Staircase of Positive Living
I’m wondering how many of you have felt alone and lost in the “basement level” of your brain, and didn’t know how to escape from the clutches of your negative feelings and thoughts. It’s a yucky and miserable experience. We all have some knowledge about the power of a positive mental attitude; conversely, we also have experienced the effects of negative mental attitudes. Can you see that your mental attitude is a two-sided coin? Is it possible you have a choice of where you want to live in terms of your mind state? If you believe you can become the “captain of your life,” the following practical neuroscience-based suggestions will help you climb stair steps to get positive and stay positive.
Getting and Staying Positive
Gratitude is the staircase of positive living. The first step is identifying everything you are grateful for. Consider organizing and recording these by categories on colored index cards.
- Life: This includes breathing, sight, hearing, movement/touch, smell and taste. Even Helen Keller, without sight or hearing, lived a positive and productive life through gratefulness and the power of positive thinking.
- Relationships: List the people who love and support you. Who do you know that reaches out to you and tends to be cheerful, helpful and non-judgmental?
- Learnings: What have you learned from life experiences, which give you peace of mind and inner joy, regardless of outer-world happenings? These intrinsic learnings are, perhaps, the most important resource for a sustainable, positive mental and emotional attitude.
- Gifts: What are you good at doing that gives you healthy satisfaction? Examples may include art, music, good listening skills, caring about people, sense of humor, being positive and helpful.
- Environment: Consider where you live, available amenities, aesthetics, weather and nature.
- Possibilities: What do you imagine in your mind’s-eye that elevates your mood state when you are feeling down? What are your most outrageous and wonderful dreams of what life can be like?
You probably have observed that there are few, if any, categories for extrinsic areas of gratitude; these have been deliberately excluded, as they are transitory and do not provide a sustainable positive mental attitude. This is not to say that money and physical possessions are not good or valuable; they merely come and go and rarely provide long-lasting peace of mind and fulfillment. Perhaps this is an underlying reason why so many people are negative and in pain.
Emergency First Aid Steps
- Positive Affirmations: “I feel healthy! I feel happy! I feel terrific!” is a daily mantra recommended by Clement Stone and Napoleon Hill in their 1960 self-help book entitled Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. Use this affirmation until you construct one that resonates better with you.
- Reach Out and Ask for Help: When you are feeling low, lost and gasping for air, go to the one person that you trust will listen non-judgmentally. Quickly tell her/him how you are feeling and ask them what they think you should be grateful for. Do not try to analyze the reason you are being negative; this will only make things worse. Focus, instead, on what you can claim as things you are grateful for and are legitimately “yours;” these are things that cannot be taken from you or lost. This will pop your head above the water and give you the ability to breathe, think and see more clearly.
In conclusion, gratefulness is the staircase for positive living. Everything you are grateful for forms a neural “root system” that is the foundation for living life to the fullest. Imagine each thing you are grateful for as a step on your staircase; even if you trip and fall, you can land in a good place. Intrinsic areas of gratitude are more powerful and stable steps than extrinsic ones. Reaching out and helping someone, who is temporarily in a negative state, return to a higher level elevates you as well. Consider carrying cards with what you are grateful for, and your mantras, around with you. Practical neuroscience is at your beck and call to create a better life and better world.
Author Message:
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Getting and staying positive is something we all want; it’s no fun being in the “dumps.” The power of our brains and caring natures is the means to create a “neu” and better life. A powerful next step in your journey of self development is discovering how your brain is wired for success. Your personalized Brain PathWays report gives you practical neuroscience tools, based on your brain strengths to “be the best you can be.” The on-line process takes less than 15 minutes, the results last a life time. Click to purchase your Brain PathWays online self-assessment and download your report today.
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