Tag Archives: Positive Attitude

22

Forget About it!

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forget_what_hurt_you-29022Painful experiences in life affect people in significant ways. They can cling to you and invade everything you do daily, coloring your existence with doubt and questions about your self-worth and value. Some people and events have hurt us down to our core, and it seems we may never get over it, but we need to heal to move on and be the productive people we were meant to become. There are valuable life lessons to learn here, which are well paid for.

It may seem that forgetting the person or thing that hurt us is impossible, and perhaps it is, but one thing is for sure; until you do stop dwelling on it or them, that bad experience will be following you around, sapping your energy and stealing your happiness until you decide to put it in the past and move on. You have control over what you think about.

I Can’t Possibly Forget Life Lessons.

You may believe that whatever hurt you was so vast, significant, massive, and traumatic that, of course, you can never forget it. Isn’t this a choice? What if you did forget it? What would change? Just for a moment, imagine how your life would change if this “thing” weren’t with you anymore. Would your life be happier?

Some sound advice I got was that once we have released the energy of bothering us, we make room in our lives for other things to enter that will fill those spaces. Since we are wiser and have learned our lessons, we will only let things in that are there to serve us.

Letting go of things that hurt us can be challenging because the pain has become a part of our lives. I guess we learn how to deal with it and that coping has given us some strength—remembering the painful things people have done gives them power and takes us from them. Maybe a better way to say this is to change your focus on the positive decisions you can’t make. One horrible and painful experience doesn’t define you or diminish the power, strength, kindness, caring, and love in you all the time. It just makes it hard for you to see it in yourself.

We Have No Choice About What happens to Us.

Sometimes we have no choice about what happens to us. People lie to us, steal, take advantage of us, or hurt us physically. That is their choice: how we respond to that is our choice. It life lessonsalways will be. If you choose to remember a wrong and carry it with you as a reminder of how poorly people can behave, you will isolate yourself from so much of the good that people can be.

Because there is always an opposite side of all things, where there is violence, there is peace. Where there is stealing, there is giving, and where there is hate, there is always love. I think that when you let a bad situation pervade your life forever and become a part of your story, there is no room for healing. Healing can’t come until you focus on the recovery and not on the person or thing that hurt you. You alone decide what defines you in your life, and there is no way anyone else could.

Remember The Life Lessons

The lessons we are taught through pain allow us to avoid being hurt in the future. The life lessonslessons that pain teaches are vast and deep. Being hurt will enable us to grow and positively change our lives if we decide to move that way. Each of the scars I have accumulated has gone a long way in developing wisdom and understanding that was not there before. I would like to have avoided them, but they happened, and I can’t go back and change the past.

The best I can do is to take the lesson, move forward with a positive attitude, and understand that I did the absolute best I could. Most other people are doing the same thing. Learning in the school of life is not an explicit curriculum. The lessons can come from the strangest places, and experiences always allow you to see a path to becoming your best self. Perhaps you will find this person right there, just on the other side of a painful lesson.

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, an hour, a day, or a year, but eventually, it will subside, and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” Lance Armstrong

“The marks humans leave are too often scars.” John Green

“Turn your wounds into wisdom.” Oprah Winfrey

“Some old wounds never truly heal and bleed again at the slightest word.” George R.R. Martin

Time to Forget……………….

 

22

Lose Your Attitude

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Attitude-a way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically is in a person’s behavior.

attitudeAttitude is everything because it is a result of the way we think and feel about everything in our existence, and shows the world just what we believe about ourselves. If you are not conscious of your attitude and why you think or feel a certain way about something, then you are at the mercy of that thought pattern. Many of our destructive issues resulting from low self-esteem stem from our attitude about ourselves and perceptions of the value we bring to. Today perceptions make a pact with yourself to be conscious of your position and the resulting experience that comes into your life because of it. Look at your thoughts, words, and actions and see how they reflect your attitude toward life, other people, and, most importantly, yourself.

