I love it when people ask me questions about how to stay positive because I am
the positivity expert. I've got 8 specific strategies for you today. And
before I forget, if you don't have a copy of this book yet, I'll give you one for
free. You just pick up the shipping. Click in the link below and I'll get it right
out to you. How do you stay positive? I'm going to start with the first strategy
that has a lot to do with psychology. It's called metacognition. My job is to
illuminate the obvious. Which is fun for me. I get to talk to people about things
they already know but they didn't notice until it was called to their attention.
Many of the processes in our mind are like this. Metacognition is a process of
thinking about thinking. Think about your thinking. This seems so simple. But it's
powerful because metacognition creates little space. And in that space is where
choice exists. You've probably heard before that it's a choice, right?
Happiness is a choice, positivity it's a choice. Well, that can be annoying and
frustrating until you understand the processes that are going on in your own
mind. You got to turn on the metacognition and start thinking about
your own thinking. In conjunction with that, I'm inviting you to also be willing
to question your own thinking. When you have a thought for example of "I'm just
not very good at anything." Question that and say, "Wait a minute, is that true?"
That's a potentially life-saving question. Wait, is that true? "Nobody likes
me." Hold on. Is that true? "I hate myself." Wait a minute. "Who is this I that hates
me so much? And who is this me that I hate?" Start to
question your own thinking and this changes the game. As you do this, you're
going to start noticing some things about your thoughts. And don't be too
quick to believe everything you think. Turn on the metacognition. The second
strategy is something that I share in all of my coaching programs. It has to do
with gratitude. Practice gratitude and do this on a daily basis and let's up the
ante a little bit. Because it's easy for people to make a little gratitude list,
right? You've probably done this yourself. I don't want you to just do the trite
fluffy "Oh, I'm grateful for my family and my health and puppies and rainbows and
indoor plumbing." Yeah. Okay, you can be grateful for those.
But here's what's going to power it up. You find on a daily basis at least a handful
of things that you're grateful for about the hard things in your life. About
whatever is challenging or frustrating or difficult. And if you don't have
something on that list, we can get you something. You go to your hard list and
find what you're grateful for in that hard thing. Here's an example for you:
Last summer, I went through surgery on both of my achilles tendons on my heel
on both feet. I had a little repair done. This created some challenges for me. It
was difficult, it was painful. What if it's something like that for you? So,
here's an example of gratitude from the hard list. I'm grateful for that surgery.
Obviously because it's helping me to function better in my physical
functioning. But here's something else: I'm grateful for accessibility for
disabled people. I got to use the accessibility options that stores or in
parking lots or on elevators as I was on a scooter. And I learned more about
accessibility and came to appreciate that. Okay, that's just an example. Now, am I
really grateful for that? Yes, I am. So, that's what I'm talking about and this
changes the game. So, practice positivity and focus on the hard things. The next
strategy has to do with what is coming. And you don't know.
Think about it, how you doing next week? You don't know. You've got something to
do with it. Please don't forget that part. But you don't know. All you can possibly
do at this point is imagine how you're going to be doing in the future.
Now, let's tap into your creative power because you are going to create
something. You have to. You're creator by your very nature. You're going to create
something. The question is what are you going to create? So, here's the strategy:
Set an intention to create positive things in your life moving forward. Set
the intention. This might be as simple as saying, "I will do this or that." Or even
put it in the present tense. "I am a fit, thriving, healthy man", okay? As
an example of the way you set those intentions. Well, what if you don't really
feel like a fit, thriving, healthy man or woman? Speak the truth in advance. Tell
the truth in advance. Because if it's true next week then it's true, right? And
setting your intention about what you're creating
then helps to guide your creative efforts in that direction and you'll
have a lot better outcomes. The fourth strategy or habit that I'm sharing with
you today is to observe your feelings. Don't be afraid of what you're feeling.
You're never wrong about how you feel. But sometimes our fear of feeling
certain ways has us avoiding things or has us trying to make sure that certain
things either happen or don't happen. Well, you're going to have a variety of
feelings as you go through life. The habit that I'm suggesting to you is that
you become an observer of your feelings. And here's a little insight: Feelings
change. In fact, I have a colleague made this whole practice, his whole career off
of those 2 words. Feelings change. And if you haven't noticed that already, pay
attention. You don't feel the same today you did years ago about certain things.
And you're not going to feel the same in the future as you do right now.
Feelings change. Now, that's good news because whatever you're feeling right
now is temporary. Whether it's positive or unpleasant, its temporary. Feelings
change. So, knowing that, you can simply sit back and start to observe what
you're feeling. Become very interested in watching what you experience rather than
trying to react to it all the time. Powerful habit. The fifth habit for
success in being positive has to do with the input. Create positive input on a
daily basis. Now, by input, I mean what you're putting into your brain. Pay
attention to what you watch. The media that you engage with, the music you
listen to. The movies you watch, the books that you read. What kind of input is
going in there? I'm suggesting that to really be good at this positivity thing.
You intentionally create daily positive input. And if you're wondering what to do
with that, spend more time here on the channel. We got lots in the playlists
here that are going to speak to that specifically. I also do a podcast called
Live On Purpose Radio. Have you connected with that? You certainly could. And I'm
providing positive input for you to hear inspiring stories of ordinary people
doing extraordinary things. Connect, get that positive input flowing. Habit number
6, exercise. Move your body. I'm not a physiologist so I'm not going to tell
you all the benefits for that. But remember your brain is part of your body
and taking care of your body is taking care of your brain. Enough said? Do it.
Habit number 7 comes from what I've learned through interviewing literally
hundreds of successful people who are arguably some of the most positive
people on the planet. They daily practice mindfulness or meditation or quieting
their mind and connecting with their source. I don't know
what your particular inclinations are but having something like this as part
of your daily routine is a powerful way to establish positivity on a more
permanent basis. And then finally, every successful person I know myself included,
engages coaches and mentors and mastermind groups for them to really
connect with how other people are accomplishing what they were are trained
to pull off themselves. Get some coaching. Join a group. Take a course. Do something
that connects you with the community of positive people and that will put you in
a group that experiences success in positivity. I offered it upfront. I'm
going to offer it again. My book, Pathological Positivity. I'll pay for the
book. You pay for the shipping. Sound like a good deal? Let's get you started on
some positivity and that will also connect you to some other resources that
are available to you including coaching and other programs that you can get
engaged with to increase your positivity. I'm happy to be on your team.