aspect of positive psychology. In conclusion, positive
psychology might be beneficial to put forward the way to apply it in daily lives.
Key words: Positive psychology, optimism, correct usage, authoritative research, self-confidence, optimism

pressure. People who are resilient, adjust faster from

negative emotions [3] and are able to deal with higher level
1. INTRODUCTION of stress. The term resilience originates from a property of
metals, which means the capacity to reverse its shape after
To Aristotle, happiness is the ultimate end and the purpose being bent or stretched. In psychology, resilience
of human existence, which is achieved by exercising good represents a capacity of whether one is competent to heal
virtue over the course of one’s lifetime [1]. To him, it was a or recover from negative emotions more efficiently. Many
truth as the idea was delivered far before psychology experiments conducted in the last decades show that, those
existing as a proper science, but was actually validated to people with strong resilience can gain positive energy even
be true later. We, human beings, evolved greatly for the when they are under great pressure. What is more, people
past thousands of years for one purpose, survival. who are resilient also have smaller likelihood to become
Therefore, other needs derived. According to Maslow’s criminals. A positive way of facing trauma guarantees a
Pyramid of needs, the purpose of living has become more bright future for an individual, especially when the
complex as humans demand emotional fulfillment, dignity individual is in adolescence. Researches also find that the
and self-accomplishment besides physiological needs and teenagers, who have experienced serious trauma when they
safe environment [2]. All could be achieved through were young and eventually have overcome it with positive
exercising good virtue, which is positive thinking. Only if thinking, later all turned out to be resilient people who can
exercising good habits, the goal can be achieved, which handle anxiety, indicating that resilience is a trait which
means that everyone needs to follow certain rules when can be required. It exemplified for the fact that resilience is
practices. In other words, one should learn how and when a trait of people that can be acquired through experience.
to utilize positive emotions correctly. This paper argues Positive thinking can enhance people’s ability to carry
that positive thinking is powerful, and people should make heavy workloads and rapid working pace [4]. As
good use of it in the right way. demonstrated in the picture below, resilience is an ability
to shift emotions. The person who stands against the
springs suffers a lot, mimicking those who do not have
2. ANALYSIS ON THE BENEFITS OF resilience in their emotions. The one lying on the floor is
presented to be cozy because he can adjust well.
POSITIVE THINKING

2.1 Resilience to Emotions

First and foremost, the direct benefit of positive thinking is
resilience. Positive thinking reinforces our ability to handle

Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.

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 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 466

people. This is a direct discovery that can change people’s

lives [5].

2.3 Prevent Diseases and Decrease Their Risks

Thirdly, positive thinking can prevent diseases as well as
decrease the risk of having them. Universally, health
counts as the basic and fundamental needs to humans.
Positive mindset has a preventive impact toward pathogen
infection and other illness, particularly cardiovascular
diseases. Optimistic people with less emotional
fluctuations have relatively lower and much stable blood
pressure than those living in anxiety who are relatively
pessimistic [6]. Individuals who have intimate and warm
relationships with their family are less likely to be
diagnosed with high blood pressure, coronary artery
disease and intemperance [7]. As shown in figure 2, people
who have intimate relationships outlive others by
increasing resistance to diseases. A large number of
medical studies have also shown the ability of positive
emotions to prevent diseases. Treating diseases with
Figure 1. Positive thinking keeps us resilient to negative confidence, optimism, calmness and adamancy can
emotions (from zihua.com.cn) influence neuro-regulation and regulation of incretion,
through brain control of ganglion cerebral and thymus
gland. Therefore, it enhances the performance of cell
2.2 Pull People Back From Negative Emotions mediated immunity, humoral immunity and other
mechanisms, in order to reinforce the capacity to fight
Secondly, positive emotions can pull people back from diseases. This process is called preventive effect of
negative emotions. Joyful emotions can accelerate the
positive emotions [8]. Besides those characters mentioned
alleviation from cardiovascular changes caused by
above, subjective joy impacts immune system as well.
enduring anxiety. This process is termed Undoing Effect.
Negative emotions, for instance, sadness, surprise and rage People who subjectively feel happy and fulfilled do have
are usually produced to stop a certain action, reduce the greater level of health and efficiency at working. Laughter
tendency to certain behavior, or alert the body, which and humor are two main indicators in most of the related
evokes the body to intensify activity to match new experiments. Humor is considered as a cognitive
environmental challenges. Therefore, it creates unbalanced phenomenon for people to deal with stress. People who
physiological activity inside, mostly cardiovascular usually utilize humor to handle pressure often have much
changes. Positive emotions show up as a sign to relax the longer life span, because humor increases the number of
body and ease the cardiovascular conditions, undoing them salivary immunoglobulin A, which is the first defense of
and reserving back to the baseline. Fredrickson and his respiratory system of human bodies, and further
colleagues verified this assertion by an experiment. They strengthens our immune response [9].
firstly informed that human were subjected to do a
one-minute speech in order to induce the anxiety. Then the
experimenter randomly divided those subjects into four
groups, who respectively watched short sections of movies
that stimulated joy, fulfillment, sadness and nothing. The
last one was set as a blank test sample. The result showed
the person who watched the first two films recovered
considerably faster than the latter two, and the data proved
that people who watched movies that provoked sad
feelings recovered the slowest. In addition, those who
smiled when watching films recovered faster than those
who did not smile or laugh at all. Not only physically,
positive emotions can also regain the way of thinking from
the narrow thinking provoked by anxiety. Consequently, it Figure 2. Family and friends give us warmth that help
is reasonable to draw the conclusion that joyful emotions fight against disease and expand our live spans.
undo negative ones. This solves the concerns of ample
(Retrieved from Myocn.net)

