How to be and stay positive

How to be and stay positive...

All of us are social creatures. What happens around us has a huge impact on us - consciously or subconsciously; intentionally or unintentionally. It isn't easy in today's world of work pressures, competition, stress, war, hatred, social media to always be and remain happy, positive and enthusiastic. But life is short and if you do manage to make it and shape it how you want it, then you are way more fortunate than half of the world. 

I have a very simple mantra and three simple strategies to be and remain positive, productive and passionate in everything I do - personally and professionally:

1) Focus on what's possible: whenever you are in a rough and tough situation, it's easy to get defensive, have your barriers and inhibitors on and get negative or even worse - become a moaner. This is a huge drain on positivity. So my antidote is to focus on what's possible. Consciously make an effort to think and act in ways where you are taking control and focusing on what is possible to achieve, what is within your power (or remit) to act upon and what's feasible to change. Positivity follows proactive actions.

2) Engage with enablers: there are two types of people in life - those that make things happen (enablers) and those that stop things from happening (inhibitors). Enablers tend to be creative, forward thinking, innovative and action oriented. Inhibitors tend to be cautious, evaluative, risk averse, pragmatic and reserved. While neither are right or wrong in their approach, enablers tend to be positive and happier than the inhibitor counterparts. You can actively choose to engage with enablers in stressful situations and rely on their natural problem solving nature.

3) Disconnect and reconnect: finally, you need to switch off and distance yourself from a draining situation. This gives the mind  an opportunity to reflect, process, analyse and find solutions, find rationalisations and find peace. When the mind is free, it is able to compute all facets of a situation and workout a solution. When it has done so, it is time to reconnect and deal with it. Whether it's your personal or professional life, you may find solace in stepping out of it and coming back to it at a later time. 

This has worked for me time and time again and is inherent to being successful in your passions and endeavours. It is easier said than done but most things worth pursuing are like that! 


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