ARE YOU LIVING A HALF-FULL OR HALF-EMPTY LIFE?

Optimists take control of their lives. That’s why they feel happier and more in control. Pessimists feel they’re at the mercy of life’s whims. That’s why they don’t see the point in trying to tackle problems, and why they end up experiencing more difficulties. Which would you rather be?

FLIP YOUR NEGATIVES INTO POSITIVES

Start becoming aware of your negative thoughts and words, and consciously replace pessimism with perkiness.

Change
‘If only I’d’… to ‘Next time I’ll…’
‘I can’t…’ to ‘I prefer not to…’
‘This is going to be a problem’ to ‘This is a challenge’.
‘I’m on a diet’ to ‘I’m eating healthily’.

In your relationships, change

‘You never…’ or ‘You always…’ to more specific, constructive ‘I’ statements, such as ‘I feel angry…’, ‘I’ve noticed that when we…’ and ‘I want to know how you feel about…’

Pep Talk: Constantly feeding yourself negative brain food such as ‘My projects are always such failures’ or ‘I’ll never find a decent partner until I lose some weight/earn more money’ trains your mind to expect the bad and dismiss the good as ‘lucky’. When unfortunate things happen – as they inevitably do in life – you sink deeper into negativity, thinking, ‘Aw gee, it always happens to me.’ If, on the other hand, you expect good things to happen, you subconsciously seek them out and start believing you attract them, which is far more fun.

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ACT DESPITE YOUR FEARS

Don’t wait until you’ve mustered the courage to take on a challenge. Act despite your doubts, or you might never take action.

Fear arises when you give your power away. Can you make fear disappear? It depends on what you’re faced with and how you learn to manage it – but if you’re passionate and determined, fear can go away. What you need to do is identify your weaknesses, seek help, and take small steps towards your goals.

Good question: What would you do if you weren’t afraid of anything?