You may have heard so many times that most people tell you to acquire the habit of positive thinking in order to succeed in life. Well, I am a firm believer and a staunch advocate of that as well. Actually, I am also an active practitioner of optimistic thinking. Nevertheless, positive thinking has its own pitfalls as well.

Knowing and realizing its pitfalls would prevent you from falling into them, causing you to wander away from your life’s victories and successes. Here are just some of the few:

Pitfall #1 of positive thinking:

The mentality of an ostrich. A colleague once told me that when a male ostrich unexpectedly encounters any hunters, it will instantly hide its head in the sand. They believe that if they cannot see the hunters, they will be safe.

And I have to admit that I used to have an ostrich mentality before—so it brought me nowhere nearer my goals. The lesson here is that if you hide away from issues and believe they will go away, it will not help you to achieve your success, but instead it will make you all the farther from your desired goals.

Therefore, rather than misusing the powers of positivity, making yourself believe that the issue or difficulty will move away, why don’t you face and tackle the issue head on? In this way, confronting the issue or problem face-to-face would let you learn how to deal with and manage those issues in the long run, gaining priceless experience.

Also, try to leverage the powerful skill of positive thinking in order to impel yourself progressively, providing you with an added boost of energy to take on the issue head on.

Pitfall # 2 of positive thinking:

All thoughts and no actions—taking some massive action after your positive certainty would start to bring you closer to your triumph.

However, by merely thinking positively, it won’t. Guiding the ability of positivity requires taking massive action on your part. Whenever you begin to take action to conquer those obstacles that stand in the way between you and your success, you need a lot of energy. On my part, when I began to develop and enhance the habit of thinking positively, I always told myself that I would be able to attract and make more money, that I would be able to solve my problems and difficulties, and I kept telling and reassuring myself that my situation would get better and better, and life would go on.

Each day, I keep on telling myself the same things, and after a while, I started to realize that I am still at the starting point. The real reason lies in thoughts and no actions involved. Therefore, when you’re faced with roadblocks, utilize the ability of positive thinking to open your mind, tapping your creative energy within in getting the problem solved.

Consequently, positive thinking can also deter you from advancing progressively. Yet, if used properly, it can provide you with a positional advantage, giving you a bonus in propelling you towards your path to success!