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Creating A Positive Attitude To Achieve Positive Results
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he grandfather of a friend of mine always said, “Can’t gets nothin’ done.” And boy, was he right. Basically, he was saying that if you say you can’t do something then you can’t. What you think determines your level of success. If you think you can’t do something – you’re right! If you think you can do something, then anything is possible – you’re right! It all depends on your attitude. Attitude will lift you up or shut you down. Nothing can stand in the way of the person with a positive attitude. Nothing can stand in the way of the person with a negative attitude. Attitude is the number one reason individuals succeed or fail. So, to guarantee success, to make sure you get everything you want and deserve in life, check your attitude. Your attitude determines the state of world you live in. It is the foundation for every success and every failure you have had and will have. Your attitude will make you or break you. Attitude creates the way you feel about people and situations. Your actions are a result of your attitude, which, in turn, creates a reaction from others. So, basically, what you think . . . you get. It is your attitude toward others and the Universe that determines the resultant attitude toward you. Incorporate a positive, joyful attitude and you’ll have positive, joyful results. Put out a bad, negative attitude and you’ve failed before you begin. I know it sounds simple, but the truth is….it IS simple! Where Do Negative Attitudes Come From In The First Place? Negative attitudes come from thinking negative thoughts over and over until they have become a part of your subconscious – they’ve become habitual, a part of your personality. You may not even realize you have a negative attitude because it’s been with you for so long. Once you have a bad attitude, you expect failure and disaster. This expectation turns you into a strong magnet for failure and disaster. Then it becomes a viscous circle. You expect the worst - you get the worst - your negative
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beliefs are reinforced – you expect the worst – you get … . . . Got the picture? So, How Do We Shift Our Thoughts And Create A Positive Attitude? It takes work, but creating anything of value takes work. In order to have a new attitude we have to change our subconscious thinking. How do we do this? By analyzing every thought we have until positive thinking becomes habit. You’re merely replacing an old habit with a healthy habit, much like replacing exercise for smoking.
Written By Mark Hansen
You can’t just stop being negative – you have to replace those negative thoughts with positive ones. Some people would say, “But negative situations are a reality. They just show up in every day life.” This is absolutely not true. Situations are a reality, yes. They do show up. It is your ATTITUDE that makes a situation positive or negative. It’s time for you to realize that YOU are in control of how you think and feel – no one else on earth has this power unless you give it away. Take control of your attitude, and you take control of your results. “Your state of mind creates the state of your results.” In closing this week, I’d like to offer an exercise that I’d like you to complete in the week ahead: Think about specific problems you have had in the past. Maybe you were fired from a job. Maybe someone you loved ended your relationship. Perhaps a co-worker took credit for your work. Or you had a flat tire on the way to an important meeting. How did you react to these perceived problems? Did you control these situations or did you allow your perception of the situation dominate you? I use the word “perception,” because that’s what problems are – they are simply situations that you
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perceive as being difficult. But situations are neither bad nor good, they just are. YOU are the catalyst that turns a situation into a negative or a positive experience. You are the one who is in control of your own perceptions. You, no one else, is responsible for how you respond. Life is not predictable and most people immediately create a negative situation when thrown a Universal curve ball. As an exercise, the next time a situation occurs in your office or home – step back, stay calm, stay quiet, and stay in control of your emotions. Watch how those around you allow their negative attitudes to control a situation that could have just as easily been positive. Then while others are running around, talking about how bad things are – come up with a positive solution. Smile and tell them how pleased you are that you have this opportunity to be in this situation. Of course, they’ll probably think you’re a little crazy, but that positive, can-do attitude will be contagious. You’ll see how
quickly the negative energy shifts when treat a situation in a positive manner. Creating a positive mental attitude takes exercise. It’s all about realizing that situations are going to arise and you have two choices – you can either join the masses and choose the old, negative, self-defeating way of thinking; or you can meet situations head on and see them as opportunities to flex your positive mental muscles. Mark Victor Hansen, “that Chicken Soup for the Soul guy®”, inspires NEW VISION that generates innovation, productivity and profitability. markvictorhansen.com. Copyright© 2005, Mark Victor Hansen. All rights reserved. For information about Mark’s Keynote Presentations, contact the Frog Pond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email susie@frogpond.com; http://www.frogpond.com.
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