Attitude Toward Life

Most people look at themselves as adults like they are set in stone. It is as if their attitudes about the world were poured into concrete when they were very young, and they never seek to revise them or improve them in any way. It is our attitude toward life that determines life’s attitude toward us. You attitudewill get precisely what you believe you will get from experience—your att, and yours the catalyst for life’s behavior toward you.

What do you believe about life? Is it fair? Is it cruel? Is it difficult? Whatever your attitude is toward life is what you will get from experience. Take a moment and become conscious of what those beliefs are.   If you radiate confidence and self-assurance, then the world will react accordingly. The same will be true if you lack confidence and are insecure. Life is an equal opportunity provider of challenges. Your attitude will determine the ease or difficulty with which you will face challenges. Create awareness in yourself of your feelings toward life. Expect more good than bad, and that is what you will experience.

Attitude Toward Others

It is essential to develop a positive attitude toward other people attitudebecause success rarely comes to one person by themselves. We are all interdependent in living our lives every day, and there is someone you rely on and someone that depends on you. It is our attitude toward others that determines their attitude toward us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your attitude should be to treat every person that you meet as if they are the most critical person in the world. Developing this mindset is a much more difficult task then it sounds. We are filled with bias, discrimination, judgment, and selfishness that limit our interactions with others. Being conscious of this will eliminate it as you treat others to treat you. Change your life by putting your interest in the stories of others ahead of your own. What can you learn from them? How can you help them? This attitude will increase your enjoyment of life and opportunities for success. Life isn’t all about you, understanding that is the beginning of really living.

Attitude toward Self

All people look at themselves as the hero of their own story. Their attitude and will determine if it is a success story or not. Your opinion about yourself develops continually over your life, and you can change that perception at any moment for the better or, the worse. It changes because of your actions and your attitude about these actions. Before a person can achieve attitudethe kind of life they dream about, they must become that kind of individual. If you want to be successful, then do the things successful people do. Set goals, take action, and be persistent in those actions until your goals are achieved. If you think you want to be something but set no goals and take no steps toward it, then you do not want that. This is your attitude.

Too often in life, we shortchange ourselves because we fear failure or what others are going to think of our efforts. These fears manifest in our minds and tell us: “You can’t!” “You mustn’t,” “People will think I am crazy.”, or any other negative message you can think of. A positive attitude toward yourself will erase those things. The human mind is only capable of entertaining one thought at a time. There is no benefit in negativity and many benefits to being positive. Why not consider positive thoughts and create an attitude of success for ourselves? Attitude is everything when it comes to success or failure.

So the challenge is to be conscious of your attitude today and be honest with yourself about what you find. If you lack in confidence and self-assurance, then start to change this. Set goals, write them down, take action toward them, and be persistent in following through until the goal is achieved. Your attitude will determine your experience in life with others and yourself. It all starts with knowing your thoughts, words, and actions today. Act as if success is already yours.

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” ~ Maya Angelou

“Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.” ~ Og Mandino

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” —Ayn Rand

“Do what you have to do until you can do what you want.” —Oprah Winfrey

“Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue. Realize the strength, move on.” —Henry Rollins

 

 

22

What You STAND For

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What do you stand for? That is a simple question I read last week that has been on my mind, along with another issue that I will address later. As for what I stand for, I want specific, stable things that I am striving to represent every day of my life. So I made a shortlist explaining the sort of person I want to be identified as today. This list is with the apparent exception that I may have failed to live up to these things in the past, but in that process, I have realized the extreme value each possesses and why it is so important to know what you want to stand for. It defines who you are and the experience you have in life. More importantly, how my choices and behavior will positively affect others.

