Training Coordinator
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When
the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. Buddha
A positive mindset
is one of the most powerful tools you have available to you and it costs you
nothing. I have personal experience with the power of the mind. When I first
started working on changing my mindset from a negative to a positive, I looked
at this way; I didn’t have anything to lose.
If I employed a more
positive mindset and nothing changed in my life then I hadn’t really lost
anything beyond a little effort to try and keep my thoughts positive.
If on the other hand
if being more positive in the way I looked at things changed my life for the
better, I would gain a great deal.
It was a risk I was
willing to take and I’m very glad I did. Life on the positive side of the fence
is much better. What you believe about yourself is your reality. So if you
believe that you’re a capable, valuable individual then that’s what you are and
you will behave accordingly. Likewise, if you think of yourself as a failure incapable
of doing anything right, well, you’ll be that incompetent failure. We are what
we think we are.
So what did I do to
change my mindset to a more positive mode?
In the beginning, I
focused on how I talked to myself about myself. No longer was I allowed to call
myself names like, stupid and idiot. Whenever I caught myself saying those
things to myself, I stopped and instead reminded myself of all the things I was
good at and all my accomplishments. For example, when I needed to learn to use
Microsoft Excel there were very few books available. None of the schools
offered classes on just that software. If you wanted to learn anything computer
related you went to school for a degree in computers. So I got my hands on what
few books the library had to offer and taught myself to use Excel, mostly by
trial and error.
So step one is to
stop talking to yourself in a negative way.
Step two was to stop
watching the news. When I tell people this they tend to look at me as if I just
admitted I’m from another planet and then proved it by growing a second head.
But seriously, think about it, what’s on the news? Murder, rape, arson and
scandal are the basics. If a story is full of blood and misery it will be the
top story. It will also be repeated every ten minutes along with the traffic
and weather. Is there any wonder you’re agitated and angry before you ever
leave the house in the morning? Believe me, you’re still going to know what’s
going on in the world. Your friends and relatives will be more than happy to keep
you informed, whether you want to hear it or not. In addition, you’ll over hear
conversations in line at the grocery store and then there’s the television at
you favorite fast food place that’s tuned to the news. It’s not like you can
escape hearing the news. You just don’t have to wallow in it. Try it, you’ve
got nothing to lose except the agitation caused by constant exposure to all
that negativity.
The next thing I did
was begin to avoid those negative people in my life. You know the ones I mean.
The ones that will tell you if they ever managed to buy the winning LOTTO
ticket, they would lose it before they could collect. It’s virtually impossible
to lead a positive lifestyle if you are spending time with negative people.
While there are
other things you can do to have a more positive mindset those three steps
should get you well on your way.
STEP 1 – Talk nice
to yourself about yourself
STEP 2 – Stop
wallowing in the news
STEP 3 – Avoid those
people in your life who are negative
Change the way
you look at things, and the things you look at change.
Dr. Wayne Dyer
