Staying Positive in Trying Times

Read the newspaper, watch the news....and I challenge you to find more than five positive stories. The times are trying and the media seems to be harvesting negativity lately. So how do you keep your perspective? How do you stay positive? It's all a matter of choice.

The truth about attitude is that we get to choose our's: minute to minute, hour by hour and day to day. It's easy to sit around and commisserate about the economy, the cost of living, the health care debacle. It's easy, because so many others are doing this, and negativity grows much more quickly than optimism.

Regardless of our situations, how we perceive ourselves and our resources, is actually our reality. If you choose to be grateful for what you have, look for the positive and concentrate on successes and blessings, you will attract more positive energy to you. If you have trust that good things are coming your way, they will come. Similarly, if you make statements like, "this always happens to me. I just can't win."... you will attract negativity. "As you think, so shall you be."

Think back to disappointments or crises you have experienced. In retrospect, you can certainly list what you learned from those events. You can also look back and see how those events attracted you to other resources, jobs, homes, relationships. The truth is, the world is inherently good. The universe wants you to succeed and be happy. The Chinese have two characters for the word Crisis. One means "danger" and the other "opportunity".

Train yourself to look for the opportunities. Think outside the box, search out the treasures that await you. You can wallow and feel sorry for yourself and the situations in the world that are trying, or you can go after what you really want. You can believe that the world is teaching you a lesson and forcing you into action to strive for good things.

Beginning is simple. Find or purchase a simple notebook. Everyday or everynight, list the things you are grateful to have in your life. Strive for a list of 50 items. You may need to write things like two eyes, two legs, etc. for a while. The important thing is to train yourself to look for the positive. Before you know it, you'll be listing things you hadn't considered as gifts. You'll feel much more positive and in control, and your attitude will be contagious.

The second thing, is to mark your calendar two weeks in advance of beginning your gratitude journal. On that date, write, "How am I doing?" You'll be amazed at how much better you feel when you check in with yourself in two short weeks.

So take the focus off the media, put it on your good fortune, and enjoy the rewards. If your attitude is gratitude, you will attract positive energy, positive people, and great experiences.
Soon you'll be advising others about staying postiive...because you'll want to share the wealth!