Choose to be Kind

Kindness- In all things, I would like service to be the first thing I practice. All people live their own lives and have their own experiences, and their actions and behavior are theirs. I can only control myself, and I would like kindness to be the first word someone thinks of when they think of me. In my experience, a lack of compassion arises when you put your needs ahead of everyone else, leading to fear and worry. Letting this go is easier than you might think. Through a practice of kindness, you will meet all of your needs, and you will make the world a little better place. Do you stand for kindness? I hope I do.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Honesty- A friend once told me that it is human to be dishonest. That may be so because we all seem to lie an awful lot. Small lies, big lies, manipulative lies are all a part of the package. I know that I have lived in my past, mostly out of fear that I might look wrong or, more often, to avoid hurting someone else’s feelings. But it has been a while since I have consciously told a lie because I don’t care what others think of me and what I do, and I care enough about everyone I know to say the cold hard truth. I want all people I deal with to know that what I tell them will be the truth to the best of my knowledge. I don’t think I can do better than that. All things seem to flow perfectly when the truth is told. Do you stand for honesty?

What You Do When Nobody is Watching

Integrity- Along with honesty is integrity. I will do what right all the time is. Not just when it is convenient or when others are around. I will do what is right because I am there, and even if nobody else knew of my transgression, I would know, and the energy from that failure would permeate the rest of my life and cause problems. I would instead behave with integrity and do what right and decent all of the time is. I want my conscious energy to be focused on being and doing the right thing. I will know it is the right thing because it will be in my heart. I am continually seeking guidance for proper guidance. Do you stand for integrity?

Smart is Best

Intelligence– I want to be represented by the idea that all things I do will at least have a general knowledge behind them. I can’t promise to be the most intelligent person in the world, but I can be as bright as I am capable of being. This idea means I am never satisfied that I know it all. There are new things to learn and new ways to grow until the ultimate end waiting for us all occurs. I endeavor to continually learn new things, expand my horizons, and become better today than I was yesterday, just a little bit. Do you stand for intelligence?

Be Positive or Go Home

Positive Attitude-In all things, you have a choice, to be positive or negative. To complain and give away all of your power or address all situations by feeling great about them. We all feel bad sometimes, but that doesn’t mean we need to accept that part of our attitude. It is a simple choice that determines the difference in your path. You look at the flaws of the things you perceive to be missing, or you are grateful for what you do have. We always have the choice to embrace the joy in a moment. I wish all days were perfect and full of easy things to be happy about, but they will not. Life will bring challenges for you to grow. It is up to you to accept the challenge and become better or shrink from it and become its negative, scared, fearful victim. I am hoping I always seek the lesson, am grateful for it, and approach things from the mindset of joy and opportunity. Do you stand for a positive attitude?

Let’s Work Together

Cooperation– People look at the world in two primary ways: cooperation or competition. When I was a young man, I loved playing sports, and I always thought the match was the thing to prove you were better than someone else. That missed the value entirely. The real lesson was that you could rise and become better as a collective through cooperation with your teammates than you were as an individual. Great things can be done cooperatively and far surpass the selfish things that competition brings. Looking back, I value all the people that I ever was a part of a team with at whatever level. There are many situations that, in some small way, work together to allow the group’s strengths to overcome the weakness we all have as individuals, and that plan is fantastic. I want to take that into every relationship I have, personally and in business ventures, always. Do you stand for cooperation?

Better Today than Yesterday

Improvement– In my life, I have noticed that either you are getting better or you are getting worse. It is sporadic to stay the same, even for a day. So it is my goal to improve 0.01% each day somehow, but on the best days, physically, mentally, and spiritually. If I can manage to do that, then I will be a better person today than yesterday and hopefully have a more positive effect on the world than before. You are going to change in some way. I am probably choosing to be better rather than getting worse. This is often a choice to seek the other things I stand for; this should happen naturally, but it is vital to set an example for others that is positive in a world full of bad examples. Do you stand for improvement?

So there is a shortlist that I could expand upon for many pages. Maybe this is the next book idea in some way. But for today, I wanted to state what I want to stand for to guide myself in life. To help me when I have questions about what I should do. I want to say yes or no based on the things that I stand for. What is it that you stand for, not just in words, but in thoughts and actions as well?

“Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.:- John Madden

“If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”- Peter Marshall

“You must stand for something! It does not have to be grand, but it must be a positive that brings light to someone else’s darkness.”- Anthony Carmona

 

21

The Way You Think

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Attitude- a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically reflected in a person’s behavior.

How do you settle in the way you think about things? Our attitudes are the perspectives through which we view life. Our opinion about anything will define the emotions we feel about that thing. It will also determine the joy, success, anger, or failure we will experience. Everything around you and what you are doing in life will be affected. Your emotions are a result of your beliefs and how you define things in your life.  Our actions are going to be determined by our emotional state.  For example, if you set your job as something you hate or something to get through, the way you perform the job will reflect that. Your attitude determines everything. The same is true if you love what you do.  That joy will reflect in your duties around work.

Your actions will reflect this to the world in the way you act throughout your day. Each person should examine their attitudes today, the ones we have about all the things you can experience, and see how they affect your behavior and actions in all things. It begins with the thoughts you entertain about something, the emotions naturally attached to those thoughts, the words used to express your ideas to the world, and the actions you take that show your attitude.

Good Attitude Equals Success

When you set out to achieve anything, your attitude should be one of the first investments you make.  A positive attitude will allow you the motivation and persistence to overcome obstacles or to see around them to achieve the things in your dreams. A negative belief about doing something, yourself, or your abilities will make your goal challenging to accomplish. Assess your thoughts at the start of any project and make sure it is on the positive side. Then follow it through to the successful conclusion.

What makes a positive attitude? The belief is that whatever we are endeavoring to accomplish is worthwhile and will lead us to a better life.  If we believe it will bring more joy and satisfaction in our lives. Having confidence in what you are doing and a strong desire to experience that thing will allow you to create and maintain a positive attitude. With this attitude will come success and accomplishment. If you are not feeling optimistic about something you are doing, look at your approach and either make adjustments to the positive or abandon the project. There is no point in pursuing something, making you unhappy, angry, or sad. Just as the right attitude will bring success, the results of a poor posture are just as sure.

Where Attitudes Come From

An attitude is a part of us, but it develops over time.  Each experience we have shaped it, and our view of the world and ourselves is no accident.  Our practical knowledge builds our beliefs, and those beliefs reside in our subconscious mind, dictating behavior. These beliefs will influence, design, and control all of our attitudes about everything we do. If we believe we are “always bad at math,” our attitude toward doing the math will improve, and the results of any math-oriented things will be terrible because of it. So we become a self-fulfilling prophecy, and our attitude will lead the way in our failure. Changing that course is not easy, but it isn’t complicated either.

The first thing that has to happen is that you need to identify the places your beliefs are lacking. What do you believe about making money? Look at your attitudes. What do you think about your ability to succeed and accomplish things? What do you think about your talents, skills, intelligence, creativity, or other critical factors? Identify the beliefs that limit you and then endeavor to change them. Changing an idea requires a little reprogramming, but consistent effort can get it done. If you can change your mindset, you can change your attitude and, therefore, accomplish anything.

Good Attitudes

Building the right attitude involves an awareness of where you are at in life. More often than not, no activity or accomplishment in life will go smoothly without a hitch. A positive attitude will provide a person with the perspective in achievement to see the opportunities on the horizon and keep moving toward them despite the little potholes of life we have to get through. When your attitude is on the positivity of the accomplishment, nothing will deter you. Not the negative programming of your past or the negative moods of those around you today.

A positive attitude will allow you to keep your eye on the prize and get you moving toward that kind of accomplishment. Liking the goal and having faith in your ability to accomplish it is enough to pull you over, around, or through anything that might get in your way. A positive attitude will allow this to be the life case. Remember a time you accomplished something others thought you couldn’t. Attitude carried you or, conversely, stopped you.  How has your mood written your story?  How does it continue to write it?

