Are you a Negative Nelly? Do you find yourself automatically jumping to the wrong conclusion, or expecting the worst to happen in every situation? If so, you’re probably stuck in the negativity trap. Here are some pointers on how to keep yourself from being trapped there forever.

Create your own path.

People who tend to follow others without even considering another path tend to end up in a sea of negativity. Why? Mostly because after you’ve done that for a long time, you start to wonder why in the world you aren’t doing things differently. This leads to feelings of regret and then anger and resentment towards other people who swayed you. To prevent this, forge your own path ahead. It’s not necessarily bad to listen to others’ opinions or follow sage advice, but be certain you are staying true to yourself as well.

Stay away from the nay-sayers.

It’s no big secret that hanging around negative people will eventually make you become one of them, too. If you don’t want this to happen, you have to be extremely cautious about who you spend time with. Are your friends negative? Do they get together often just to have gossip sessions about other people? Do they laugh at and make fun of others? You have to stay away from negative people, and people who do not support and encourage you and others. You can be sure if they are laughing with you when you’re together, they will laugh at you as soon as you turn your back.

Practice positive thinking.

The one sure way to make sure you don’t get trapped in negativity is to practice being a positive person every single day. This doesn’t mean you won’t ever have bad days. And in the beginning, it won’t be so easy to stay positive despite all the setbacks. But the more you practice smiling and speaking positively to yourself and others, the easier it will become, until eventually over time it will become second nature to you.

Additional Resource: The Power of Positive Thinking

Here are five good reasons you should try to be nicer:

Reason #1) You are someone’s role model. Whether you realize it or not, there is always someone watching you. They are learning from your actions and conversations. They are taking note of how you live your life because they want to emulate it.

Reason #2) You are only in control of your own life. You do not have control over anything other than yourself. The situations that cause you frustration and irritation are all outside your command. However, you do have the final say on how you react to those situations.

Reason #3) You are leaving a legacy. Every footprint you make in this world is one that will stay behind forever after you are gone. Do you want your legacy to be a negative one, or positive?

Reason #4) You never know when your words will come back to haunt you. Parents understand their children are a mirror of them. Likewise, your environment is very often a reflection of your attitude and thought process. Be careful what you say, because if it is negative, you never know when it will return to bite you in the rear.

Reason #5) Life is too short for you to be ugly. Why not just be nice? Even if you don’t feel like it, being nice will almost always diffuse any offensive situation you might encounter.

Like it or not, being nice pays off. If you don’t agree, try it the next time you feel your anger growing. See if altering your attitude and saying something nicer changes things for you.

Did you know that just by changing your outlook on life you can actually improve your health? Here are some quick tips you can use, starting now:

Practice positive thinking. There’s only one way you will change your way of thinking—with lots of practice. In order to create new habits, you must repeatedly practice it on a daily basis. So put on your positive thinking hat.

Look for the good things. It doesn’t take much effort to point out everything that’s wrong. When you find yourself nit-picking, make yourself stop and then purposefully look for something good, instead.

Forgive, even if you can’t forget. The old saying, “Forgive and forget” has been used quite a bit throughout the years. But we all know that forgiving is often times easier than forgetting. Take a small step towards forgiveness. While you won’t forget what happened, forgiveness prevents bitterness, which is extremely taxing, on both your soul and your mind.

Be ready for the best. No matter what kind of life you’ve had up to this point, there is always hope for the future. If you’ve been struggling, prepare yourself for better things to come. Sometimes the darkest night is just before the dawn.

Their secret isn’t a secret at all. It’s all in your mindset.

You can choose to be happy, regardless of what problems you face. Or, you can choose to let your problems weigh you down so much that you can’t sleep at night and you walk around with a sour look on your face.

It is a proven fact that people who seem happy simply choose to not allow their problems to get the best of them. Not only that, but they have a positive outlook on life. They believe that no matter what problems arise, they are going to make it through them just fine.

Even though you are facing surmounting problems, stop for a moment and ask yourself what is GOOD in your life right now.

• What is going right for you?
• Is your family healthy?
• Do you have a job?
• Are you steadily working to change your situation?

Choose to remain grateful in the middle of your difficult situation. Find a way to put a smile on your face, no matter what you’re going through.

You can choose to suffer, or choose to be grateful. What do you choose?

How many times have you set goals at the beginning of a year, only to find yourself stuck at some point? At this stage of the game you most likely tossed your goals out the window because you didn’t see any other way possible to reach them. Sound familiar?

Think of a positive attitude as the glue that binds your goals. Without it, your goals fall apart and are usually left in shreds at your feet. Why? Because pessimism leads to doubt and doubt leads to fear. Fear leads to you telling yourself there’s no point in even trying anymore and walking away from what you’ve dreamed of doing.

A positive attitude will…

• keep you moving.
• fill you with hope.
• lead you to others who can help you.
• motivate you.
• prevent you from getting sidetracked.

As you can see from this very short list, a positive attitude is essential. Without it, you may become frustrated and feel like giving up at the first sign of resistance. In contrast, possessing a positive attitude can keep you strong as you move and work towards your goals every day. It will fill you with fresh hope and expectation of reaching your final mark.

This trap, a negative attitude trap, is terrible. It’s a horrible monster that can be annoying, to say the least. So how do you avoid falling into its trap?

