All high achievers are positive thinkers. Being an optimist is essential to success in life. Believing for, and expecting the best are marks of people that accomplish great things in life.
This is true in all areas of life. Businesspeople, athletes, factory workers, homemakers, students, can all benefit from positive thinking.
Positive thinkers don’t just see things as they are now, but as they can be. They tend to be problem solvers instead of problem spotters. They see the silver lining behind the dark clouds.
Positive thinking has its origins in scripture. Solomon once wrote “as a man thinks in his heart so it is he.” Jesus said, “as your faith is so be it unto you.” The Apostle Paul declared, “be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Repentance, in its simplest definition means to have a change of mind. In other words, quit thinking thoughts that are causing you to fail, and begin instead to think positive, uplifting thoughts that will lead you to success.
Thinking in a positive manner is the result of making a conscious decision to do so. It is a skill that can be developed over time. You can train and discipline yourself to be optimistic.
Choose today to clear your mind of negative thoughts and determine to replace them with positive, faith-filled thoughts. Begin to focus on what can be, instead of what now is.
Showing posts with label positive thinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label positive thinking. Show all posts
Monday, March 09, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Manage Yourself, Lead Others
In order to be successful in any arena of life, you must put into practice the principles that promote success. You will never be an “accidental” success. Success comes as a result of putting the right principles into operation on purpose.
You cannot lead others if you cannot manage yourself. It is imperative that anyone in a leadership role learn to manage their thinking, their actions, their words, their time, their relationships, and their emotions. In other words, leaders are people who take charge of their own lives, before they try to lead others.
Your Thinking
How you think has an affect on every area of your life. Positive thinking leads to self-motivation, which in turn leads to productivity. Negative thinking leads to self de-motivation, which leads to a lack of productivity. The way you think not only affects you it also affects those around you.
We are a result of the way we think. The Bible says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Everything we are and everything we accomplish is affected by how we think. We determine our destiny by what we allow our minds to dwell on.
Your Actions
In order to be successful as a leader you must be a person of action. What we think or believe is in the end of little consequence if we are not people of action. The only thing of real consequence is what we do. The Bible teaches us over and over again that we are to be doers not hearers only.
Ask yourself these questions. Is what I am doing taking me in the direction I want to go? Are my actions causing me to be productive? Is what I am doing the right thing to do? If you answered no to these questions, you need to reevaluate what you are doing.
Your Words
Your words carry the power to create or destroy. Never underestimate the value or importance of the words you speak. People tend to go in the direction of their dominate thoughts and what they talk about all the time.
You can find out if a person is negative or positive by just listening to what they talk about all of the time. Jesus said, “a good man out of the good treasures of his heart brings forth that which is good, an evil man out of the evil treasures of his heart brings forth that which is evil, for of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
In order to enjoy success in leading others you must watch what you say. Learn to speak more complimentary and less critical. Speak more positively and less negatively. Speak motivating words instead of de-motivating words.
Your Time
You will either control time or it will control you. By properly managing your time you insure that tasks will be accomplished. You will get more done. You will enjoy success.
Avoid time wasters. Guard your time. Once it is gone it cannot be reclaimed. Determine to spend your time on things, and with people that are relevant to your productivity. Beware of distractions.
Your Relationships
Relationships are important. It is impossible to be productive without proper relationships. In order to be a successful leader one must learn to manage their relationships. They must learn how to develop, sustain, and strengthen their relationships.
Some relationships are draining and unproductive. There are some people that sap you of your energy and creativity. Successful leaders understand the necessity of cutting off or ending such relationships.
Choose to associate with positive upbeat people. People that will encourage, enhance and edify you. Get around people that celebrate you, and away from people that just tolerate you.
Your Emotions
Your emotions have much to do with how you respond or react to a given situation. Negative emotions such as anger, frustration and impatience are detrimental to success in leading others. Positive emotions such as sensitivity, understanding and patience are helpful in leading others.