Positive Attitude Builders

Look at the people you choose to surround yourself with in life. Either they are positive or negative factors in your achievement. The influence of a positive person will fuel you.  It will provide a good push toward success.  Like fuel in a car, the positive cohort makes everything run well. And often, encouragement is all you need to keep you moving forward and stop you from losing focus or heart in achieving your goals and becoming what you want to be.

The detrimental effect of negative people will be harmful to your attitude and limit what you can do. How many goals and dreams have died a horrible and premature death because of negative thoughts? It can be challenging to believe in an idea if the people around you tell you it can’t possibly happen. Limit or remove these influences from your life because you will never be your best, carrying the negative baggage negative people try to pile on you.  It is hard enough to find your path in the best situation. Don’t let the influence of negative people make it harder.

Your attitude needs to be a creation of you and not someone else. Learn to believe in yourself, and all you can do and all you dream of is reachable.

Honest Evaluation

Honestly, look at your attitudes about the things in your life. Look at what you believe about yourself and the way the world works. Your attitudes are a direct reflection of these beliefs. If they do not positively serve you, you need to change your beliefs and develop new ones that will allow you to live your best life. It all starts with looking at your thoughts today and recognizing those you are giving your attention to. Acknowledge the emotions that stem from these thoughts and the words you use to express them to the world. Finally, the actions you are taking because of your attitudes about life. They will define you and what you can accomplish in life.

“A ship is always safe at shore, but that’s not what it’s built for.” —Albert Einstein

“Some people want it to happen. Some wish it would happen. Others make it happen.” —Michael Jordan

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” —Ayn Rand

“Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue. Realize the strength, move on.” —Henry Rollins

“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” —Steve Jobs

 

21

Fall

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512566070029080548_1356144434Bad days happen. We fall, we make mistakes, and things fall apart. That is life. I have observed that the people who move swiftly through these mishaps manage to enjoy the positive side of life and have developed habits worth emulating. It is easy to let negativity creep into our lives as we live day to day, especially when things are not seeming to go our way. Consciously focusing our thoughts on the positives in life will provide value where it appears that none exists. Being in love with your life during each minute is a secret to happiness. It is not what happens to your thoughts about the thing which affects your life.

When you fall, make mistakes or lose something or someone, learning to manage your thoughts more productively will decrease the time of self-pity and sadness and allow you to take the lessons and move forward. That is all there is to do in life.

Let Worry and Fear Go

It is a natural part of our society to look at the future with worry and fear. tumblr_l86giqztyy1qcugwco1_500What if I don’t have enough? What if the money runs out? What if I am alone? What if nobody is there to love me? All of these questions and more will build worry and fear into today that will rob you of any enjoyment you may experience. You have the money; you are loved; you have enough; all these things are happening right now. Enjoy them. It is OK to be happy at the moment.

Happy people tend to focus on the positive things in their life right now and have gratitude for them. The future is uncertain at best, and it will happen. It could be great or not so great. It really will depend on the way you view the things that come your way. Why let it take away from the certainty that is good today? Let worry and fear go; they are limiting and will only make you unhappy. Worriers are generally people who are grasping at the control when situations become uncontrollable, always. No amount of worry or fear is going to stop the thing from happening. We all understand that life is going to end the same for everyone eventually. It is how you live in each moment of each day, which will define you. Live each moment well, and don’t fall into the trap of worry and fear.

Watch The Words

Words have a power that most people fail to recognize. Words can build, encourage, love, or support. They have equal potential to tear Quotes-watch-your-Wordsdown, discourage, hate, or undermine. The way you use your words will dictate the energy they have for others and yourself. If your comments are focused on Gossip and complaining, then your life will be filled with a lot of misery.

