While vaccine strengthens our immune system, let us boost our resistance to negative thoughts too

 By K.R. Nayar

At a time when everyone is gearing up to take the vaccine against Coronavirus, it is also important to increase our resistance to negative thoughts for a happy, healthy, and successful life

All over the world, people are waiting to get vaccinated to boost their immune systems. This vaccine is meant to beat the Coronavirus and also reduce the impact of the disease, if affected. Along with the vaccine that helps raise our immunity, it is also important to increase our resistance to negative thoughts. This can be done by the individual alone through positive thinking.

It is generally said that in a healthy body resides a healthy mind. To have a healthy mind, one needs to feed the mind with inspiring thoughts. There can be numerous situations in our lives that pull us down and weaken our energy to do great things. These situations can come in the form of actions by others that can pull us down. Negative and discouraging comments can also sink our positive energy.  Under these situations, it thus becomes vital that we learn to rise above all the negative tendencies and continue to do what we need to, to achieve our goals. 

Goals vary from person to person. For a sportsman, it can be to excel in his field and be the best.  Some others will aspire to establish himself/herself as an outstanding actor. A writer will want to be known for his brilliant articles or stories.  Similarly, a businessman will want his business to flourish. Doctors, engineers, or IT specialists will strive hard to be the best in their chosen field. All of these are not possible without being able to resist negative thoughts and letting in positivity.

Setbacks are a part of life. There are times when we would have wished for something a lot and got it, only to find it taken back from us. It is during such moments that one should spring ahead with renewed energy ignoring that setback, and take learnings from it.
Today, former Indian opener and wicketkeeper Surinder Khanna posted a lovely message on social media. It read: “Life is very similar to a Boxing Ring… Defeat is not final when you fall down, it is final when you refuse to get up.”

There have been two instances in cricket recently that justify this statement. One was during the Afghanistan-Zimbabwe Test series that I witnessed as a television commentator. Afghanistan lost the first Test match in two days but rose to come back and not only level the Test series but also win the T20 series. The Indian cricket team too did the same. After being bowled out for 36 on December 19, 2020, against Australia at Adelaide, they rose to record victories after victories against Australia and England. If these players had let negativity enter their minds, these victories would not have been possible.

As a sports writer, there have been many occasions when youngsters come and tell me that they are demoralised over a lesser talented player getting the nod for the national team and even honoured. My advice to them has always been that if such instances or setbacks can pull you down then you don’t have the inner strength for bigger challenges. My standard statement to all of them is what has been quoted by Dalai Lama: “The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self.”

So, when we spot a problem, let us see it as a chance to give our best, or better than the best. Only then will we be able to rise above setbacks. There is no vaccine against negative thoughts. So administer positive thoughts to stay energetic.