Life happens, and at times, we find ourselves in a negative situation. It could be that we just lost our job. Maybe our health has taken a turn for the worse, or we just found out that a loved one has passed. Negative situations have happened to all of us at one time or the other and in that moment, we can chose to accept our unfortunate situation, or we can create positive thoughts to change the bad to good.
Having a positive or negative attitude has a direct impact on your life. What you think, feel, and say can dramatically alter the outcome of your day, week or even year. Positive people tend to be happier, have more energy and generally have a better outlook on life. So how can you develop a more positive outlook on life? Well it starts with developing positive habits towards a more positive state of mind. It can be done, but of course will not happen over night. Developing positive habits of a positive person takes daily effort and a positive mind.
So when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Creating lemonade is not easy, but if you consciously make an effort you are that much closer to a happier, more positive life.
Habit #1 Realize this too shall pass. Nothing in life is permanent. When bad situations happen, we have to realize this too shall pass. Losing a job can cause deep depression and uncertainty, but this too shall pass. You will not stay unemployed forever, and if you think you will then you will only intensify your negative situation more. See yourself getting a better job and the universe will begin to open up new doors.
Creating a habit of realizing all things in life are not permanent will shift your thinking from positive to negative when something terrible does happen. The choice is yours. Make it a positive one.
Habit #2 – Find the lesson in any negative situation. Oprah Winfrey is a huge proponent of this. Coming from a poor and abused childhood, she rose to become one of the most powerful women in the world. She talks openly about her abuse and how she found the lessons in all her hardships. There is a lesson in everything that happens in our lives, for better or worse, The key is that it is our job to find it.
Habit #3 –Understanding the Law of Attraction. The Secret was a key catalyst in bringing the law of attraction to the attention of billions of people around the world. Understanding the Law of Attraction is key to creating what you want in life.
Just like the law of gravity, if we drop something it will fall to the ground, as if a magnetic force is pulling it towards the earth. That is the law. That same principle applies to the Law of Attraction. You are that force and what you think, speak and do, the universe pulls that to you. If you say, I hate my car, then the universe will deliver more things for you to hate about your car. You are a magnet of your thoughts and words choose them wisely.
Habit #4 – Realize failure needs to happen before one can triumph – Thomas Edison failed 1,000 times before he created the light bulb. Donald Trump declared bankruptcy 3 times in the process of building his empire. Yes, these two icons may be extremely successful, but they had to fail before they could succeed. It sounds scary, but failure is very necessary.
Think about it this way. When you fail, something is wrong in your process or approach, so look at it as one way or option that does not work. Voila!, you just got one step closer to success by eliminating one more thing that does not work. So look at failure as a step in the direction of success rather than defeat.
Habit #5 – Take responsibility for everything you do. A positive person realizes that everything in life is an outcome of their thoughts, words and actions. Blaming others for your misfortune only hurts yourself, and, not to mention, it is an easy way to lose friends. Take responsibility in all your actions good or bad. Don’t be that person who blames everyone but herself for a failure, but when she succeeds, she covets all the praise.
Habit #6 – Exercise your mind daily – This is a habit that is often overlooked. I always like to explain it using a marathon example. Let’s say you just signed up to run the New York City Marathon. Now that is no small feat. The first thing you probably will do is buy a new pair of shoes, maybe an outfit or two. Then you would begin to exercise and train every day to condition your body. Why? Because there is no way in the world you could you run a marathon if you are out of shape.
Now, let’s consider our minds. Your mind is a muscle, although people tend to forget that. If you want to stay positive, what do you have to do to the mind/muscle? You have to exercise and train it, right? That is what people tend to overlook. Keeping a positive state of mind takes exercise and training. You have to keep that muscle strong; if not, it will not work to its full capacity. And how do you do that? Well the best way to exercise your mind is to read positive, uplifting books. I like to read 1 chapter a day from my favorite book. When I am stuck in traffic, instead of complaining, I pop in a favorite inspirational CD and the time flies by. It only takes a few minutes a day, but those few minutes can add up to a life time of positive thinking, which leads to a positive life.
Habit #7 – Incorporate Positive words daily and thoughts – Another habit of a highly positive person is staying away from negative chatter. This can be inner self-chatter, or daily communication, either way, a continuous habit of this will drastically affect your way of life.
Observe the things that people say. As a society, we love to complain, gossip and talk negatively about anything. Keep your words and thoughts positive ,and you will witness your life change for the better.
Anthony Robinson has a remarkable chapter in his book, “Awakening the Giant within” called, “The Ten Day Mental Challenge.” In this chapter he challenges you to take complete control of all your mental and emotional faculties by deciding to not indulge or dwell on any negative thoughts for ten consecutive days. So for the next ten days try to incorporate “The Ten Day Mental Challenge” into your life and see what remarkable changes come about.
This is an incredible challenge, because it not only creates a mental awareness of our daily thoughts, it forces us to find the positive in all situations.
Source: Anthony Robinson, Awakening the Giant within
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