Negativity Kills Empowerment

Dear High Achiever:nnIf it’s not already in your library, one of my favorite books — The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale — should be.nnIt’s one of the influential books that helped me in the early stages of my quest to develop consistent positive thoughts, habits and core philosophies that I strive to live by today. I re-read it at least once a year and it always re-ignites my passion and mission of looking for the positive in any situation.nnThink (positively) about this: One of the challenges with positive thinking is you actually have to think about it. It takes work. And that’s where I see many people falling into the trap of negativity.nnI hear it at seminars, workshops and in my coaching practice: “Eric, it’s all around me every day. It’s like I’m a target being bombarded by negative people, negative news and negative situations. It’s just so easy to be negative these days.”nnHello, Mr. Negativity. Technology may make it seem like negativity is omnipresent because you’re “plugged-in” 24/7. But it has always been there and always will. It’s not like “NEGATIVE” is some new disease and now you have to deal with it.nnSo, the million dollar question is:nn“How are you handling it?”nnOops! Wait a second. Let me state this in the positive:nn“It’s probably your greatest area for improvement.”nnThere’s a helpful FYI Takeaway right there.nnDo you see it? Instead of saying, “I suck at handling all of this negativity that is enveloping and consuming my life” you can say it’s your greatest area for improvement and that you’re committed to getting better at thinking positive throughout the day.nnAnother case in point: When I’m conducting sales training programs I take a slightly different approach than my friend Jeffrey Gitomer who has a huge PowerPoint slide that boldly states:nn“YOU SUCKnnAT SALES”nnOf course he uses this slide to make a point. And, in the presenting persona he’s created, there’s certainly entertainment value connected to his process. To give him all the credit due, this part of his vignette is very funny and the audience loves being told they Suck At Sales.nnConversely, I tell my audiences -nnThey DON’T SUCK at sales. They just never studied selling. And it’s -nnThe same for Positive Thinking. I tell my audiences -nnYou are not doomed for a life of negative thinking. You’ve just never studied Positive Thinking!nn“STUDY POSITIVE THINKING”nnWhere do you start? Reading The Power of Positive Thinking would be a first step in the right direction.nnBut wait there’s more. Like all life-changing disciplines –nnYou have to do more than just study. You have to apply positive thoughts, behaviors, words and actions to your every day life until positivism becomes a habit.nnThat’s where the work comes in. You have a choice.nnConsider what Zig Ziglar has to say:nn“Positive Thinking won’t let you do anything but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.”nnHere are five things I encourage you to think about changing to Positive:n

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1. Your self-talk.n
2. Your thoughts.n
3. Your environment.n
4. Your health.n
5. The people you surround yourself with.n

nToday’s FYI title Negativity Kills Empowerment was taken from “10 Life and Leadership Lessons I Learned from Superman” (and How They Changed My Life Forever) a chapter I contributed to the book 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life compiled by David Riklan and the folks at SelfGrowth.com.nnAs I hope you know by now, the chapter is inspired by and dedicated to Christopher Reeve. On the night of September 29, 2004 when he uttered the words “Negativity Kills Empowerment” I couldn’t help but think of how hard he must have to work every day to stay positive. He was and remains an American icon, father, husband, son, celebrity. But that evening he was also a challenged but inspiring quadriplegic telling an enamored and privileged audience that Negativity Kills Empowerment.nnTen days later, he died. He was seriously challenged that evening.nnBut there was no negativity. In summary, his life and his words that evening are today’s -nnFYI ACTION IDEA: Don’t let your dreams and ambitions die at the hands of negativity, before you even give them a chance. Faith, belief and hope are the precursor to persistence.nnI’m positive that if you study Positive Thinking you will achieve the greatness you deserve.