Many of you are undoubtedly familiar with the phrase, “the power of positive thinking.” It was coined back in the early 1950s by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, who also authored a bestselling book of that title. During my research at Dr. Peale’s “The Center for Positive Thinking,” I discovered that the original title of The Power of Positive Thinking was The Power of Faith. Dr. Peale’s editor at the time argued that a book with the word “faith” in its title wouldn’t sell very well. Furthermore, he said he noticed that Dr. Peale used the words “positive thinking” interchangeably with the word “faith.” Dr. Peale agreed to the change.

In my book, The 3rd Power, I list some takeaways about positivity and faith:

• Negative people are not born that way. Negativity is learned. Unfortunately, for many of us, this natural positive mindset is trained out of us. The average child hears the word “no” ten times more than the word “yes.” Most of the time, the “no” is intended to prevent harm, but too often, it’s delivered as a matter of convenience.
• What keeps people from reaching their potential are circumstances within their control. When negative events occur, adopting a victim mentality is easy and far too common. The person with the victim mentality is always looking for excuses to explain away performance problems. Even if we do suffer from the consequences of other people’s actions or external events beyond our direct control, we always can change our view of the circumstances and how we respond to them.
• Self-confidence is something you can fake. I am not suggesting that you become insincere or phony. Rather this technique, known as “act-as-if,” has roots in behavioral psychology. Studies have shown that if you put on a smile, your brain responds to the movement of your facial muscles, and you actually feel happier. So even if you don’t feel joyful, serene, or confident, try acting that way for a while and see if it helps. 
• Saying someone is a positive thinker is not the same as saying the person is a Pollyanna. Based on our misplaced perceptions, Pollyanna has come to be seen as a naïve, unrealistic child. But, the distinguishing characteristic of a positive thinker is that she makes the best out of challenging situations. Equipped with a strong faith in God, positive thinkers are reality-based and willing to tackle problems head-on—with a positive attitude.
• Our beliefs shape our feelings, which in turn shape our behaviors. What we believe about a situation (“I don’t matter.”) determines our thoughts (“No one pays attention to me.”). Our thoughts in turn impact our feelings (worthlessness, hurt, frustration), which influence our actions (“I should just stop trying.”) Changing our thoughts from negative to positive also requires that we monitor our self-talk and address self-limiting beliefs, replacing them with self-empowering beliefs.
• Sometimes you have to ignore the facts to be a positive thinker. What I mean is that before we abandon an idea or a course of action because of a certain set of facts, we ought to consider suspending them, so we can remain open to new sets of facts. The key here is to identify the facts, acknowledge them, and then creatively discover ways to move forward. Too many of us let the facts bury us, instead of using them to our advantage.
• We cannot change the reality of most situations; we can control only our responses to it. We can choose to be bitter, angry, resentful, or depressed, or we can choose to be positive, to forgive, let go, and take action to make our lives better going forward.
• Our self-expectations are a predictor of achievement. As the old saying goes, “Expect the best and get the best. Expect the worst and get the worst.” Like a magnet, our positive expectations draw the best toward us. Negative expectations repel the best and draw the worst to us.
• Facts are not as important as attitude. If you think you can overcome an obstacle, chances are much higher that you can. If you start seeing a situation as impossible, you’ll never find a way to make it better.
• If you don’t make choices in your life, others will make them for you. When we fail to make a decision, we often put ourselves at the mercy of others. Life is full of choices. Positive thinking enables us to make decisions. Negative thinking makes us indecisive. Fear, worry, confusion, and lack of confidence paralyze us.

In summary, positive thinking, also perceived as our faith, involves getting in touch with our inner divinity placed in all of us by God. It includes evaluating our Spiritual Fitness, straightening out crooked thinking and understanding our integrity standards (known as our Platinum Standard). Positive thinking prepares us to bring forth our best self—Me Power—as we deal and interact with others—We Power. Unifying those two, we can lean in to our Thee Power, the power of God within us.

Check out my book, The 3rd Power: The Faith Formula to Soothe the Soul and Restore the Spirit to learn more about equating positive thinking and faith.