Unless you never tune into ESPN, don’t care about pro football, and are generally oblivious to current events, you’ve surely heard about the biggest story in professional sports right now: Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.

Since becoming the team’s starter eight weeks ago, the former University of Florida star has led the formerly woebegone franchise to seven wins, including six in a row after last Sunday’s miraculous 13-10 come-from-behind overtime triumph against the Chicago Bears.

As impressive as that streak is, the bigger story is how Tebow is achieving such remarkable success. Lacking the traditional physical attributes (accuracy, strong arm, pocket presence) typically associated with quarterbacking greatness, Tebow instead relies on a beguiling mix of guts, grit, timing, and an unwavering belief in himself and his teammates. Indeed, hokey as it may sound, Tebow and the Broncos are winning games by employing the power of positive thinking.

“If you believe,” Tebow told reporters following Denver’s win over the Bears, “then unbelievable things can sometimes be possible.” So is it really possible that this somewhat ambiguous power generated from within is powerful enough to win professional football games — or help you achieve your own athletic success? Certainly Tebow thinks so, as do famous author Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and prominent psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman. Peale penned one of the world’s most famous self-help books, The Power of Positive Thinking, with the central thesis that, “Faith in yourself makes good things happen to you.” He called self-doubt life’s “most devastating handicap” and claims that by eliminating negativity, you’ll no longer be prevented “from achieving happiness and success.”

Peale’s steps to success, which apply to Tebow or anyone else, include, “formulating and stamping indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding.” He also recommends that, “whenever a negative thought concerning your personal powers comes to mind, deliberately voice a positive thought to cancel it out.”

Seligman is the director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania and founder of positive psychology, a branch of psychology that focuses on the empirical study of positive emotions and strengths-based character. Through his research, Seligman has furthered the central premise that, “positive emotions are frequently paired with happy circumstances.”

Among Seligman’s core tenets is that one can find success and happiness by living a meaningful life where you belong to and serve something that you believe is bigger than yourself.

And that brings us back to Tebow. He’s certainly not the first athlete with strong faith or unwavering belief in self. But he’s arguably lent more credence than any athlete in recent memory to the philosophies of Peale, Seligman, and anyone else (endurance athletes included) who believe that if you believe, good things will happen.

“I think we’re rewriting the book on ‘keep fighting,’” Denver coach John Fox said after the game against the Bears. “Our guys never blink. They remain positive.”

How powerful is the power of positive thinking in your life? Do you think it’s just one factor — or the most important one?

—Jason Sumner, Bicycling Reporter

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