Can we turn negative thoughts like "I never do anything right" into positive ones like "I can succeed"? Is there power in positive thinking? Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply emphasize how unhappy they are. The study's authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by referring to older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better.If you tell your friend that he may be an Einstein, _ In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write passages opposing funding for the disabled.When they were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written. In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students' self-esteem .The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes.Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell.When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, "I am lovable." Those with low self-esteem didn't feel better after the experiment.In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren't urged to think positive thoughts. The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy  that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them.In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse.Meditation  techniques, on the contrary, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a large, more realistic perspective .Call it the power of negative thinking. What do we learn from the experiment of Wood, Lee and Perunovic?
It is important for people to continually improve their self-esteem. Thinking positively can bring a positive change to one's mood. People with low self-esteem seldom write down their true feelings. Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem.