How to Master Positive Thinking, Your Most Valuable Leadership Strategy

Some people believe we are pre-wired to either think positively or default on the side of negativity. However, research shows that people can train themselves to think more positively, and that there are a range of benefits to doing so. This has been my personal experience as well, and I’ve spent time putting it into practice throughout my life, training myself to follow a positive thinking mindset.

When I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of sarcoma cancer at the age of 21, and had to face over 30 surgeries to save my life and reconstruct my face, it was always easier to focus on the positive outcome and not spend my time concerned about the risks associated with my illness. It was important for me not to fixate on the research and insights that would have suggested my odds of beating my disease were less than stellar.

I blocked out the negative as a means of getting through, but it turns out my positive thinking approach may have been key in saving my life. Positive thinking is a powerful tool, and it turns out positive thinkers are also a lot more effective in business. Do you know any executive directors or CEOs who are negative thinkers? I don’t. Every business leader I know is a positive thinker. They believe in their vision and believe their business or nonprofit organization will be successful. I am certain they have their quiet moments of reflection when they have doubts, but a business leader won’t last long in their position with a negative attitude.

Surveys of CEOs have found that regardless of whether a CEO has negative views on hiring, sales growth, or profitability, they tend to focus on areas of success rather than weakness. How can a CEO be a strong leader without having a positive outlook? How can they rally the troops to perform if there isn’t, at minimum, a bullish long-term view of where the business is going?

There is such a thing as a self-fulfilling prophecy, and there are many examples of it in the real world. If a CEO forecasts negative results on an earnings call or projects softness in their upcoming business prospects, which is common, that can impact consumer sentiment and behavior. Will customers continue to buy? Should they reconsider their own buying behavior? Being optimistic doesn’t mean that CEOs and business leaders don’t have contingency plans and disaster plans.They do. But visionary leaders are optimists and exude positivity most of the time. I don’t know about you, but I’d never work for a company with leaders who had negative prospects about the business.

Would Steve Jobs have built some of the most innovative products of all time if he didn’t believe in his own ideas and in thinking differently? He believed in himself and that he and his team could deliver products the world wanted. He didn’t need market research to provide the answers.

But what really is positive thinking? We associate it with optimism. But it helps to unpack exactly what it is.

Positive thinking is about aiming for favorable outcomes and being able to knock down barriers along the way. Obstacles are part of life, so having a life approach that is rooted in optimism and positivity is essential to successful outcomes. And optimism reinforces your belief in self. What better way is there to continually boost your own self-confidence?

Here are some key ways to reinforce a positive thinking mindset in your daily life:

Don’t lose your enthusiasm when you are faced with new challenges. It’s easy to fall into negative self-talk, but if you are aware of the pitfalls, it’s also easy to remember there is always a more positive approach that can help maintain your enthusiastic spirit. That enthusiasm boosts your energy level, and having more energy is associated with improved levels of mental and physical health. How often do you get tired when you are motivated and enthused about the task at hand? Rarely or never.

Don’t be discouraged when things aren’t going your way. Pick yourself up and try again. Use your inner resources (we all have them) and ask for help if you need to. Just because you ask others for help doesn’t mean you aren’t confident in yourself. It just means that you trust that others can help you as well. The most confident people I know in business are very adept at using their resources to create the best outcomes and surrounding themselves with smart people (including people smarter than they are).

Learn to accept failure, acknowledge it, and apply whatever learnings you acquired from it. Failure will usually benefit you in the long term. Most successful business leaders experienced failure at some point prior to their successes. As long as you reflect on and learn from it, you can move forward. Don’t dwell on failure. Use it as a springboard for improvement. Make a daily habit of writing down things each day that didn’t go the way you wanted them to, and then take time to reflect on the lessons you can take from those disappointments. Then use that reflection to set your priorities for the next day.

Remind yourself of all the many benefits of positive thinking. When it comes to our well-being, there are a number of studies about the power of positive thinking and the impact it can have on your health. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, “People with a family history of heart disease who also had a positive outlook were one-third less likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular event within five to 25 years than those with a more negative outlook . . . The finding held even in people with family history who had the most risk factors for coronary artery disease, and positive people from the general population were 13 percent less likely than their negative counterparts to have a heart attack or other coronary event.” When viewed this way, you can incorporate positive thinking into your regular health regimen, just like diet and exercise.

In the end, positive thinking isn’t just a feel-good strategy—it’s a proven mindset that can fuel resilience, unlock better health, and drive meaningful success in both life and business. While it may not change your circumstances overnight, it can fundamentally change how you respond to them. Whether you’re battling a life-threatening illness, leading a team through uncertainty, or picking yourself up after a setback, cultivating optimism gives you the energy, clarity, and courage to keep moving forward.

Written by Terry Healey.
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