Be Positive in Purpose and in Deed

Being a truly positive person means more than looking at the bright side or seeing the glass half full. It also means having a positive effect on your life and those around you.

Although it’s a bit cliché, one of the best bits of advice in life is “surround yourself with positive people.” Why? Because their positivity is infectious and can cause you to think like they do. Things happen for positive people. They lose a job only to have a better one come along. They have a happy marriage when others are filing for divorce. And these kinds of things happen to them all the time. There is tremendous value in being a truly positive person.

Being a positive person is a choice
Is it really that easy? All you have to do is choose to be a positive person? In essence, yes. But there is some work involved. First up is to examine your inner (and outer) dialog. What do you say to yourself and others?

Words are powerful things
Although we don’t usually do it out loud (except when we hit our thumb with a hammer!), we talk to ourselves all the time. And the more you tell yourself something, the more it becomes reality—even if that reality doesn’t truly exist. For example, if you tell yourself, “I’ll never find a great job” or “I’ll never find someone to spend my life with,” that is your reality, at least for the moment. But how can you possibly know that will be the case? You really don’t know what the future will bring. You’ll change, your circumstances will change, and what you choose to do with your life may change. The beauty in being a positive person is you have a say in what will happens in your life and how your future unfolds.

Take an inventory of how many times you say “I can’t.” Do you tell yourself “I can’t lose weight,” or “I can’t be happy.” The same goes for “I’ll never” such as “I’ll never own my own home” or “I’ll never being able to play the guitar.” Again, unless you have a crystal ball, you really don’t know. Try to avoid setting up negative patterns as they more often than not bring about negative results. And the pattern continues.

Positive people don’t worry (well, at least not very much)
Mark Twain once said this about the topic: “I’ve had a lot of troubles in my day – most of which never happened.” When you worry, you train your mind to expect bad things. And the unfortunate fact is even though the dreaded event never occurs, worry takes a toll on your body causing great discomfort and stress, perpetuating even more worry in the process. In contrast, someone in a positive frame of mind expects the best from every situation and it’s very noticeable in the way they carry themselves.

Can you really change?
Yes! The power of negativity can indeed be a strong one. But so can the power of positive thinking. We are creatures of habit and that includes the way we look at the world and ourselves. Make the simple choice to be positive in attitude, purpose and in deed.