The Power of Positive Thinking

Specific purpose: To persuade my audience that when people fully embrace the ideal of positive thinking they are more able to cope with difficult situations and health concerns that can normally be quite debilitating or even fatal.

Central Idea/Thesis statement: To demonstrate that positive thinking has the ability to help a person heal and cope with adversity.

Introduction:

How would you feel if I told you I was going to take away 7.5 years of your life today? Something tells me that I wouldn't be making any new friends by this comment. By thinking negative thoughts you are in fact doing this very thing to yourselves according to recent studies conducted by researchers at Yale University. It's a proven fact that those people who consistently think positive and try to look at the bright side of life live a longer, more enjoyable existence. The benefits of thinking positive don't end there though. Those people who look at the bright side of life routinely do better when ill or recovering from surgery as well as being able to handle stressful situations that would normally incapacitate a more pessimistic individual. I myself once thought that this was all a sham until my great grandfather got diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. The doctors told him that the cancer was to far gone and that he only had a few weeks to live. Throughout out his ordeal he kept up a positive attitude and kept telling everyone that the doctors was wrong and he was going to get better. Although he eventually passed away he went on to live almost a year longer that the doctors told him to expect and most of that time he was doing fairly well. This help convinced me that the power of positive thought really can have a impact if you only have the courage to believe. That's why I hope to convince you all today to become positive thinkers because it has the power to really affect the quality of your lives if embraced.

(Transition: Let's begin by looking at the tangible evidence that supports the claim that positive thought helps those people who are ill or have health problems.)

Body of speech:

I. The claim that positive thought has health benefits is something that has been purported for many years.

A. Recent studies as I've mentioned seem to suggest this as well.

i. In the Yale studies the true benefit and value of a positive attitude became apparent to the researchers.

ii. More important than lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

iii. Medical conditions being studied included back pain, heart attack, surgery, mental health problems.

B. Studies provided by Sun Media also shows that these positive thoughts

can improve our life as well as extending it.

(Transition: Now that we have seen some of the health benefits of positive thinking lets look at the ways that it helps one cope with adversity.)

II. Those individuals that are positive by nature or through constant practice usually deal with difficult situations