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2.4 Optimism Enhances Overall Health Figure 3. Optimism makes us better. (Retrieved from
Spirituality)
The fourth benefit is that optimism is propitious to our
physical health. Relating to the previous paragraph,
positive emotions can not only prevent illnesses from 3.1 Positive Psychology Is Approachable
happening, but also accelerate recovery and reduce the
possibility of recrudescence. Scientific researches have Optimism is a part of personality, and it is possible to gain
already proved that optimism leads to lower possibility of extrinsically. Some people could have intrinsic talents of
illness and high speed of healing. For instance, after a heart being optimistic in personality, but some could not. It is a
transplant, positive expectation usually suggests greater natural phenomenon. It is a good property that people
health. Other major surgery also shows the same results. should try to gain, though it may take a long time.
Cancer is vindicated to be another example. Patients with Difficulties mainly surround introspection, which is an
positive emotions end up their lives in a much healthier inevitable mind activity of human beings and works as a
way than those do not have [10]. Researchers studied those detector of lies. Without it, self-delusion is much easier.
who lost their spouse, and among them, the ones who With some of this metal cognition, self-deception becomes
overcame this tragedy and once again found a new purpose a much more subtle and complex endeavor. It will be
of life, had longer life span [11]. Furthermore, it is well successful only if self-belief matches the individual’s
known in medical field that full disappearance of behaviors in real life. Depressed people often sink in a
symptoms does not mean full recovery. Still, there are world of sorrow, as they enjoy the pain in a way, or for it is
potential of recrudescence. Some studies about survivors just much simpler to give up. However, being diffident
verified this claim as well. Lower anxiety and depression actually has negative outcomes. People who think minor of
state can have positive influence on their longevity. themselves do perform worse than the average, on account
According to Affleck, he found out people who acquired of low motivation and low self-esteem. In other words,
new meaning of life after the first heart attack, had less they do not believe in themselves and do feel that they
potential of the second heart attack [12]. Supports from the deserve the bad results of their work and study [14]. When
society and family members play an important role in confidence and positive thinking are difficult to attain for
lowering negative mental conditions. There are a great the fact that people may not be born with it, one can still
amount of experiments involving optimistic, related to acquire this advantageous trait through practice. Seeking
copious branches of disease and trauma, and all proven to help from parents or therapists is possibly the best way to
support this idea. Dr. Fava and her colleagues found a achieve this goal. Therapists can provide a set of rules in
health session for people just pulling through a major the respects of gathering, interpretation, and encoding into
surgery, to enhance their acknowledgments and memory of self-relevant information, to pull people out of
understandings of daily lives. Those who have joined this the self-traps circle. Entrapping in negative, depressed
session have lower recrudescence rate [13]. This emotion, low self-esteem or diffident state is dangerous.
experiment also exemplified for the claim that positive The central means of training is to become optimistic and
emotion was a cognitive phenomenon, an extrinsic to build up a new self-image. Through recollecting
character that could be acquired through practice. memory, self-reversing attribution and rehearsal of event,
Therefore, one’s cognition influences his or her health. one can achieve the aim although it takes time and patience
to practice.

3. DISCUSSION
3.2 Correct Usage of Positive Psychology
In spite of the content above, there are other things worth
to mention. Being positive is beneficial and very It is necessary to understand what optimism is and learn
intriguing. However, if it is used incorrectly, there will be when and how to apply it correctly to serve our purposes.
negative consequences that are opposite to the original Firstly, positive thinking is a kind of mental attitude in
purposes. which people expect good and favorable results. Also, a
positive mind waits for happiness, health and a happy
ending in any situation. However, it is different from
self-deception. Self-deception happens when one knows
the valid fact but chooses to ignore it and tells himself or
herself otherwise. Blindly deceiving harms people in a
mental way.
Currently, positive thinking is a very popular topic, which
consequently leads to lots of psychologists or writers to
publish books and give speech about it. It is advocated in
books to “look at the bright side” (the most classic one is
the half glass of water example), and to forget the bad
things. In some cases, it is effective. However, numerous

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studies showed that positive thinking cannot be applied in support. Without all their enlightening instruction
all circumstances. In certain situations, “we need to and impressive kindness, I could not have
embrace how we feel and accept who we are,” instead of
avoiding them. Under those conditions, continuous completed my thesis.
delusion is malign. However, whether one should apply
self-delusion or not is determined by the cost of doing so.
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