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

I AM ABLE to Accomplish GREAT Things!

If you haven't done so, be sure to take a look at yesterday's blog to get the full listing of my "7 Life-changing, Life-directing, Powerful Daily Affirmations" and begin to incorporate them into your daily schedule.

For me, the best time to do this is in the mornings before I leave the house. Perhaps you can tape these to your mirror and say them while you are getting ready for the day. Or, you may want to put them by your door to stop and say right before you leave your house. Whatever you do - I really want to encourage you to DO these each and every day.

#2: I AM ABLE to Accomplish GREAT Things!

"Great things" can mean a lot of different things and I'd like to touch on that first. First of all, let's talk about what it DOESN'T have to mean, o.k.?

If you DON'T become President of the United States, it doesn't mean that you have not accomplished great things in your life. If you DON'T find the cure for cancer, it doesn't mean that you have not accomplished great things in your life.

See what I mean?

Sometimes when we consider "great things" we tend to think of things that would make us famous and known world-wide. That's not necessarily the case!

Now, are these GREAT things to accomplish? Absolutely! If you set out to do such things with your life - GO FOR IT and give it all you have!

However, let's not miss the fact that there are MANY things we can do with/in our lives that can be considered "great" that no one may ever even know about.

One of the things that I mention in today's podcast is a situation where a single mother is working hard at one, two and maybe even three jobs just to try to provide for her child or children. This mother may not consider the fact that she is providing a home and food and clothing for her children a great thing - but it is!

Parent's who love their children and always make sure that their children KNOW that they are loved are, also, doing GREAT things!

See what I mean? Let's not overlook some of the so-called "simple" things that can also be great!

What ARE your goals and plans? What HAVE you been working towards in your life? What are your DREAMS and what are you doing to enable yourself to REACH those goals, plans and dreams?

Whatever it is - or whatever they are - you DO have the ability to accomplish GREAT things! And, yes, this DOES also mean that you have the ability to accomplish things in your life that you and probably others would think is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for you to do!

Yet, when you take into consideration what we looked at yesterday in our first affirmation ("I am somebody special!") and combine that with today's affirmation then you can KNOW that you can, indeed, ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS!

You ARE special and you have been given the ability to accomplish things beyond your comprehension!

When you combine the miraculous wonder that God made you to be (your mind and body) with all of the assets available for each of us to use today (the internet, for example) then you end up with an UNBELIEVABLE and POWERFUL FORCE!

WOW! Just really take a moment and consider that!

You CAN because you ARE!

You CAN accomplish great things because you ARE somebody special!

It's true. Whether you feel this or not, say it anyway each day. Out loud. You will be amazed at what happens over time to your belief system as your subconscious mind begins to take this as a fact and repeat it to you as such.

Remember - you CAN because you ARE!

And, as always...

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

Mike

Never Cheat Yourself or Others

Never Cheat Yourself or Others

We live in a world of "grey". You understand what I'm saying, right? Think about it and ask yourself how many times have you heard discussions like the following OR have caught yourself saying things similar to the following:

- "I really didn't LIE, I just didn't tell the whole truth!"

- "This company won't miss that package of paper. After all, I've worked here long enough to earn the right to take it home with me!"

- "Clarify what you mean when you ask if I've been unfaithful."

Sad to say, the idea of "situational ethics" has taken firm root in our world and, if we are not careful, we will fall to it's falsehood ourselves.

First of all, let's talk about the idea of "Never cheat others."

You know, if you live by the principles that we have discussed in this blog as well as my podcasts, you will never have to worry about this topic. Living by these principles will cause you to not only do what is EXPECTED of you, but it will cause you to go a step further and do MORE than is expected. Remember our recent discussion on that idea ("Do More Than You Have To")?

Do not fall into the trap of "shorting" your customers, friends, family.......ANYONE! By doing so, you are hurting your future relationship with these people in these different groups as well as hurting yourself.

"I'm not hurting myself! I'm just doing what I have to do to survive!"

Think about that. Again, there is a difference in LIVING and surviving - and, yes, you are simply surviving And, sooner or later, you will cease to do even that.

Let's consider this idea of "I'm just doing what I have to do to survive!" a little further. Have you ever seen the films about animals that get caught in a trap and actually chew their foot off so that they can escape? Extreme, right? Yet, they are doing what is necessary to survive. We've all heard the horror stories of people in a plane crash high up in the snowy country turning to the eating of the human flesh of those that didn't survive the crash. Why did they do it? They were just doing what they had to do to survive!

