Fact: Positive People Are More Successful

Name one successful person who is NOT (overall) a positive person... I'll wait...

Still waiting...

Ok, fine. Name one successful person who is a negative person...

Man, looks like I'll be waiting forever...  

That's right. Negative people are not successful. That's a blunt statement, but if you find this statement irritating or slightly offensive, it's a great indicator that you might be a negative person... And are you successful being a negative person? Are you truly happy & passionate about living life being a negative person? Are you excited to wake up every day & jump out of bed with enthusiasm being a negative person? I don't think so. 

Look, I'm not here to make you feel bad- quite the opposite! 

I'm here to help point you in the right direction. The rest is up to you! 

Let me first say that when I use the word "successful" I don't mean only financially (although that's certainly a component to success). Success = ultimate health, true happiness, daily passion for the work you do, surrounding yourself with people who lift you up, living an inspired life daily, excited to wake up everyday, financial freedom.

Negative people have this perception that positive people are happy at all times & constantly surrounded by rays of sunshine, rainbows & a healthy dose of glitter... Ha! Totally made myself laugh out loud. That is SO far from the truth (except for the glitter part- that's essential). 

The reality is that negative people & positive people have the same issues in life with the same level of difficulty. So you would think it would be an equal playing field... but it's not. It all boils down to perception and attitude. Positive people look for the good in all situations (especially negative ones). They look for the lessons & what can be learned in orderto avoid similar situations in the future. Oftentimes, there is a sense of gratitude associated with the negative situation after it has occurred and been reflected upon. 

Negative people look for the bad in all situations (EVEN good ones). They can see something great or positive & pick out all the flaws in it until there is nothing good left. They don't see any opportunity in good or bad situations and often are left with a ruined day, week, month & life feeling sorry for themselves. 

Now, let's not misconstrue this ideology. Positive people STILL feel negative emotions. They just feel them for a much shorter duration than that of negative people who dwell & fester in their negative emotions. Feeling emotions both good & bad are completely normal and super healthy. In fact, being hyper-positive without truly feeling negative emotions is an issue in and of itself and counter productive.

I feel like negative people are always so curious about whether or not positive people ever get unhappy or feel anger or sadness... The answer is:

YES! Of-FRICKING-Course we do! I say "we" because by nature I'm a super positive person & I know it's been a huge contributing factor to my own personal success. Obviously, I'm human and I experience both positive & negative emotions, but at the end of the day the question I always ask myself is "What can I learn from this crappy situation? What lesson is the universe trying to teach me?" You don't grow when things are going well, growth happens when shit-hits-the-fan and you push through & learn the hard lessons that life is trying to teach you! 

Negative people are oblivious to the lessons & only see the issues as surface level. There is no further insight in deciphering the hidden lesson that is almost always disguised as a "negative" or unpleasant situation. There are so many gifts hidden in negative situations if you dig deep enough to figure them out. Negative situations leave clues as to what needs attention in your life & the more self aware and open minded you are- the easier it gets to uncover the lesson behind the negative situation. 

Tragedy is an exception. I am in no way saying to 'look on the bright side' of the death of a loved one or anything along those lines. There are things in life that cannot be explained by myself, or anyone else. BUT the thing about tragedy is that it's not an everyday occurrence. It's the exception, not the rule. So, if you work every day on mastering a positive attitude it will have a huge impact on the quality of your daily life & your overall success. In contrast, if you maintain your negative mindset, you'll treat every situation like it's a tragedy and 'the end of the world' & you'll let the negative events dictate your level of achievement & happiness instead of taking control of the situation and determining what you can do differently going forward. 

A positive attitude is not something you're born with & it's not just some 'natural ability' it is a skill that is learned & constantly improved upon daily. You have to make it top of mind and catch yourself when negative thoughts enter and try to derail you. It's much more 'normal' and 'natural' to have negative thoughts (it's how human brains are scientifically wired from back in the caveman days where merely survival was a serious threat). You have to want to be happier & want to live a more fulfilled & successful life. If you don't truly want it & put in the work daily, you'll never have it- happiness or success. It's a key component to both. 

Here's my top 5 tips on how you can start living a more positive & successful life:

1. Hang around positive people. I cannot stress this enough! You know that saying "you're like the top 5 people you hang around?"  Well who do you hang around? Are they positive or negative? I'm not saying to ditch all your old negative friends (although, that works also & there is nothing wrong with growing apart from old friends that aren't adding value or bringing joy to your life). If you do insist on keeping them around, at least limit the amount of time you spend around them & find more positive people to hang around the majorityof the time. 

2. Look for all the negative situations & turn them around intentionally! Practice makes perfect & developing a positive mindset is no exception. Just like you practice to get better at a sport, you have to practice to get better at this. There are situations all day everyday that can be perceived as either positive or negative- YOU get to decide how to view & perceive them, NOT anyone else!

3. Educate yourself. There's literally so much free information out there on the internet & in books that you can't even tell me that you "just don't know"- google it! Figure it out & stop playing the victim or you'll always be a victim. There's no excuse for not educating yourself & figuring out what you need to do. You either want to or you don't want to. It's really that simple. 

4. Other people's opinions don't matter. Naturally, when heading out on a self development journey you're going to upset people who have known you as this other person. It's ok, the truth is- it's their own insecurities speaking out and has nothing to do with you or your journey. Now is the time to be selfish for your greater well being and leave behind the opinions of others. They'd benefit from focusing on their own shortcomings more than pointing out yours. 

5. Consistency is key. Don't lose focus. Some negative situations will be easy to flip into positives (example spilled coffee is not something that should 'ruin your day') but say you get into a fender bender & now you're out the deductible on your car. That sucks- for sure, but what's the positive? No injuries could have been way worse & it got you out of the dentist appointment you weren't excited about. Being consistent is the only way to truly make positivity a habit stick. The more you do this, the more it will be second nature & you won't have to try so hard.

Those are my tips on getting started wherever you're at on this journey to developing a positive mindset. I've worked really hard to develop this skill & now it's basically second nature to me. My brain is wired to notice the positives in situations & pick out the life lessons in the negative ones. Also, you'll be able to pick up on those 'positive' & 'negative' people super quickly so you'll know who to surround yourself with (and most importantly, who not to). 

Remember that your mindset is a choice & can go either way- you're in full control of what you spend your energy focusing on. The results you get are a direct reflection of the effort you're putting in & if you want to live a happier, healthier, more successful life it's only a positive-mindset-shift-away!