Watch your words and how many are spent on complaining about circumstances in your life or gossiping about the life of others. That will provide the energy to bring you and everyone you deal with down. Misery loves company, and so does contentment. Watch your words. Are they positive or negative? The words you use will define your experience every day. Avoid Gossip and complaining. What you focus on in life increases.

It is also worthy to note that when you withhold words you should speak, you are also harming yourself and those you care about in your life. Knowing what to say and avoiding direct and clear communication about your views and how things affect you is a limiting action. When one word may have saved someone else needless suffering, share your words when they represent what you think and feel about your relationships because sometimes the moment passes, and there is no way to repeat those things. In their silence, they cause pain, and they can’t reverse it. Open and honest communication is the best practice.

Comparison and Jealousy

Happy people don’t spend their time comparing their life and accomplishments to others. That is one of the surest ways to build misery. The experiences and achievements of others are not your business. People comparison-is-the-thief-of-joysee success for others and feel jealous. Why not be supportive of all people? It is based on the misconception that there is a finite amount of anything in the world. The truth is that there is plenty of wealth, success, and happiness for everyone. Most of us seem to lack the confidence to go after it and find our joy. We are responsible for our thoughts and actions in all areas of life, and the actions and thoughts of success are always available for us to grasp and hold onto tightly.

When you concern yourself with your success and happiness and how you behave, not only will positive things happen for you, but you will enjoy them more. Time spent being jealous or envious of someone else’s success is foolish and self-defeating. These thoughts will take away from the abilities you have to create your own most joyous life. Developing ideas and accomplishing goals is a good thing and should be commended and applauded. It proves that all people can be successful, wealthy, creative, and happy, INCLUDING YOU! To not see this is another way you can fall.

Life Is Hard, Not!

If you entertain the limiting belief that life is hard, then it surely will be. These thoughts are away many fall down. It is a simple fact that happy people ignore and look at life quite differently. Life is meant to be an adventure with many twists and turns, and each can bring happiness into your life if you let it. All people dont believeexperience loss in life; the damage is a lesson we all have to deal with at some point. It is your attitude about the loss that will define the rest of your life. I know words about loss can seem empty, but I have known significant loss, and my thoughts about it were my biggest weakness. The power I gave ideas limited my ability to be even just a little bit happy because I focused on the loss. Not on the gains and the possibilities ahead. To look at what is gone and long for it again is a natural feeling and desire. But many great things are not meant to last and are fleeting in their beauty. Love them anyway. Try not to fall down the trap of feeling one situation or person is all there is for you.

If you believe that there is no way your life can be good again, it most likely won’t be. That means that each loss, either a death, loss of a job, a relationship or

We all fall down sometimes; it is the fact that we get back up that defines us.

anything that is a loss brings with it a possibility of growth and wonder as well. That is a fact, and it depends on the choices we make.

We decide not to move forward or not look for a new advantage. Optimistic people seem to have found the secret of perspective. We can all practice this by looking at life as a road of endless possibilities rather than living as a complex, painful experience.

Your choices when you fall will define what you feel about your experiences and, of course, your level of happiness and enjoyment. There is nobody or nothing else to blame for the joy you have in your life. It is solely and entirely up to you and the mindset you develop over your life. Choose to be upset, and you surely will be. I am choosing to be satisfied and seeking in all I do in life. I have fallen down and am picking myself up and moving forward into opportunity.

“You don’t get drow by falling into a river. You get drown by remaining there. Falling accidentally and rising immediately was what distinguished Thomas Edison and Abraham Lincoln from the rest.” ― Israelmore Ayivor

“Life has pounded me down
and thrashed me around,
Time and time again,
But I always get right back up,
Because I still love life –
Just as the earth still loves
The rain.”
― Suzy Kassemn

“You fell down? Get up! You fell down again? Get up again? You keep falling down? Keep getting up! Refuse the direction towards the ground! Up and forward, that is the direction!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

21

Positive Life

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It has been one of my experiences that people are as happy as they decide they will be. We make choices every day about our attitude by the thoughts we choose to entertain. Either you choose positive thoughts, which positive words and actions will follow, or you will move in the opposite direction. That is a negative movement with negative words and actions to follow. It is backed up by research shown in books like The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. How you think can be altered to create a more positive experience in your life.  Here are some simple things to try to create a more positive outlook. Open your mind and see what you can supplant in there.

