Ken Donaldson on Manage You First: How to Keep Your Thinking from Shrinking, Sinking or Stinking…
Do you have a surplus of negative thoughts?
Many people do, so don’t be surprised if your answer was, “Yes.”
And what about positive thoughts? Ever have too many of those?
No…of course not.
So if you’re like most people, you’d like to have more positive thinking and less negative thinking, right?
Sounds simple enough, right?
NOT?
Positive thinkers (those people who simply and easily have positive thoughts) are either gifted with their “positive thinkings” or have worked diligently, and very consciously, to create an overall positive attitude.
My experience suggests that most people are in the latter category: People who had to figure out the “secret” formula of having positive thoughts and creating a positive attitude.
Here are a few quotes from some familiar people about attitude:
Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. ~Voltaire
I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet. ~Ancient Persian Saying
If you don’t think every day is a good day, just try missing one. ~Cavett Robert
Oh, my friend, it’s not what they take away from you that counts. It’s what you do with what you have left. ~Hubert Humphrey
Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. ~Winston Churchill
But before we go any further, let’s ask a question, “Why?…Why would you, or anyone, want to have less negative thinking and more positive thoughts?”
Check this out:
“The Ohio Longitudinal Study Of Aging and Retirement, a 20-year study of people who were 50 years or older found that our attitude about aging affected how long we lived, showed that people who had a more positive view about aging lived an average of 7.8 years longer than those who did not hold positive views about aging (adapted from American Chronicle, Oct. 2006).”
Let’s stop right there!
A positive attitude will help you live longer…is that a good enough reason?
Ever heard the expression, “Attitude is everything”?
Well, it is!
Your attitude and the thoughts, positive or negative, that come from it will dictate your happiness, your health, the success of your career and the level of harmony in all your relationships.
Your attitude is the root-system of all your thoughts.
Got positive thinking and positive thoughts? Then thank your attitude!
Got negative thinking or negative thoughts? If so, then it’s time for an attitude adjustment!
Here are seven simple ways to create a positive attitude:
1.) Create a mantra or positive affirmation that best summarizes the state of how you want to truly be; for example, it might be something like, “I find the positive in every situation.”
2.) Visualize yourself using this mantra in your daily activities. For example, if you know that you’ve gotten frustrated in the past with checkout lines at the grocery store, then visualize yourself saying the mantra to yourself and then looking around for positive perspectives of that situation.
This can be especially helpful if you know you’re going to encounter a person, event or situation that has had a negative charge in your past. Mentally prepare and prep yourself for new and positively different response patterns by practicing these “cognitive rehearsals.”
You’re simply “retraining your brain” to respond in a way that you desire, rather than the old reactive auto-pilot ways.
3.) Inventory yourself at the end of each day and honestly ask yourself how you did. Celebrate your wins, victories and accomplishments and also make note of ongoing challenging areas and make those priorities to practice on in the future.
4.) Journal your progress and challenge points and review this weekly. Again, celebrate your progress and pinpoint any ongoing challenges.
5.) Get a few friends or colleagues involved and meet together once or twice a month to compare notes. ONLY pick people who are 100% committed to change their attitude to positive. No sour grapes, whiners or chronic complainers allowed, unless they are 100% willing to leave their evil ways of the past behind them.
6.) Surround yourself with positive reminders: Quotes, pictures and other physical items will remind you of the direction you want to go.
7.) Consider hiring a coach or therapist to help you if you feel stuck or have difficulty breaking these patterns.
Negative thinking and stinking thinking will leave you sinking and shrinking in your life.
Time for you to create a positive attitude that will lead you to gratitude and a life of Magnitude!
Today: Marry YourSelf First!