The Power of Positivity

I think we can all agree that we would rather be seen as a positive person instead of a negative one. And if I take that a step further, I think we can all agree that we would rather be around positive people instead of those who are predominately negative.

So take a look at yourself and how you handle things in your life and what do you see yourself as being? Are you more positive or negative?

Being positive is a lot harder than being negative, because it takes more work. Our brains are wired to see things more negatively, because they are trained to always be on the defense in order to protect ourselves - so pushing past our natural pattern of being negative and focusing on the positive side of things is a lot easier said than done.

If you want to be more positive in your life, you first need to change your mindset.

"Your mindset guides everything you do. How you view the world and how you approach life is a direct result of your mindset."

 ^{(Excerpt from my Essential Leadership Lessons from the Thin Blue Line book).}

 

Your mindset is what controls a lot of things in your life. It controls your attitude, your emotions, your actions, and your effect on other people. Let me dive into these a little bit more:

YOUR ATTITUDE: If you have a negative mindset, then you will almost always look for bad things to happen. Your mind is so focused on the bad, that it is hard for you to see any good, which in turn keeps your attitude on the defense, causes you to see everything from a negative perspective, and fills your life with more stress than joy. But if you have a positive mindset, you will be so focused on the good that anything bad will be overshadowed by your positivity and you will be in a much calmer mood. The more positive you are, the better your attitude is towards anything that comes your way.

YOUR EMOTIONS: If you have a negative mindset, you will take everything personally and will automatically react to things instead of respond to them. When you react to things, you let your emotions take over and if you are already feeling defensive by taking things personally, you are not going to serve yourself or those you are reacting to very well. If you have a positive mindset, you automatically have the will power to put your mind on pause and let your emotions fizzle out. Once you let your emotions fizzle out and use your mind to respond effectively, you save yourself and those you are dealing with a lot of unnecessary grief.

YOUR ACTIONS: If you have a negative mindset, you are going to do things from a selfish standpoint instead of a selfless one. You will naturally do things to benefit yourself not thinking of others, because like the two mentioned before, your pattern of negativity keeps you from seeing the good in other people, so you tend to only take care of yourself. If you have a positive mindset, you will do things for others for the simple fact that you want to make things easier for them. You will do for others, because your positivity is what keeps you going and what enables you to help others, no matter what. When you are positive, you put others before yourself.

YOUR EFFECT ON OTHERS: If you have a negative mindset, you will bring others down with you just by your negative energy and negative comments. If you are in a leadership role and trying to encourage and/or motivate those you lead, being negative is going to do the complete opposite. Those you lead will feel discouraged and become negative themselves. If you have a positive mindset, people will feel your uplifting energy and crave your optimistic comments. And if those who want to be around you for your positivity are negative themselves, your positivity in itself can be what inspires them to change their own mindset from negative to positive.

In closing, being positive not only benefits you, but it benefits those around you. Whether you want to be a better leader, father, mother, friend, coworker, or person in general, being positive will greatly enhance your life and others. After all, we all want to enjoy life - right? Then why make it more complicated than it has to be? YOU can control how you view things and YOU can control how you approach things.

Have a great rest of the week, folks! And always remember to... #BeSignificant.

- Dean