Practice Gratitude

Before you can be positive about life, you need to appreciate what you are fortunate enough to experience today. Too often, we focus our attention on the things we do not have and ignore the things we do.  A simple shift in focus to being grateful for what you have will increase your mood and create a more positive life.  Being more positive will make your life more enjoyable and even lead to better health.

The simple way to do this is to list all of the things you are grateful for. When you start your day, honestly give thanks for the good things in your life. They can be people you love, your job, the house you live in, the car you drive, the view you experience, the friends you have, a wonderful cup of coffee in the morning. Whatever you have to be grateful for, list it and think about it, and your mood will naturally become more positive.

Cultivate a Positive Attitude

In every situation, there are two sides, a positive and a negative.  Go into all situations with the idea that you are looking on the bright side of things.  Choosing before anything happens to look at things positively makes bumps in the road you encounter to be less of a barrier to success but more of a catapult to becoming your best. How can the same situation be viewed in two totally different ways? Mindset. Understanding that we are developing, learning people throughout life allows us to look at mistakes or bad experiences differently.  That they are not the end game, but a step on the way toward the end game.

There are countless cases of people who have managed through difficult times and gained a skill or lesson that allowed them to achieve ultimate success in the end. You will find the success of your goals by persevering through adversity, not being buried by it. A positive attitude is a fuel that allows this to happen. If you look at life as a game board, you are now not where you will end up. It is the next move that determines your future.  All experiences give us the chance to learn and grow, and it is up to us to grasp the lesson and become better.  A positive outlook will allow you to do this.

Limit Time Dwelling on the Negative

All of us are going to experience some negative things. Still, most often, our lives’ negative forces are not something we have experienced directly but something we are exposed to through society and the media. The media creates “news” that is designed to make you feel negative.  These negative feelings made you feel isolated from others and scared that people are out to hurt you. You have the option to decide how much time you spend focusing on the negative in your life, totally up to you. A person cuts you off in traffic, and you can spend your time thinking about what a jerk they are or send them peace because that is who you are.

Our thoughts’ tenor sends us down a channel of feeling that will continue to build on the initial thought you choose to pay attention to, either positive or negative. Limit the time you spend focusing on negative things, and you will experience more happiness and joy in the world. Focus on the good in your life and, for that matter, in the world, and you will be better off. Don’t let a negative action by someone else dictate your attitude. This is always a conscious choice. Make a good one.

Maintain Your Momentum Of Positive

Like exercising your body, you have to maintain your work on being more positive. If you stop focusing on gratitude or avoiding the negative, or cultivating a positive attitude, then you will most likely backslide into negative patterns that have been a part of your life.  If being happy and enjoying life is how you want your life to look, then focus on these and many other things that will allow you to be positive and positively look at life. It is all a conscious choice.  It starts with choosing to move toward the positive. Life is too short a ride to spend time complaining, crying, and feeling badly towards others. Time spent positively is a good time.

“The best project you’ll ever work on is you.”

“Be so busy improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.”

“Surround yourself with people who have dreams, desire, and ambition; they’ll help you push for and realize your own.”

The Brady Bunch Had It All Figured Out

 

6

My Answers for A Stranger

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This week I met a stranger. We talked for 30 minutes or so and then went on with life. In the course of that conversation I was asked a few questions I have thought a lot about. I think you might benefit from thinking about them too.  They came from the heart of young thought and made me look at life and what is important.Each question was really asking about my basic fundamental attitude about life and the belief I have about the goodness of things.  Life has a way of teaching you what you need to know in order to achieve all of those dreams you have circulating around in your head. We ask for many things in life, and often we don’t see the guidance that comes to us because it is not written in clear English.  Guidance comes in experience, feelings and in people you meet every day.  Indulge my answers for a stranger.   Maybe you can take something from it. Maybe you can’t but let’s give it a try.

