Happiness is yours and you deserve it

We seem to be deluged with self-help books, shows, seminars, blogs and websites these days. For all the talk about helping yourself through positive thinking and repeating positive affirmations, there are folks who report they have improved their lives without these things.

The problem many have with positive thinking is it requires repeating things to ourselves that we don’t believe yet.  But there are other problems with positive thinking:

• It’s not a quick-fix. No matter how many times you say “I’m wealthy,” you won’t suddenly become wealthy without taking actions that lead to wealth.

• It can blind you to reality. Newcomers to the concept of positive thinking believe it means ignore the dark, dirty and ugly parts of ourselves.  If we do that we live in a place called denial, that leads to deeper problems.

• It can not prevent bad things from happening. You may think positively all day, but if you spill coffee onto your computer keyboard, your computer is going to die or at least suffer a severe illness.

Steve Pavlina, in his personal development blog, said “Too much positive thinking can lead to self-delusion.”

Colleen Kruse in her article, “The Problem with Positive Thinking,” says the problem is that the emphasis is on thought and not action.

Barbara Sher, author of Live the Life You Love, Refuse to Choose, and other titles, confesses that repeating positive affirmations doesn’t work for her.

(A few of her books are pictured above)

I was fortunate enough to meet Barbara when she hosted a retreat in Italy last year. She believes that we get what we want by finding others who will help us reach our goals.

To hear how Barbara’s techniques have worked for others,  I encourage you to listen to her radio show on BlogTalkRadio. There you will hear many stories about people who surprised themselves by succeeding with their goals.

In addition to getting her other books, grab Barbara’s book, Wishcraft , for free online.

I’m not going to discourage you from repeating positive affirmations because they have worked for many people.  I do encourage you, however, to explore the many other approaches to achieving happiness and success.