Extreme point? YES! But, that is an extreme attitude to have! Sooner or later, living with this type of attitude will cause you to be "eaten up" from the inside because you KNOW that this is NOT the way to truly live nor is it the way to treat your customers, friends and/or family.

In a difficult economy like the one we are still experiencing near the end of 2009, the tendency is to "cut back" and give customers a little less for the money. Might I suggest that, instead, it is the time to give MORE than your customers expect?

This is the time that will separate WINNERS from LOSERS - the choice is yours and, in my opinion, you only LOSE when you decide to cheat others.

And, again, you only cheat yourself in the process.

Now, let's turn our thoughts for a few moments to the idea of, "Never cheat yourself."

We have already discussed one way that we cheat ourselves, now let's look at another way that this can happen in our lives.

You are cheating yourself when you fail to do all within your power to better yourself. Think about it.

If you sit around and watch t.v. during all of your spare time - you are cheating yourself. Oh, I understand that there are some entertaining things on t.v. (I love sports, for example) - but, like with anything else, this should be done in moderation.

If you have decided (and, apparently you have or you wouldn't be reading this blog) to spend some time each day listening to podcasts and/or reading positive information then you have made a decision to try to improve yourself as well as your life.

HOWEVER, it is easy to "skimp" on this and to actually "lie" to yourself by not following through. How many books have you bought that you never read? How many books have you bought that you started, but never finished?

You see, we can make ourselves FEEL GOOD about buying that book, for example. We can give ourselves a false sense of accomplishment by pointing out the wonderful books in our own little library. But, it is just that - a FALSE sense of accomplishment.

We begin to CHEAT OURSELVES when we begin to make excuses for our lack of discipline and thus begin to look for ANY source that might make us feel better.

Come on, friend. Let's get REAL and let's get HONEST with ourselves so that we CAN move on toward our goal of self-improvement!

Seriously, what will you ever accomplish by cheating yourself? And, just as was true in the first part of this blog when I mentioned that you end up cheating yourself when you cheat others...the opposite is also true. When you cheat yourself, you end up cheating those around you as well.

So, bottom line - cheating yourself and/or others is a LOSE/LOSE situation!

Being honest with yourself and others is nothing but a WIN/WIN proposition!

I'll all for being a WINNER - what about you?

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

Mike

Frustrating Challenges!! (We ALL Have Them)

Wow. What a frustrating past few days I've had. Yes, even people like me that try to focus on the positive and tries to share that with people like you, have frustrating days!

It seems like one thing after another has not gone the way I would have preferred and, due to that, I've not slept well in about five nights which has tended to keep me "on edge".

One of the things I discuss on today's podcast is the fact that I was trying to update and improve my web page (http://www.futureyouuniversity.com/) and something happened to where it's not even up right now. SO DON'T GO THERE expecting to find anything at this point. I will update the status of that page on here so you will know when it's available again.

You want to hear "the kicker"? Now this is really kind of funny if you allow yourself to look at it this way - and it's the only way I know to look at it at this point. After recording this podcast and talking about "Frustrating Challenges" I went on to the next step in order to upload the audio so that this podcast would be available for you to listen to. Guess what happened? My internet connection went down during this process and was still not working by the time I finally decided that I needed to go to bed. So.....the podcast has been "made public" a little later than I had planned. My apologies for anyone that tried to check on today's episode only to find it not available.

I share a few quotes on today's podcast that can help us think about those "situations" as well as those "people" that bring frustration into our lives - I think you will enjoy these and benefit from them as well.

Oh yeah, one positive thing that happened during all of this.... after recording this podcast and before my internet connection went down I received a message from one of my listeners that was very complimentary on what I'm doing with this podcast. Do you know how helpful that was? Do you know how much I NEEDED that message at that moment? I have thanked the person that sent that message and I just want to encourage you in a couple of areas:
1. Don't allow the frustrating challenges cause you to miss the positive that still surrounds you
2. Don't pass on an opportunity to encourage someone - you never know what may be going on in their life and how much they may need that encouragement.

Well, that's it for today - enjoy the podcast, share the joy even during those "frustrating challenges".

And always remember to.....
"Make it an AWESOME Day! (who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike