Some proponents of positive thinking maintain that you should never allow yourself to dwell on a negative thought or image. And they are right to a point-yet wrong too.

A "sacred cow" of self-improvement is that you should focus continuously on an image of what you want to achieve such as having a leaner, healthier body or more success at your career.

Yet some research indicates that dwelling solely on that positive picture may actually be counterproductive.

In one experiment college students who had an important exam coming up were divided into two groups. One was coached on study habits. The other was asked to visualize receiving a fantastic grade and to imagine how good it felt to have exceeded everyone's expectations, including their own.

Much to everyone surprise the feel-good visualization group did significantly worse on the exam as a whole.

Upon debriefing, it was surmised that while these students reported feeling better about themselves, they studied less since they perceived the good grade as a given and thus felt less urgency to apply the necessary effort.

This is not to say that focusing on what you want is not helpful. It can energize your psyche and help you stay on course.

However, what you must also do in order for visualization to be effective is to also imagine overcoming the obstacles you will encounter.

So while imagining getting an A on your mid-terms, you also need to picture yourself overcoming bad habits like procrastination or giving in to distractions.

Or if you are looking to avoid unnecessary weight gain over the holidays and want to remain thin and healthy, spend some time imagining yourself confidently and powerfully saying no to the tempting situations you will encounter. IMAGINE THAT!

The reference for this article was 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot by Richard Wiseman, one of the best non-fiction books I have read in ages.