Think Positive & Pleasing Thoughts!

Twelve "Do's and Don'ts" For Living a Positive Life

1. Make Enthusiasm A Daily Habit!
2. Don't Allow Negative People to Determine Your Self-Worth!
3. Get Into The Habit of Talking to Yourself Affirmatively!
4. Get Into the Habit of Talking to Others With an Affirmative, Positive Vocabulary!
5. Don't Be a Grudge Collector!

6. Think Positive & Pleasing Thoughts!

Some of you may think that this is beginning to sound redundant - and, to the "untrained eye" it might appear that way. However, look closely at what is being constructed here and notice the progression and how these are all working together to aid us in our desire to live a positive life!

We're told right off to make enthusiasm a daily habit and then we are shown ways that will help make that happen. HOWEVER, first and foremost we must have the DESIRE to live an enthusiastic life. We must have our eyes "open" with that in mind and be looking for the positive in our lives each and every day!

One of the most effective ways to do so is to not allow negative people to have ANY influence in our lives - NONE! We must, through this process, break free from the chains of bondage that have held us back and down due to such people. YES, IT IS THAT DRASTIC AND DRAMATIC.

One way we combat this is to make sure that we are speaking to OURSELVES in an affirmative way - again, go back to my discussions and sharing of my 7 daily affirmations. Then, we also notice that we should be talking to OTHERS in a positive and affirmative way --- this helps us be "whole" in our approach to developing a positive mindset!

By doing so, we should become less and less concerned with holding grudges. We begin to realize - because our focus and direction is changing - that hanging on to such negative feelings will do nothing but bring us down and "kill" our dreams.

So, we're talking to ourselves, we're talking to others and now we are encouraged to THINK positive and pleasing thoughts. Again, this may sound oversimplified, but DO NOT let the simple fool you! "Many times the PROFOUND can be FOUND in the simple!"

This step encourages us to keep our mind focused throughout each and every day. You see, by continuously THINKING in this way then it becomes easier to SPEAK this way - to ourselves as well as to others.

By continuously THINKING this way it also becomes easier to let go of any grudges that we may have been clinging to because now our mindset is focused on something else - something better!

Listen, as I have said many times before, the negative forces in our world are active and busy and are willing to dump negative trash in your lap and in your life ANYTIME you will let them do so!

This is a process. Please do not forget that fact! It does not happen over night, but it DOES happen IF you continue to stay focused. When you fail (notice I didn't say "if" you fail) and allow the negative influences to get the best of you - DO NOT GIVE UP! Realize that you are human and that you just need to get refocused and regain control of your thoughts and, thus, your life.

And, hey, this is one reason I do what I do - to help give you POSITIVE things on which to think! So, use it, apply it and see what happens.

Together we WILL stay on track to our goals and dreams and, while doing so we will always do our best to remember this little quote...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

"Don't Be a Grudge Collector!"

Twelve "Do's and Don'ts" For Living a Positive Life


1. Make Enthusiasm A Daily Habit!
2. Don't Allow Negative People to Determine Your Self-Worth!
3. Get Into The Habit of Talking to Yourself Affirmatively!
4. Get Into the Habit of Talking to Others With an Affirmative, Positive Vocabulary!

5. Don't Be a Grudge Collector!

There are many different things that people collect. Some collect salt and pepper shakers, some collect cookie jars, some collect light houses, some collect dolls and on and on it goes.

The interesting this is, as I have talked to some of these people I have found that, many times, they never intended to really start collecting them. They had a few items of a particular theme and people ASSUMED they were collecting and started giving them additional items as gifts throughout the years.

Yes, some people DO purposely collect these things, too - I understand that as well. But EITHER WAY, what happens? These people end up with more items than they know what to do with and they end up either boxing some of them up (what good is a boxed up collection that cannot be seen?) OR they have to find a way to devote more space to their collection. Sometimes it's cleaning out a room for them OR even building extra space.

Today, we want to talk about those that tend to collect grudges.

Oh, they may not have this as their intention, but for whatever reason they begin to gather and hang on to grudges. And, others end up giving them reasons to hold a grudge along the way. Then, just like the salt shakers or whatever others may collect, the grudge collector ends up hanging onto so many grudges that they have to decide what to do with them. They can get rid of them (how many times have you seen a collector let go of their collection?) or devote more space (time/energy) to keeping their grudge collection.

When you look at it and consider it this way it kind of makes you think a bit, doesn't it?

WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO HANG ON TO A GRUDGE?

Well, for the same reason many people collect the items discussed above - it brings them pleasure!

WHAT?

As odd as it may seem, some people actually find PLEASURE in collecting grudges without realizing how it is sucking the very life out OF their life!

Some use these grudges to manipulate others and others take comfort in feeling that they have been wronged and they are "owed" something in return.

Hey, whatever the reason - STOP IT!

Collecting grudges will NEVER do you ANY good at all and, as a matter of fact, it will have the OPPOSITE effect in your life! Collecting grudges will do nothing but bring you misery and unhappiness and, again, it will suck the joy out of your life.

So, why do it? Why hang on to them? Why not let them go?

