The Power of Consistent Positivity
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “We become what we think about all day long.”
If you’ve read anything authored by Stephen R. Covey or Jim Rohn, you know that what you focus on is what grows. Your attitude has great power in your life.
But if you’re like most people, staying positive and success-minded isn’t easy when life turns ugly, the economy turns sour or your dreams go bust. So what do you do when you can’t push past the obstacles?
Get Focused
Research supports Emerson’s assertion about thoughts leading the way to success or failure. Attitude and positive thinking make a difference in the way people handle crises, approach challenges, and either win or lose at meeting goals.
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Weldon Long, author of The Power of Consistency: How to Achieve Wealth, Happiness, and Peace of Mind Through Personal Responsibility, writes, “The key to winning in sales and business is to create a mindset that compels you to thrive and grow in the face of adversity.”
But thinking happy thoughts or affirming your own abilities isn’t enough to create the kind of long-term success most entrepreneurs are seeking.
Long says people tend to take actions based on what they think consistently. So if you think daily about how overwhelmed you are by bills, naysayers, competition or health problems, you’re likely to behave as if those things have mastery over your life.
When you take responsibility for the content of your mind, however, you begin to see choices more clearly.
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The first step, says Long, is to focus on what you want. Create a plan for your prosperity, success and happiness. Ask yourself: What are the ingredients for your ideal life or business? What are the specific steps involved? Write out clear and targeted actions.
Next, Long suggests becoming emotionally committed to your plan. Envision yourself accomplishing your goals. Who will be impacted, helped, uplifted? What good will you be able to do with your new found success? The emotional impact of your success is far more powerful than the financial or material results. Get in touch with your feelings and let your enthusiasm and passion drive you forward.
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Share your goals with others who are as enthusiastic as you are about your dream (and be aware that inviting doubters in at this stage can be a dream-killer).
Take Action and Responsibility
“You already know what to do to create wealth and success in your business,” Long writes. “You just aren’t doing it on a consistent basis.”
Taking action on a goal is easy. But taking consistent action is the real sticking point for most people. Regardless of your obstacles, Long says the way to hurdle them is through consistency, which creates momentum and stellar results.
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Most people know actions to take to reach their goals. (If not, just glance at the plan you just wrote.) What three things could you do on a daily basis to get you to where you want to be?
Easy to answer, right? So then ask yourself, Why aren’t you doing them?
People often get sidetracked with the notion that if they only had more information, more money or more staff, they could reach their goals. But Long disagrees: “Overcoming obstacles and creating wealth is not a problem with lack of information. It’s a problem with lack of action. You just aren’t doing the things you know you should be doing on a consistent basis.”
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While this may be a bitter pill for some to swallow, the idea of taking personal responsibility has an upside—the power is back in your hands. As long as it’s someone else’s fault that your product isn’t selling or the fault of circumstance that’s standing in the way of your expansion, you’re always a powerless victim.
Circumstances come and go. Challenges arise. Stuff happens. That’s life. That’s business. How you choose to face these obstacles and then take action in the face of them will separate the winners from the losers every time. By Amy Anderson
