You can save money—People who are happy spend less money. As an example, Harvard University research revealed that people who just witnessed a sad film spent 30% more on a product than those who had watched a positive film. Other similar research confirms the same result.

Live longer and healthier—Roughly 60-90% of doctor visits are stress-related. Changing thought patterns is the cornerstone of mind-body medicine as healthy thoughts and meditation has been shown to reduce blood pressure, improve metabolism, breathing rates, and brain wave frequency.

Improve your mood—Mood stems from thoughts. Having a majority of negative thoughts is the hallmark of depression and anxiety. The negative thoughts become so powerful and consuming that they take over a person’s life like a rip tide. However, people can fight back by taking an inventory of their thoughts and purposefully replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts and less defensive perspectives. This kind of work (cognitive behavioral therapy) has been demonstrated to improve depression in 65-80% of cases.

Be loved and gain approval by others—People drive people away when they are overly sensitive to rejection. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy where fear of abandonment, rejection and/or judgment causes the very behavior that’s feared. At the heart of rejection-sensitivity is a nonstop train of fearful thoughts. Such ruminating can be overcome with purposeful replacement of hope, affirmation, and loving self-talk—which acts like a magnet for receiving the kind of loving behavior you want from others.

Learn how to increase your positive thoughts.