In a world where negative news travels far faster than positive news, it can often be hard to have a positive outlook on life. Read enough of the news and you'll think the world is in total chaos. Let's be real here. Most of the bad things in the world are things you can't do anything about anyway so there's no point in worrying about it. If it's effecting the way you think, then it's time for a change.
When you have positive thoughts, life seems to have more meaning. Your days will be more enjoyable. I personally don't buy into the theories about things happening just by thinking about it but I do know that when you think the right thoughts, the right actions will be produced. This is one of the biggest reasons to be a positive thinker.
If your life is determined by the actions you take and your actions are partly a result of what you think about, then it only makes sense to think positive thoughts. When you have a negative mindset, you shut off opportunities as well as not giving your goals everything you have. When you do this for a long enough time, you'll have plenty of evidence that your life isn't all that great and that in turn will cause more negative thoughts which just causes a downward spiraling effect.
The way to turn things around is to realize your actions are in part a manifestation of your thoughts. Once you understand this, you will be more open to the power of positive thinking and do it more often. To begin, start reading positive quotes and books. If you have a lot of negative friends, it's time to get some new friends.
The more positive your thoughts are, the more confidence you will have and the more sure of yourself you are, the more action you will take resulting in a higher chance of achieving the goals you set for yourself. As you can see, just the decision to think more positively can have an upward spiraling effect on your life. It won't always be easy to think positively though especially when things aren't going well but just know that things will eventually turn around for you.
So if you're not taking enough action and need some motivation, by all means, read some motivational and self help books but don't forget to take action on the ideas you pick up. You can also read positive quotes on a daily basis just to get your mind in the right mental state. It can take a while to reverse most of the negative thinking that you may have so you'll need to keep with it until your thoughts starts to change.