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Six Ways to Make Positivity and Optimism Commonplace In Your Life

You could be missing out on a lot of amazing opportunities because of your initial understanding of an event. There is a misconception that we can only have a optimistic and positive outlook about our life if things are going “as planned”. We look to debunk this false belief as we tackle ways to stay optimistic and positive in any situation.

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Would You Be Happy If You Got Exactly What You Wanted?

There are things that are going to happen in your life that are going to cause you to immediate think, this is bad. Yet, they are going to turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Likewise, there are going to be events that happen exactly as you wished and you are going to find those things end causing major setbacks and challenges.

There is always an opportunity for growth and there is always an opportunity to create a new solution [02:05]

Have you ever watched the television show Shark Tank?

• Did you know a good percentage of people who did not get a deal on the show, found funding because of the show?
• Did you know that some people who didn’t get a deal, still sold thousands, if not millions of dollars of their product because of their exposure?
• Better yet, have you ever seen an update on someone who did not receive funding and they were actually happy they did not receive a deal?
• The circumstances of the show itself was all they needed to take their business to the next level. Shark Tank is a constant reminder that we need to maintain an optimistic outlook, because we do not know what can work for our benefit in the future.

Story of Ruth and Elliot Handler and The founding of Mattel [03:23]

For full story, check out the Law of Catalyst in Champion of Change.

Elliot was a creative person who was making everything from frames to jewelry and everything in between.

Ruth often sold Elliot’s creations to local boutiques. As they grew their operation, they drew the attention of another business owner who wanted to merge company’s. Elliot and Ruth thought this was the big break they were looking for and accepted the offer.

This successful endeavor resulted in them creating a multi-million dollar company. Everything was going great until new investors were brought in. These investors did not agree on anything and it created a lot of dysfunction for Ruth and Elliot (as well as the company).

The Handler’s were ready for a fresh start and ended up accepting an offer to sell their ownership in the company to the other investors for cents on the dollar.

With the money they received, they started a wood frame business with their friend Matt. They combined the name of Matt and Elliot to create Mattel (yup, that Mattel).

It was during this time that Elliot started using the wood craps to build doll furniture.

The doll furniture was making them more money than their wood frame business, so they decided to focus solely on toys and the rest is history. Mattel would become one the largest toy producers in the world.

It is a skill to be able to maintain a positive outlook when things around you seem negative  [05:40]

Negativity can cause us to shut down; turning off our creativity and critical thinking.

Below you will find 6 techniques to help you maintain your positivity and optimism. [05:56]

1. Gratitude. [6:06]

It is much easier to maintain a positive outlook if you are able to find something to be grateful.

• Train your mind to overlook negativity and to focus on positivity

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• To accomplish this goal, I recommend keeping a gratitude journal. Every time you have a negative thought, you are going to write down two things you are thankful to have in your life.

2. Living in a positive environment. [06:45]

• If you tell me what you watch on television, I can tell you something about your beliefs.
• Think about the advertising commercials and how they differ by channel.
• What type of commercials will you find on
  1. children’s channel?
  2. sports channel?
  3. travel channel?
  4. news outlet?
• The information you take in directly impacts the way you see the world around you.
• To make sure you have built a positive environment, I want you to write down the four most negative people in your life. Then I want you to write down the four most negative networks (TV, radio, social media) of information you allow yourself to absorb.

You can’t create a long-lasting impact by forcing yourself to stop doing something that you like. That is why I offer discipline-free approaches. I want you to slowly experience the results so become excited about the opportunity. Then it is not a discipline (force) approach, but something that does not require you to force yourself to do anything. You have put systems in place that will make it really easy to succeed and very difficult to fail.

The plan is to change what you like, so you’re still doing what you like, you just like doing something different. [09:30]

3. Add value to someone else’s life. [09:35]

• You can help someone in a worse situation than you (as a way to gain perspective), or you can help the next person you see.
• Help them by spending time with them, donating to a cause, giving to those less fortunate.
• You have the added benefit of those people being so grateful, so thankful that you feel more positively about your life and your impact in the world.

4. Let it go, forgive and move on. [11:21]

Nelson Mandela has this saying that holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for your enemy to die. If you have ever known or held a drudge yourself, then you know it changes you. Holding a grudge rots you from the inside and robs of your happiness.

• Have you ever seen two people stay together after someone cheated? If the person who was cheated on is unable to forgive their spouse, they end up changing. They don’t trust their spouse so they overreact to small things, follow them around, hire a private investigator, question whenever they are not home and may even go as far as to cheat on their spouse themselves (because they believe the other is still cheating).
• Don’t wait for them to apologize for you to forgive them. By you forgiving them, you are freeing yourself of the burden they placed on them.

5. Start your day in a positive note. [14:48]

It could be anything. Your goal is to think of something you can do everyday that will let your mind know you are going to have a great day.

• My wife enjoys a glass of lemon-water before she begins her day. Others speak positive affirmations, pray and meditate.
• I could keep going, but the point is you want to start your day off by doing something that lets your mind know, today is going to be an amazing day.

6. Challenge your negative emotions. [16:12]

This is important because our natural reaction when something “bad” happens is to say, I failed. Instead of beating yourself up and feeling down, it is more accurate to say, things did not turn out the way I planned.

• Maybe you chose the wrong vendor, the wrong day or the wrong color. Whatever your mistake was, it is not an indication that you have an issue. It only shows you were lacking some information that you now have to make a better choice going forward.
• You want to allow your negative emotions to exist outside of you. Do not internalize your negative emotions. Do not allow yourself to believe you have an innate problem. Take a moment to analyze what could have been done differently, and then adjust your plan accordingly.