As leaders it is important to develop an even emotional keel. One must learn to not allow themselves to get too high or too low emotionally. Championship athletes and teams understand the emotional balance. Determine to live on an even keel. Take control of your emotions.
You cannot lead others if you cannot manage yourself. It is imperative that anyone in a leadership role learn to manage their thinking, their actions, their words, their time, their relationships, and their emotions. In other words, leaders are people who take charge of their own lives, before they try to lead others.
Your Thinking
How you think has an affect on every area of your life. Positive thinking leads to self-motivation, which in turn leads to productivity. Negative thinking leads to self de-motivation, which leads to a lack of productivity. The way you think not only affects you it also affects those around you.
We are a result of the way we think. The Bible says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Everything we are and everything we accomplish is affected by how we think. We determine our destiny by what we allow our minds to dwell on.
Your Actions
In order to be successful as a leader you must be a person of action. What we think or believe is in the end of little consequence if we are not people of action. The only thing of real consequence is what we do. The Bible teaches us over and over again that we are to be doers not hearers only.
Ask yourself these questions. Is what I am doing taking me in the direction I want to go? Are my actions causing me to be productive? Is what I am doing the right thing to do? If you answered no to these questions, you need to reevaluate what you are doing.
Your Words
Your words carry the power to create or destroy. Never underestimate the value or importance of the words you speak. People tend to go in the direction of their dominate thoughts and what they talk about all the time.
You can find out if a person is negative or positive by just listening to what they talk about all of the time. Jesus said, “a good man out of the good treasures of his heart brings forth that which is good, an evil man out of the evil treasures of his heart brings forth that which is evil, for of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
In order to enjoy success in leading others you must watch what you say. Learn to speak more complimentary and less critical. Speak more positively and less negatively. Speak motivating words instead of de-motivating words.
Your Time
You will either control time or it will control you. By properly managing your time you insure that tasks will be accomplished. You will get more done. You will enjoy success.
Avoid time wasters. Guard your time. Once it is gone it cannot be reclaimed. Determine to spend your time on things, and with people that are relevant to your productivity. Beware of distractions.
Your Relationships
Relationships are important. It is impossible to be productive without proper relationships. In order to be a successful leader one must learn to manage their relationships. They must learn how to develop, sustain, and strengthen their relationships.
Some relationships are draining and unproductive. There are some people that sap you of your energy and creativity. Successful leaders understand the necessity of cutting off or ending such relationships.
Choose to associate with positive upbeat people. People that will encourage, enhance and edify you. Get around people that celebrate you, and away from people that just tolerate you.
Your Emotions
Your emotions have much to do with how you respond or react to a given situation. Negative emotions such as anger, frustration and impatience are detrimental to success in leading others. Positive emotions such as sensitivity, understanding and patience are helpful in leading others.
As leaders it is important to develop an even emotional keel. One must learn to not allow themselves to get too high or too low emotionally. Championship athletes and teams understand the emotional balance. Determine to live on an even keel. Take control of your emotions.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Right Thinking
Someone has rightly said, “If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” The way you think will either make or break you. It is a proven fact that you go in the direction of your most dominant thoughts.
The Bible says, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” People that think negative thoughts all the time have negative results. Conversely, people that think positive thoughts enjoy positive results.We are only as good as our mental diets.
There’s an old computer term known as GIGO, which means “Garbage in Garbage Out! What we take in through our reading, television watching, conversations with others and so on determines what we think. Choose today to rid your mind of the clutter that causes you to be negative and begin to take in only that which builds you up, informs you, and inspires you.
As Zig Zigler says, “If you have stinkin thinkin, it’s time for a check up from the neck up.” The person who does not control their thoughts will soon lose control of their actions. All actions are a result of thoughts. In order to have right actions which produce right results you must have right thoughts.
Choose today to be more positive. Work on getting rid of negative thought processes that have been stifling your progress. Be open to new ways of doing things. “Minds are like parachutes. They aren’t much good unless they are open.” Instead of giving up in your mind when facing a difficult situation, sit down and begin to think of ways to overcome it.
Someone has rightly said, “If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” The way you think will either make or break you. It is a proven fact that you go in the direction of your most dominant thoughts.
The Bible says, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” People that think negative thoughts all the time have negative results. Conversely, people that think positive thoughts enjoy positive results.We are only as good as our mental diets.
There’s an old computer term known as GIGO, which means “Garbage in Garbage Out! What we take in through our reading, television watching, conversations with others and so on determines what we think. Choose today to rid your mind of the clutter that causes you to be negative and begin to take in only that which builds you up, informs you, and inspires you.
As Zig Zigler says, “If you have stinkin thinkin, it’s time for a check up from the neck up.” The person who does not control their thoughts will soon lose control of their actions. All actions are a result of thoughts. In order to have right actions which produce right results you must have right thoughts.
Choose today to be more positive. Work on getting rid of negative thought processes that have been stifling your progress. Be open to new ways of doing things. “Minds are like parachutes. They aren’t much good unless they are open.” Instead of giving up in your mind when facing a difficult situation, sit down and begin to think of ways to overcome it.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
JUST DO IT!
You have what it takes to win in life. Success is not something reserved for the elite few, it is available for anyone and everyone that will put forth the right effort. Benjamin Franklin said, “Well done is better than well said.” It is one thing to talk the talk; it’s something else to walk the walk. You will not be remembered for what you say as much as for what you do.
As a kid growing up, my mother often told me, “Actions speak louder than words.” I have never forgotten that truth. It’s good to have right intentions, it’s better to have right actions.
Too many people in life want everything handed to them on the silver platter. Our culture and our government have created a whole people group that has developed a sense of entitlement. They want victory without battles. They want success without work. They want health without taking care of their bodies. However, you must remember if there’s no pain there’s no gain.
As I’ve said on many occasions “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” If you want to be successful in life you are going to have to take personal responsibility for your life. You and you alone are responsible for your life. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help people that have had setbacks or experienced some kind of tragedy in life, but what it does mean is we should give them a handup not just a handout!
Perhaps one of the greatest marketing slogans ever developed was by the sports shoe manufacture NIKE. It simply said, “Just do it!” In other words don’t just dream it, don’t just talk it, get busy and do it! Become a person of action. Begin to “Plan your work and work your plan.”
As you study scripture (the greatest success book ever written) you will find many verses that deal with our being a people of action. In one of my favorite parables (stories with a meaning) Jesus taught that it is only the person that hears, and acts on what he hears, that builds a life that is secure and stable that will be able to withstand the storms or problems that come their way. (Luke 6:46-49)
How many times have you read a book, listened to a motivational speech, heard a sermon, watched an informational video, or attended a training seminar, and agreed with what you learned? Maybe you’ve spent the time and put forth the effort to learn new information or be reminded of something you had learned in the past, yet you have never put into practice what you’ve learned. Why not? The only way to experience success in any area of life is to put into action what you have learned and what you know you should be doing.
The dreams and aspirations that you have will never be realized without action. It is one thing to be a positive thinker; it is something altogether different to be a positive doer! There are a lot of brilliant people with tons of information and great educations that never accomplish all they could because they are only reservoirs of knowledge, they aren’t doers.
While dreams are important, and information is essential, to anything becoming a reality, the only thing that will produce the success you desire in life is action. One of my problems with so many that teach the “Law of Attraction” is that they seem to be missing the most important key to experiencing or as they say, “attracting” success in life. While it is true there is power in positive expectation, positive expectation alone will not get the job done. The writer James in the New Testament made this statement, “Faith without works is dead, being alone.” It is important to believe in what you are doing, to believe that success is yours, to believe that good things are coming your way, but it is more important to put action to what you’re believing for and what you are expecting.
