It’s no small task, but staying positive may be the difference between you unlocking life’s greatest treasures or squandering once in a lifetime opportunities.
Okay, here is the good news! Business and life is 90 percent mindset! The other 10 percent is skillset. If your mindset and energy are positive, uplifting and attractive, life will flow in your favor.
This is why we have to be the observer of the thought stream.
If our thinking starts to go south, we have the ability to pause and change the story, change our physiology, and change our mental state.
Here are the top 3 ways to keep your thinking positive and powerful.
1. Constant gratitude.
Embrace a state of constant gratitude. It’s impossible to be fearful or upset and grateful at the same time. Try it! Our brain can only be in one of two modes. Afraid of change or open to change.
Take stock of what’s going right. Your nice car, your comfortable home, your beautiful friends and family. Zoom out and consider how fortunate you are compared to the other 7 billion people on earth.
Even take note of the simplest of things: clouds, laughter, a son or a daughter smiling at you, or even creating a nutritious meal for yourself and others. The key is to consistently be in a state of awareness that shines a light on how good life really is.
There are constantly things flowing to us to be grateful for. The big question is: are we taking note of these things?
Gratitude is one of the top currencies out there. By showing appreciation to the mailman, a landscaper, a package delivery driver, an Uber driver, your barber/hairdresser, or anyone you interact with…. by paying them gratitude you uplift yourself and you have an impact on the quality of their life too.
What do most people do in their Uber, for example? They tend to ignore the driver. A very rare set of people look their driver in the eye at the end of their ride and say, “Thank you.”
Showing gratitude can come through in the form of thoughts, words, gifts, and gestures.
A state of constant gratitude will attract more people and opportunities that will flood your life with abundance. Gratitude is one of the best known secrets to success.
2. Everything happens for my good.
In other words: “everything is working out for me perfectly.”
Life is constantly unfolding in your favor if you choose to frame the events of your life in this way.
This is the hardest area of mental jiu-jitsu to master.
When so-called “negative” events come your way or things don’t work out exactly as planned, do you react with a “negative” attitude? Or do you pause and say to yourself, “maybe this is good – maybe this is bad. I’m going to let go a little bit right here.”
Life has a funny way of working itself out, especially when you can reframe and say to yourself “everything is working out for me perfectly ESPECIALLY when it seems like it’s not.” Our beliefs are creating our reality and that’s why embracing the reality as it is is so powerful. It keeps us in the drivers seat.
Do you have faith in life and believe that everything is happening for you? Or do you play the victim, fear change and new opportunities? If you constantly fear the next change around the corner, you won’t adapt well and you are limiting your potential.
If you embrace the changes that come your way, you will adapt very well to life and you will “be like water” as Bruce Lee says. Water is highly flexible yet highly powerful.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” -Charles Darwin
3. Giving.
Give your total attention and presence to who you are in each moment.
Presence is one of the greatest gifts you can provide to your friends and family. If you are hanging out with someone who has their nose in their phone for hours on end, it’s very obvious they aren’t really present with you. They aren’t giving you their time. They are locked into alternate realities in their phone and not truly embracing you. Nobody loves to be around this type of character.
People love others who are present. Be the person that takes a genuine interest in others and gives them their full and undivided attention. How often when we speak to others are we truly listening or just waiting for our next opportunity to get a word in? Take the time to really listen to what the other person is saying and fully process the information. People will feel this genuine interest and authenticity. This applies to personal and business relationships.
By embodying this state of being, one that is generous with their presence, others will be magnetically drawn to you.
Okay, so that’s in the context of giving your attention others.
The more typical context of giving is in form of donating time and resources.
During #LevelUpYourImpact month the Level Up Mastermind raised thousands of dollars for 16 of our favorite charities.
Giving starts to generate a positive flow which brings benefits that aren’t obvious at first.
Science has proven that givers are happier people.
When you give to a meaningful cause, you feel different, you feel a shift, and your identity becomes more humanitarian, more global. This identity shift will begin to trespass into other areas of your life. You will see yourself as someone who cares about others, who is impactful, and who is a contributing member of society. Naturally, as you build on this new identity and put good into the world, you will simultaneously attract the good back into your own life.
People don’t like to be around others that are “takers.” The takers are always looking to syphon energy and extract value. Pop culture calls this type of person an “energy vampire.”
People want to be around others that they feel have their back at all times and are there for support and advice at all hours of the day.
People love to be around other like-minded givers.
Interestingly enough, science has proven that givers can take on super powers of their own. Those that are givers are scientifically capable of doing more work, lifting more weight, and are generally happier. Below is a 10 minute video on how adopting a powerful and giving mindset can change your physiology and result in super human strength.
TEDxSanDiego – Becoming Superman: Doing Good Makes You Strong