How do you make life good?

When life happens, we naturally evaluate every experience. We rate it as good, bad, excellent, horrible or anywhere in between. The fact is the things that happen are just things and we assign the value to them. So making life good is a choice of how you look at things. Things are going to happen which are painful, people die, relationships end, injuries and accidents occur every day. It would be difficult to assign a good label to any of these things but if you look at things from a broad perspective and see what comes out of them there is almost always something positive.  It is the stories we end up telling ourselves about the situation that brings the value.

What lessons did you learn? What can you be grateful for? If you lost a loved one, be grateful for the time you had together and the things you experienced.  If a relationship ends, seek the message it is teaching you about what you need to do better in the next relationship. Life always brings challenges because that is its job. To push you and prod you into becoming better. When you ask for things in your life, often times some of the biggest challenges we face drive us in the direction we need to go. We make life good by enjoying the small things along the way that provide joy. There are things every day which do this.  Look for them and appreciate them. Life will be just as good as you decide it should be.

How do you start again when a dream is lost?

When is a dream really lost? Sometimes you will have to start over in order to get where you want to go.  For example, a person had a scholarship to a prestigious college. Due to several poor decisions the scholarship was removed and the dream of attending that fine institution was removed as well.  One could look at the opportunity gone and cry over it. But there are two reasons this will do no good. One, no matter what you did or what happened you can’t travel back in time. And two, if you could have done better in those moments, you would have.

Let those experiences of failures, poor behaviors, and disappointments of the past stay right where they are because the only way they can affect you fully today is if you decide to let them define you.  Others will think what they will and we all have to bear the responsibility for all things in our lives, but to relive the mistake, over and over is going to stop you from finding and achieving the next dream.  More than likely the lessons you learned will allow you to achieve great things in life.  Stop dwelling on what is gone and focus on what is ahead while enjoying the life you have right now. New dreams will arrive in your mind, drams afe what makes life great.

Is life always this hard?

Sometimes it seems like life is a very difficult experience. When you experience loss and you suffer, it can be a very hard thing to deal with. When a person allows their focus to be on one particular thing, it can be devastating when that is taken away.  Life is as hard as you make it and usually it is what you believe about yourself and how you do life.  Take a moment and look for the good around you in any situation. I don’t say this is easy because sometimes when you are hurting  it is hard to see or feel your way around it.  But there is always good sitting there waiting for you to notice it. Nobody can force you to do this only you can make that decision.

Once you have made the choice to stop feeling sorry for yourself and accept responsibility for whatever you are facing, you will start to grow from your situation and understand there will be other battles to fight, challenges to face and joys will find you.  Understanding that life is a long play and not a quick hit wonder will give you the perspective to see the hard isn’t permanent. It may not even exist at all unless you choose to allow it.  Life is not always hard, it provides all of the joy, positivity and kindness you can handle. You have to be willing to look for it and see it. Have you looked for it today?

So as I walked away from that stranger that day, I started to look at my own life and some of the people that are a big influence on it. I am not perfect and allow myself to drift into negativity some times, but there are many dreams I am still chasing on the personal and professional front.  I have experienced some disappointments but I try not to let them affect me all that negatively, and I know that just as the sun goes down every night allowing a chance to rest and rejuvenate.  The sun will rise again in the morning and the new day will bring its opportunities for accomplishment. You can’t grab new experiences if your hands are grasping tightly to the past and it is gone.  Look at your opportunities to follow your dreams in the actions of your day.  Keep a positive frame of mind and look to your personal beliefs about what you can do and expect in life. Each day is a chance to build a dream or tear one down.