“Get selecting, get implementing and get optimising.”
Among everything else we spoke about last week, the line above for me, stuck out massively.
One of the aims for this weekly column EVERY STEP COUNTS is to help every single reader that picks up The Wokingham Paper. I like to achieve this by giving awesome advice that is simple to understand and tasks that also get the reader into implementation mode.
As you read this article and every single article from this point, please please please really consume the information. Give the content your full attention and as the quote above states, I want you to select the most relevant information, implement that information and then optimise it over time.
So now we have some priming out the way to set the high standards we know we want in life, how about we get down to business? This week, I want to talk about positivity. The subject is huge and if you’ve ever been in my company for more than half an hour then you will most certainly have heard me mention its power at least a few times.
Positivity is all about the science of happiness. You see, I believe happiness is a science and this is why I spend so much time reading about it, talking about it, learning about it and improving my own levels of it. Positivity and happiness training uses positive emotions and positive mind states to help you improve your overall levels of both positivity and happiness.
When you are happier and more positive, I find that you can bounce back from setbacks with more speed and more efficiency. This in time allows us to be the best version of ourselves and perform at a state of peak performance. Who wants that? Would you like to be happier? Would you like to operate at peak performance more often?
Now before we get into some serious tactics for you to try out for the next week, I want to briefly talk about the 10 forms of positivity which are:
- Joy
- Gratitude
- Serenity
- Interest
- Hope
- Pride
- Amusement
- Inspiration
- Awe
- Love
These states are what make us happier. They make us more positive and give us more drive. The problem is that they don’t last very long though. This means that you need to implant them in your life as often as possible. The 10 states above change how your mind works but the best bit is that the brain works better in positive states.
The goal therefore is to get in those states as often as possible. Doing this will build huge psychological resources that will transform your future. The states above that form everything about POSITIVITY put the brakes on negativity by undoing certain states such as anxiety, stress and overall general negativity. Nearly everyone that I work with on this stuff acknowledges this. It is all to do with attention.
When you focus on the positives and consciously work on positivity, there literally leaves no room for negativity to work. I often use the analogy of the garden of emotions. The negative emotions are the weeds and the positive emotions are the flowers. When you plant lots of wonderful colourful flowers in your garden, you don’t leave much room for the weeds.
If you don’t grow any flowers at all, you can pretty much guarantee that the weeds will grow and grow fast. Even when you do plant flowers, you need to keep an eye on your garden just to make sure the weeds are not growing. If they do, you pull them out and then plant some flowers in the space instead.
I like to work on a ratio of 3:1 as a minimum for my positive to negative feelings, emotions and behaviours. The average person sits at around 2:1. To flourish we need to be sitting around three or four positive to every single negative, that is going to take some work, right?
The question is though, would you rather flourish or languish? I know my preference hence why I work on it daily and that’s the point of today’s article really. To get you thinking about it. To get you consciously working towards improving it. To get your ratios up the preferred levels. Next week I am going to focus purely on FLOURISHING as I believe you deserve to know some hard-hitting strategies to help you get there. That’s next week though.
To finish this week, I want to share four quick habits to be more positive starting right now:
- Smile daily. I touched on this last week. Read last weeks article and start smiling more, the benefits are endless.
- Start the day with something proactive. Read something, learn something, get your heart rate up. The way you start your day is the way your day runs. Be proactive and be productive.
- Look for the positive in all situations. Look deep, really search, there are positives in everything. Look for the opportunities and the growth options available, They will be there somewhere.
- Ditch one source of negativity for a week and see how you feel. That source could be a person. It could be a place, it could be a habit. Pick one and then ditch it for a week and then assess how you feel. Even better replace that one negative with a positive choice. Let me know how that works out for you.
It’s another week.
It’s another gamechanger for you and for sure, I know you are already ahead of others just by reading this column right now.
Be positive, your life is worth that choice.
Be positive, the opportunities are endless.
Happy Sunday, be awesome, be happy and be YOU.
Chris Hunt is the Head Mind, Body and Life Coach at The FUNdaMENTAL Coach based out of The Hub, Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham
