Positive thinking- is it a just nonsense? After all, be realistic. Thinking positive won’t get you anywhere. It is the implementation and doing. Moreover, don’t you get irritated by the words “Think positive!” when you are feeling horribly down and worried?

Behind all this skepticism, there is value and an art to thinking positively. It embodies all the thinking that is required for personal happiness, success, and fulfillment. But here is the caveat. It has to be cultivated. Not just inserted into your life like a sore thumb.

It is an art, a skill, a habit that has to be acquired. Here are 10 tips for positive thinking and practical steps that enable positive thinking to be indelibly part of your life, that will leave living richer fuller and happier.

1. Learn. Read. Listen. To uplifting thoughts, audios, movies, battles conquered, adventures encountered, obstacles overcome. After all, there are those who have gone before you and learned invaluable lessons. You just have to soak them in.

2. Optimism. Pessimists see problems as permanent, pervasive and personal. Rather than saying, “I’m doomed”,”Everything’s finished.” “I’m no good”, optimists see a way out, and they confine the problem and do not take it personally. They do not indulge in catastrophic thinking. There will be better days. Belief and hope is more than half the battle won.

3. Gratitude: Whatever happens, there are worse situations. if you are breathing, be glad to be alive. If you have lost all possessions, be glad you have something to wear. There is always something to be grateful for. Gratitude unlocks beauty, calms and expands the mind. Gratitude gives joy. And has benefits beyond what you can see- physiological, mental, psychological, spiritual, and even social.

4. Taking responsibility instead of blame. So that you will be in the driver’s seat instead of being driven. You will then be responsible for getting out of it whatever situation you have landed in that you don’t want. You don’t wait for the rain to stop before you move. You don’t wait for the other person to react before you make the first move.

5. Not allowing negative emotions to overwhelm you. You may have been beaten sore. But there is still breath in you enough to fight another day. The world may have been unfair, but you are only going to cry in your closet for only a little while. It may be a blessings in disguise. Every experience learnt will lead more wisdom in the next, Every adversity has the seed of a greater benefit. You will be surprised sometimes things that seem adversities turn out to be opportunities in disguise.

6. Persistence. Push beyond The Dip. Seth Godin explains that most people do not achieve what they want is because they give up before they cross The Dip. What is The Dip? It is the 10th job interview where they never even fall you back. It is the 100th time you fall on your butt while learning to snowboard. It is any rough patch you have to get through before achieving your big goal. Success is only a step away, or maybe a few more steps. Never give up.

7. Believe- even if everything tells you otherwise, in your gut feeling, that there can be miracles. Things can be changed. Expectancy. Belief. It is powerful stuff.

8. Seek divine guidance. When you are overwhelmed in a crisis. When you are stuck and find no way out. Or even before the start of an ordinary day. Og Mandino, in his book The Greatest Salesman in the World mentions: ” I will pray. in this manner: Oh Creator of all things, help me, for this day I go out into the world naked and alone, and without your hand to guide me, I will wander far from the path that leads to success and happiness. Teach me how to hunt with words and prosper with love Discipline me in the habit of trying and trying again. Bathe me in good habits that the bad ones may drown; yet grant me compassion for weaknesses in other. Suffer me to know that all things shall pass; yet help me count my blessings of today.

Keep the big picture in mind. Things can irritate you for the moment. But never lose sight of what you are here for and keep your eyes on your vision and goal. You can revise them now and again if you find it is not really. When you steer a ship, you look at a far point, not the waves in front of you. Follow your compass and stick to it.

9.Accepting your lot when you have to, while sticking to your dreams of better things to come. Adapting while being content in the midst of situations. There is a time for everything, and perhaps it is the time to wait and be patient. A time to reflect, change. Humility. Emptiness. Mourning. There is a time and place for this. It is refreshing time, an important time.

10. Bringing joy and hope in the lives of others. Dreams for yourself, and self glory end in hollow emptiness at the end. The most meaningful moments are those when lives are touched, legacy left, personal battles won. We exist for each other. Meaningful moments often involve people- touching people, touching lives.

In short, positive thinking is more than just a glib phrase or a way of fooling yourself when situations are bad. It is an entire lifestyle of right thinking, which is a prerequisite for personal fulfillment and success.