Former President Jimmy Carter made a powerful statement that I believe is appropriate for this blog posting. “I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I'm free to choose what that something is, and the something I've chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands -- this is not optional -- my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”
Success is much more than you acquiring a nice house, driving a top of the line sports car, wearing designer clothing, or dining in the finest of restaurants. It is about making a positive difference in the lives of those around you. It is about leaving the world a better place than when you found it. The key to this is found in our becoming people of action. If we will do the right things, the right ways, at the right times, we will with certainty enjoy success.
Got a dream, got a goal, got a plan, got a desired outcome? Just Do It!
You have what it takes to win in life. Success is not something reserved for the elite few, it is available for anyone and everyone that will put forth the right effort. Benjamin Franklin said, “Well done is better than well said.” It is one thing to talk the talk; it’s something else to walk the walk. You will not be remembered for what you say as much as for what you do.
As a kid growing up, my mother often told me, “Actions speak louder than words.” I have never forgotten that truth. It’s good to have right intentions, it’s better to have right actions.
Too many people in life want everything handed to them on the silver platter. Our culture and our government have created a whole people group that has developed a sense of entitlement. They want victory without battles. They want success without work. They want health without taking care of their bodies. However, you must remember if there’s no pain there’s no gain.
As I’ve said on many occasions “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” If you want to be successful in life you are going to have to take personal responsibility for your life. You and you alone are responsible for your life. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help people that have had setbacks or experienced some kind of tragedy in life, but what it does mean is we should give them a handup not just a handout!
Perhaps one of the greatest marketing slogans ever developed was by the sports shoe manufacture NIKE. It simply said, “Just do it!” In other words don’t just dream it, don’t just talk it, get busy and do it! Become a person of action. Begin to “Plan your work and work your plan.”
As you study scripture (the greatest success book ever written) you will find many verses that deal with our being a people of action. In one of my favorite parables (stories with a meaning) Jesus taught that it is only the person that hears, and acts on what he hears, that builds a life that is secure and stable that will be able to withstand the storms or problems that come their way. (Luke 6:46-49)
How many times have you read a book, listened to a motivational speech, heard a sermon, watched an informational video, or attended a training seminar, and agreed with what you learned? Maybe you’ve spent the time and put forth the effort to learn new information or be reminded of something you had learned in the past, yet you have never put into practice what you’ve learned. Why not? The only way to experience success in any area of life is to put into action what you have learned and what you know you should be doing.
The dreams and aspirations that you have will never be realized without action. It is one thing to be a positive thinker; it is something altogether different to be a positive doer! There are a lot of brilliant people with tons of information and great educations that never accomplish all they could because they are only reservoirs of knowledge, they aren’t doers.
While dreams are important, and information is essential, to anything becoming a reality, the only thing that will produce the success you desire in life is action. One of my problems with so many that teach the “Law of Attraction” is that they seem to be missing the most important key to experiencing or as they say, “attracting” success in life. While it is true there is power in positive expectation, positive expectation alone will not get the job done. The writer James in the New Testament made this statement, “Faith without works is dead, being alone.” It is important to believe in what you are doing, to believe that success is yours, to believe that good things are coming your way, but it is more important to put action to what you’re believing for and what you are expecting.
Former President Jimmy Carter made a powerful statement that I believe is appropriate for this blog posting. “I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I'm free to choose what that something is, and the something I've chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands -- this is not optional -- my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”
Success is much more than you acquiring a nice house, driving a top of the line sports car, wearing designer clothing, or dining in the finest of restaurants. It is about making a positive difference in the lives of those around you. It is about leaving the world a better place than when you found it. The key to this is found in our becoming people of action. If we will do the right things, the right ways, at the right times, we will with certainty enjoy success.
Got a dream, got a goal, got a plan, got a desired outcome? Just Do It!
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