The Power of Positivity

The Power of Positivity

So I’m not going to lie 2008 was not the best year for me, on many different levels. I’m not going to go into specifics but I will just say that I learned some of the most important life lessons I have in perhaps my lifetime. I guess I’ll talk about a few of those – and I think the reason I’m posting this is because these lessons can be used on many different levels; socially, financially, workwise. These are some of the steps I have taken to make myself a stronger person, and believe it or not they are working.

1. Only surround yourself with positive people. Seems pretty obvious but you would really be surprised at the people that are in your life that don’t support or believe in you. These types of people only breed rays of negativity and never really have your best interests at heart. You will not know what it is to achieve until you surround yourself with positive people, maybe someone you admire, someone fun, someone smart. If you have negative people around you remove them, before they cause you to doubt yourself or hold you back from what you can truly attain.

2. Don’t stop learning. The minute you feel as though you are too good at whatever you are doing (maybe even too big for something) you subject yourself to complacency. Complacency is a way to stunt your growth- to me it essentially means that you are settling and content with your position in life. Once you settle, then you automatically fall back…. You don’t try to achieve more and as a result are more susceptible to failure. Think about this for a minute – how many famous people have gone broke….. why? Bad planning perhaps? Complacency- they thought the $$$ would always role in so they stopped working as hard. Keep working hard, don’t forget your goals and always try to learn more.

3. Mind, body and soul. I didn’t realize they actually had books and classes about this… but I thought to myself to be the best person I can be I need to focus on three separate criteria that embody all of your elements. Mind- we have covered this in #2- don’t stop learning, think positively. Body- Oddly enough there is something about working out, keeping in shape and staying active that allows you to look and feel better. Personally I find that when I work out regularly, I get some of my best ideas. Not only that but I feel refreshed, and am able to think freely. When you are stressed and not active, you make mental mistakes, bad decisions b/c your body cannot handle this type of climate. Remember you have to be in your body for a lifetime so don’t abuse it! Soul- this is a really important one. We all grew up in diverse environments and have different values then the next person. Don’t ever forget who are you are and what made you that way. It is also ok to be different, and don’t think that just because people don’t like you, don’t agree, or are flat out jealous of you that you should change for everyone. You are fine the way you are and it is important to stay true to yourself.

4. Trust yourself!

5. Don’t stop dreaming or creating. Regardless of how bad things have been and how much negativity is throwN your way. NEVER GIVE UP YOUR DREAMS. If you want something bad enough it can be achieved with hard work and a little luck. There will be many obstacles, one way streets, roadblocks and stop signs but never lose sight of what you ultimately want to achieve. There will be people who doubt you, or people who just don’t understand, those are the people that could never do what you are capable of – ignore. Also recognize that there are different stages of progression in life, some people mature slower then others.

6. Always do your own homework and be analytical. This one will perplex people, I have a huge problem with trust. I’m now really careful about who I trust, because I realize that when I pass along that power there is the possibility that I must be disappointed. But I think my point is that you should always be analytical because people by nature have their best interests at heart (look at the media- they lie to people most days playing on peoples emotions yet not really caring who they hurt). Read behind the lines.

7. Trust your instincts. I’m a strong believer in intuition. Usually when my mind tells me something I tend to listen. Not sure why it works like this but it just seems to and I trust it. 8. Discover your passions and go after them.

8. Discover your passions and go after them. I’ve found that only a few things give me pleasure beyond belief. I grew up being really athletic and played baseball basketball and track and instruments (piano and violin). I hardly do those things now, but golfing has become a bit of a passion. I enjoy it… perhaps because I’m not really good at it and I’m always looking for ways to improve- it is a challenge. I’m also passionate about the markets, and the arts. While I don’t do the type of stuff at work, that makes me go gaga I spend most of my free time following, reading and learning about the markets. I also love the arts, I did acting for a while and would love to get into it again one day- perhaps more creating then doing. I’ve got a lot to say and I feel that it is time to start voicing some of this stuff.

9. Get involved. This world is a big place and it is full of opportunity. This is one that I’m definitely still working on. I’m still working on getting involved and sharing my interests, knowledge with other people.

10. DON’T GIVE UP EVER! Enough said.