Positive Reinforcements

When you're building up to an important goal, you have to keep a bubble of positivity around you. There will be good days and bad days, good hours and bad hours, but you have to stay positive to achieve your goal. That isn't to say that there won't be moments where you get discouraged, of course, but it's a whole lot easier to overcome the rough patch if you start out with a positive attitude.

Now, creating that bubble takes a couple steps. First, start out by putting out positivity into the universe. Try to keep your thoughts positive and light. I've heard it said that you should never say about yourself things that you wouldn't say about your best friend. That includes things you would say out loud AND things you would say in your head. I've also heard that when you start thinking a negative thought, you should immediately replace it with a positive thought. It sounds like a whole lot of new age mumbo jumbo, but, extreme goals requires extreme measures!

Secondly, watch out for your close friends. You may be able to change your internal thoughts, but, there's only so much you can do about outside sources of negativity. If your friends tend to be negative, stop being friends with them! Ok, I'm just kidding. But, learn to tune out your friends' negativity just as you would your own. And, be careful, sometimes it's hard to catch the negativity. What sounds like loving advice, or a reality check, may turn out to be a secret negative missile. Look, your friends are there to be your voice of reason, your reality check, and your bitchslap when necessary. But, if they take it too far, or are a little too real a little too often, then try to counter those comments with positive thoughts.

Finally, try dialing up the positivity in small steps. You don't want to sound fake, but happy can get contagious! Eventually, you'll increase the total positivity in your life! What's not to like about that? There's scientific evidence that happy people feel better and lead healthier lives. And, honestly? What's not to like about positivity?