Again, have you ever seen a collector let go of their collections? Not often!

But this is different. ESPECIALLY if you plan to keep moving on in a positive way toward your dreams and goals!

You CANNOT keep moving forward while hanging on to the clutter of your collection of grudges - it is basically an impossibility!

If you find that you have collected grudges my guess is that you - IF you allow yourself some serious self-examination - will find that you are physically tired most of the time and that you are stressed and irritated quite easily.

Check it out, be honest and see if that isn't true.

Grudge collecting is a robber! It robs you of valuable energy and mind space. It robs you of the joy of living life.

Be sure to listen to today's podcast for a "different" discussion on this topic - you want to be sure to get it all if possible.

Ask yourself how serious you really are about moving forward. If you really ARE serious about this endeavor then you MUST let go of your grudge collection.

Yes, it IS that important and yes you CAN do it!

It's a choice. It's YOUR choice.

Why not choose to move on with a POSITIVE mindset and free yourself from the chains of being held back by collecting grudges?

You'll be glad you did!

And, by doing so, you will be able to do what I leave you with each day, which is...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Talk to OTHERS Affirmatively Every Day!

Twelve "Do's and Don'ts" For Living a Positive Life


1. Make Enthusiasm A Daily Habit!
2. Don't Allow Negative People to Determine Your Self-Worth!
3. Get Into The Habit of Talking to Yourself Affirmatively!

4. Get Into the Habit of Talking to Others With an Affirmative, Positive Vocabulary!

I want you to take a close look at today's topic combined with number 3 that we covered yesterday. By doing BOTH of these DAILY - "habit" - the we are conditioning ourselves to constantly be talking in a positive and "affirmative" way!

We are building up an "immunity" against the dangerous, negative influences that are all around us each and every day - THINK ABOUT THAT! In today's podcast I use the image of putting up a protective, invisible force field that will not allow this negativity to penetrate and get to us.

And, while doing this, we are helping to do what is talked about in the second point - not allowing negative people to determine our self-worth!

You see, by talking to ourselves AND others affirmatively (in the "yes!") on a daily basis, so that it becomes a habit, we are preventing the negative influences from having as much - if any - impact on our lives!

THIS IS POWERFUL so don't skip out on this - don't skip over it or discount it!

IF you are serious, IF you are determined to MOVE ON toward your goals and dreams then you must understand that this is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY!

Too, by talking to others in this way it helps us to stop focusing on what MIGHT be "wrong" with others or what we may not "like" about others and it will help us to focus on what is RIGHT and GOOD with all of those around us.

I've shared stories with you about how my wife has been determined in some of her work environments not to allow the negative people to have ANY power over her. As a matter of fact, her plan of action - ATTACK? - was to do all she could to turn the tables on them and basically make it impossible for them not to smile! AWESOME!

Try it - see what happens.

Determine RIGHT NOW that you are NOT going to say ANYTHING negative about ANYONE today and DO NOT budge on this! This means you will likely have to separate yourself from negative conversations so that you won't follow the temptation to join in.

Try it and give it your best shot!

And then, try it again tomorrow.

Daily.

Until it becomes a habit and you don't even have to think about it.

You'll be glad you did!

And, as you do so...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Talk to Yourself AFFIRMATIVELY!

Twelve "Do's and Don'ts" For Living a Positive Life

1. Make Enthusiasm A Daily Habit!

2. Don't Allow Negative People to Determine Your Self-Worth!

3. Get Into The Habit of Talking to Yourself Affirmatively!

I find it interesting to notice that, already, we have used the word "habit" in the first three of these twelve points. This is something that I believe is important for us to understand - it is an ON-GOING PROCESS that we must dedicate ourselves to! DO NOT GIVE UP and DO NOT GIVE IN!

In today's podcast I used the example of putting gasoline into an automobile - that is not a one time procedure IF you plan to go anywhere. And, aren't we ALL on a journey together? Aren't we ALL taking a journey and attempting to make daily progress toward our goals and dreams?

So, when you think of it that way you should hopefully see the need for DAILY "refueling" concerning positive influences in our lives - it needs to become a HABIT.

Now, it is also important to notice the connection between today's topic and the topic from yesterday. When we understand that we do NOT need to allow negative people to influence ANYTHING in our lives then we also begin to see the fact that it is up to us to supply the daily positive "fuel" for our lives. See what I mean?

Even at times when it is impossible for us to get away from such negative people (anyone relate to this where you work?) we can STILL talk to ourselves in a way that will help combat the damage that the negativity can cause.

We have to TALK LOUDER than the negative talk - get it? We have to TALK MORE than the negative talk and overcome it with our positive flow of "fuel".

What we are doing here through this blog and also the podcast is like an "anti-venom" or something that will help us "detox" the negative. YES, IT IS THAT SERIOUS!

Negativity is TOXIC and it IS a POISON in our lives that we must fight and prevent in our lives.

So, enough of the morbid, huh? Let's look to the positive side of this and that is - what WE can do about this. It is WITHIN our control, right? Sure it is! We talk about this all of the time - it is up to YOU and ME to take control of our lives and our environments!

We have the ABILITY, we have the POWER, we have the OPPORTUNITY and we also have the RESPONSIBILITY to do this in our own lives.

So, again, go back to the seven daily affirmations that I shared with you starting back on January 4th and incorporate them into your DAILY routine!

Talking to ourselves affirmatively simply means talking to ourselves in the "YES language" when the world wants to continually dump "NO" on us.

Think about that and the truth behind it.

No one else can do this for you - it is up to you. "Talk to YOURSELF..."

Yes, it helps to have others talk to us and with us as well. That's what I am doing though this blog and podcast. That's what I get for myself from Jim Rohn and others.

Yet, when it comes down to it, I must incorporate these thoughts and ideas into my OWN life and I must make them my OWN - CLAIM them!

Stop telling yourself that this isn't for you because you don't deserve it or because you are not good enough or whatever it is that you may have run around in your head from time to time.

THAT IS POISON and it will KILL you and your dreams!

"I AM Somebody Special!" -- and take it from there, my friend.

Daily.

Everyday.

Starting NOW (if you haven't already).

And, as you do so, don't ever forget to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Don't Allow Negative People to Determine Your Self-Worth!

Twelve "Do's and Don'ts" For Living a Positive Life

1. Make Enthusiasm A Daily Habit!

2. Don't Allow Negative People to Determine Your Self-Worth!

Yes, I know you've heard very similar things to this before if you've listened to me for very long. As a matter of fact, if you've listened to ANYONE in the area of personal development or read much of anything in this area, you've seen it/read it before.

But, the question is - how are you doing with that?

I'm not really sure what it is about us but we tend to pay attention - for whatever reason - to those negative people that feel that it is their duty to dump their negativity on us. I've shared with you before that I can have 100 people pat me on the back and tell me I've done a good job and have ONE say something negative and I'll linger on that one.

WHY?

Again, I'm not sure but I'm going to do all I can to encourage you to rid that from your life (as I do the same in mine)!

When you really think about it, why should we even listen to ANYTHING these negative people have to say? Seriously! Think about that!

When someone "feeds" on being negative then anything that they have to say is going to be fueled by their negative mindset. You really can't take what they say about anything and put any validity to it. If they give you their opinion about a doctor or a restaurant or even a movie...why would you take what they say as having any value?

If you haven't noticed this before - notice it now: Negative people will spew their negative poison on ANYONE that will allow them to do so!

Notice the word, "allow"!

(By the way, let me say again that, if you haven't listened to the podcast - you need to! So far the thoughts I'm sharing in the blog are similar but yet very different!)

We all need to understand that we OWN our space - our physical space as well as our emotional and spiritual space. And, since we own this space it is up to us - it is our RIGHT - to protect our space from these negative influences!

When we "allow" these negative people to dump their garbage into our space/life, then we are surrendering our ownership to them - think about that!

It's as if we are saying, "You need somewhere to dump your garbage? Yes, I know it's full of rotten food, trash and even raw sewage, but hey, it's no big deal - bring it right on over and dump it right here in my lap!"

None of us would allow that to actually happen, would we? So then why do we allow this to take place day after day in our emotional and spiritual lives?

Whether we realize it or not, we are allow these negative people to determine our self-worth even by allowing them to dump this in our lives. Again, we have surrendered our "ownership" and basically said that our lives aren't that important anyway so it's o.k. to dump that crap in our laps!

Am I getting to you yet? Are you starting to get a little angry? Are you seeing what I'm saying here?

THIS MUST STOP!

Well, it must IF you want to keep moving in a positive direction. This has to stop IF you plan to take positive steps on your journey. This must stop IF you value who you are and you realize that, indeed, you ARE someone special!

Again, in the podcast, I talk about other ways that we can prevent these negative people from determining our self-worth - so be sure to listen to it! BUT, as far as what you are reading here I want to encourage you to put THIS into action TODAY - RIGHT NOW!

"But they're my friends!"

Really? Perhaps it times to consider making some new friends! Perhaps this is one of the reasons you are struggling with making progress with your goals and dreams! Perhaps you have not yet accepted the first of my 7 daily affirmations that you are somebody SPECIAL and, because of that, YOU DESERVE BETTER!

Again, just like making enthusiasm a daily habit - it's a choice and the choice is YOURS!

You can either continue to have this negative garbage dumped on you day after day OR you can make a decision and not allow it any longer.

How? Listen to the podcast, but here is a quick run-down on my suggestions:

1. Remove yourself from the situation if at all possible - even if temporarily. Even if at work, if possible, get up and go do something else somewhere else.

2. Sooner or later you WILL have to do this - CHANGE THE CONVERSATION by talking in a positive way and refuse to give in! Refuse to allow the negative to come into your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual space. IT IS YOUR SPACE - remember?

Yes, sooner or later you may even have to sit down with this person (these people) and tell them straight out that you will not allow this in your life. If they would like to continue to be a part of your life then they need to respect that. If not- it's time for a change!

Yes, sometimes it IS that drastic IF you are THAT serious about the ownership of your life, hopes, dreams and goals.

It's up to you.

This, again, is but one of many ways to do what I say at the end of every article and podcast...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike