Positive thinking is usually related to thinking about the good when confronted with the bad. This can be hard to adopt; however, if not for my positive thinking, the tragedy I have experienced would have consumed me.

I always chose to see the beauty in things. I made the choice to do so. @Cove_Discourse (Click to Tweet!)

It may have begun when I was less than a year old. I was born at the poverty line living in a small one car garage with no heating or food in the dead of winter.

As I grew older, I had the expectation for things to improve as anyone else. I eventually moved into an apartment being raised by a single father. From here, my father rented a house.

I always found it fascinating that I was alive. In fact, I had pneumonia four times before I was a year old. That was a miracle. Being in the hospital the majority of my younger life, I found the positive in the fact I was still alive.

As I became a teenager, more adversity came. At a point in my life, I aspired to become an Olympic athlete. six plus years of my life were dedicated to training to do so. I allowed positive thinking to drive me forward. I thought one day I could actually accomplish this.

Despite the positive mindset I held, I experienced a career ending injury followed by my mother being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Not one, but multiple organs in her body were affected by it.

I struggled as anyone else would, but I always held the notion in the back of my head that everything WOULD work out. I had no doubt about it.

I soon developed my passion for script/story writing. This same dream of mine carried me to meet extraordinary individuals I would later work with. At nineteen years old, I began finishing my 500+ page novel as well as a script for a feature film.

In this process, I began blog writing for my website. This creation of mine connected me to several extraordinary people from around the world.

However, during this same time, my father would become subject to acute kidney failure. As my positive thinking carried me forward, I witnessed those I loved fall back. For a while it consumed me.

As things began to take a turn for the better, I was given the amazing opportunity to relocate to west Hollywood to work towards my dream of telling stories through the visuals of a screen.

The summer leading up to my initial flight that would change my life, my father kicked me out of my house. I was homeless for several weeks at a time.

While sitting in my car, I could not help but smile. As odd as it sounds, I understood that by my will alone, my dream would someday carry me away from all the tragedy I experienced.

This period of time would consist of showering at work, scavenging for change in my car for food, and working towards my dream despite so much adversity.

My business partner from West Hollywood, being an experienced director and writer, granted me the privilege of combining talent for his upcoming film. This event changed my life.

Somehow I maintained my positivity

Positive thinking is not just thinking of the good, but truly believing everything will turn out in your favor.

The day eventually came where I hopped on a flight for Los Angeles. That moment sparked a new beginning. This beginning was not just a miracle, but an opening created through positive thinking.

Perhaps my father once shared this positive thinking that would save my life as a baby. I felt it was my responsibility to follow through with such a remarkable mindset.

I understand it can be difficult to see the beauty in the ugly. It is more of a leap of faith. It takes a certain belief in yourself as well as an understanding of your capabilities for it to work.

Once I understood that I alone was in control, I had somehow lost control of the world around me. Positive thinking is changing your perception so that the external world cannot affect you.

You can’t change the world around you, but you can certainly change the way you perceive the world.

Once I understood this, my ambitions had begun to come true.

There are several methods I have used to develop a positive mind set over the course of my life.

How I developed positive thinking

• Meditation – I have experienced much hardship leading up to my flight for Hollywood. Meditating, the act of clearing your mind and focusing on your breathing patterns, has allowed me to clean the clutter from my mind. Positive thinking is naturally more powerful than negative thoughts. Cleaning the negative clutter from your brain for twenty minutes a day aided me towards this goal.
• Positive affirmations – The words we speak on a daily basis have a huge impact on our mind. If you say negative things, your mind will commit to those words. By training yourself with positive affirmations such as “today will be a great day”. The act of speaking it will cause you to think it.
• Surrounding yourself with positive influence – Surrounding yourself with the right people is crucial to thinking positive. Hanging out with the wrong crowd can influence you negatively.

How has positive thinking gotten you through hardships or challenges?

Robert Martin is a writer/philosopher from Cape May, New Jersey, who directs and writes for a living. Currently working on several publications, as well as his blog covediscourse.org, he aims to inspire those to chase their ambitions. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter. 

Image courtesy of Anthony Poynton.