Financial Journey
(featured column)
A
Positive Attitude Increases Abundance in Your Life
by Karen
Kuebler
When examining
the lives of people who have achieved outstanding results in some way, I have
observed certain qualities that have enabled them to attain their goals and
aspirations. I am profoundly affected when learning about the lives of ordinary
people who have accomplished extraordinary feats. I have found that the
"attitude" of an individual plays an extremely strong role in the
successes achieved during their lifetime. More...
These individuals have not lived their lives without its' ups and downs.
They have suffered disappointments, defeat, personal losses, and have dealt with
similar discouragements that confront us all. This is the nature of life,
and being human means that events regularly occur that throw us off track.
It is how we react and respond to these events that makes the difference.
Some of the most difficult experiences we endure are the ones that teach us the
greatest life lessons. Take the example of losing a business and having to
declare bankruptcy. Where this would be the undoing of one individual,
another person will learn and grow from the experience. Mark Victor
Hansen, famous author and motivational speaker, tells about this situation
occurring in his life as a younger man. Now he is an inspiration to
millions because of his positive outlook on life.
Your attitude, in turn, affects many of your other personal qualities. An
enthusiastic attitude increases your level of commitment, discipline,
determination, and desire. Conversely, a negative attitude diminishes
these personal attributes.
A recent personal example – that I’m sure most of you can relate to – I am
not at all happy about the price of gasoline and I hate to go to fill our car
with gas. But, my husband and I have decided to "roll with this"
the best we can. We filled our tank 19 days ago and are trying to
determine how long we can make it last. We have spent many days at home,
not leaving our garage.
During the days we are at home, we have been focusing on projects that will
provide us with a satisfactory feeling of accomplishment by the end of the day.
I have wrapped all the Christmas gifts I possibly can. I list daily on ebay
to declutter and raise money at the same time. We spend a few days at a
time 'deep cleaning' each room and love to see the crystal and silver sparkling
as we look around. Plus, I love not seeing cobwebs all over the house –
I actually didn’t realize I had so many!
Consider other areas in your life where "attitude" plays a
significant role.
When there is a job that needs to be done at work, who would you ask to help?
Obviously, the person that demonstrates a "can-do" attitude and a
level of enthusiasm when approaching their job. Who is considered first
when a promotional opportunity opens up at work? The same individual who
has demonstrated the commitment, dedication and ability to collaborate.
The good news is that you have control over your thoughts, feelings, and
attitude! You can choose to interpret an event as good or bad. When
Thomas Edison attempted thousands of ways to invent a light bulb that didn’t
work, he didn’t consider those experiments as "bad" or as failures.
Instead, these efforts provided valuable feedback of methods that did not work
for the future.
Resentment and other types of negative feelings hold you back from progressing.
Not only will they thwart your efforts to develop other positive attributes
discussed earlier, they will also keep other people from wanting to associate
with you. Associating and networking with other like-minded individuals is
another great secret to success and you will want to foster these relationships.
It is completely within your power to condition yourself to be more positive
and enthusiastic. Following are some suggestions to create an optimistic
attitude:
• Surround yourself with enthusiastic people who have a positive outlook.
• When possible, eliminate activities from your
life that drain you emotionally. As much as possible, reduce the time you
spend in toxic relationships.
• Have a "can-do" approach to life,
even if you’re not sure how you will accomplish a task. You will figure
it out and learn what is necessary to get the job done.
• Follow up with action – a "can-do"
attitude is necessary, but it won’t produce results unless you act on it.
• Read about the lives of individuals who have
worked hard and/or overcome adversity to achieve great results. A few
examples that have inspired me include the lives of Helen Keller, Frederick
Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln.
• Affirmations can alter your thoughts over
time, which in turn will improve your attitude. Replace negative thoughts
with positive thoughts as soon as you find yourself slipping into negative
thinking patterns.
• Use humor as much as possible – it is a
healing and uplifting method to overcome adversity.
• Identify role models and mentors with the
attributes you want to develop.
• Take time to respond to events – don’t
react when emotions are high. You are in control of your actions.
How you react and respond to events will determine their outcome.
• If you harbor negative feelings, find a way
to let them go—it will take work, but the benefits are worth the effort.
Begin today to view difficulties and challenges as an opportunity to step out of
your comfort zone. Change is usually uncomfortable to embrace. Our
real growth occurs when we step out of our comfort zone.
Keep in mind that an enthusiastic attitude increases your commitment,
determination, dedication, and desire. This translates to success in all
of your endeavors and goals. Consider Abraham Lincoln’s inspirational
words:
"Always bear in mind that
your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing."
* * *
Copyright
© 2005 by Karen Kuebler. All rights reserved.
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