First, stay optimistic. Even when you don’t feel hopeful, there is always hope in every situation. Find whatever morsel you can and hang on to it for dear life. Know that nothing is impossible and look for the best in every situation.

Second, don’t jump to conclusions. Drawing conclusions or making uninformed snap decisions can really cause a person to become negative and pessimistic. Wait and gather all the information before you decide to make a decision.

Third, practice being positive. Possessing a positive attitude does not come overnight. If you work hard at it each day though, you can win and achieve a better, more shining attitude with time.

The negative attitude trap is a horrible place to be in. Be cautious. If you feel yourself being overly pessimistic and rarely seeing the sunshine for the clouds, perhaps it’s time to add a little goodness to your life.

I’ve known many women with such positive attitudes that, when I leave their presence, I felt better after having just been around them for a few hours. Their spirits are attractive and lend to peace and calmness. It’s a wonderful thing to know someone like this.

Looking at attitudes in this manner, we can easily see how attitudes can shape your life. Negative attitudes can make you weak and destroy your inner self. They can create chaos and turmoil that isn’t easily shaken.

Positive attitudes produce optimistic thinking. A positive mental attitude gives you the confidence to go after what you want, no matter how seemingly impossible it may be.

Attitudes can shape your life. What’s your attitude like?

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If you allow your problems to break you down, causing you to give up or throw up your hands in frustration, what does that speak of your character? It says that you will break with every ounce of hardship that comes your way. Alternatively, if you push forward despite adversity, your character is shaped by strength and persistence.

KEY POINT 2: Your problems make you stronger.
In the middle of troubles, it’s often difficult to see through the fog that clouds your mind and vision. This is when the true test of your strength and courage comes into play. Will you stand strong, chin forward and keep walking anyway?

Once you make it through to the other side of this wall, you will have gained untold strength. You’re flexing and using your muscles through all those dilemmas. So keep up your pace and don’t slow down. Victory is ahead!

KEY POINT 3: Your problems strengthen your will.
Not only do problems make your stronger mentally, but they serve the purpose of strengthening your will, too. As you motivate yourself to keep forging ahead, you build great resolve and determination. Your character, in turn, is reinforced and you become stronger than ever before.

No matter how difficult the situation is that you’re going through, you can keep a positive attitude, despite it all. Keep your mind focused and stay on the well-beaten path. You will make it through to the other side a better person.

Answers Points:

Always or almost always – 5
Usually – 4
Sometimes – 3
Rarely – 2
Never – 1
Put your score in the block on the right:

When something unexpected forces you to change your plans, and you are quick to spot a hidden advantage in this new situation? [ ]

Do you like most of the people you meet? [ ]

When you think about next year, do you tend to think that you will be better off than you are now? [ ]

Do you often stop to admire the things of beauty? [ ]

When someone finds fault with you or with something you have done, can you tell the difference between useful criticism and ’sour grapes’, which is better ignored? [ ]

Do you praise your spouse / best friend / lover more often than you criticize him or her? [ ]

Do you believe that the human race will survive well into the twenty first century [ ]

Are you surprised when a friend lets you down? [ ]

Do you think you are happy? [ ]

Do you feel comfortable making yourself the target of your own jokes? [ ]

Do you believe that, overall, your state of mind has had a positive effect on your physical health? []

If you made a list of your 10 favorite people, would name be there on it too? [ ]

When you think back over the past few months, do you tend to remember your success before your setbacks and failures? [ ]

Total Points [ ]

Scoring:

If the sum of all the scores is:

Above 55: Consider yourself a superstar – someone whose optimism is a powerful
healing force.
50 – 55: Excellent. You are a genuine positive thinker
45 – 50: Good. You are a positive thinker, sometimes
40 – 45: Fair. Your positive side and your negative side are about evenly matched
Below 40: You tend to be pessimistic. Think of ways to improve your pessimistic
Approach to life.

About the author:
Pradeep Aggarwal is a renowned Hypnosis & NLP guru with career spanning two and half decades He is also a much sought after speaker and peak performance consultant for organizations and sport teams . Visit Hypnosis Global for free 6 part mini course to learn Self Hypnosis and Personal Transformation.
Article Source: http://www.positivearticles.com

Did you know that you have more influence in your own life than any other person? Your thoughts are controlled by you. So how do you take control and start thinking positive every day? Follow these five steps:

Positive Thinking Step One: Reframe the picture.

Many times, we meet certain circumstances with clouded vision. We base our present and future experiences on the past. If something similar recently went wrong, then we automatically expect the same results. Reframe the picture. How can you look at this situation differently?

Positive Thinking Step Two: Ask for support.

While the choice is ultimately yours to think positive every day, you can ask for support. Sometimes it’s difficult to see your way out of something if all you can see are the bad things. When you find yourself in this position, turn to a supportive friend and ask for their perspective. Occasionally you need a little help from others.

Positive Thinking Step Three: Be brave.

You might be thinking to yourself that positive thinking every day for you just isn’t possible. I disagree. You have to be brave and do what you haven’t done before. Make a conscious effort to change your thinking.

Positive Thinking Step Four: Use positive affirmations.

Positive affirmations are a powerful source of strength. Anyone can benefit from them. First, write a list of your negative thoughts, then reword each statement to reflect a positive attitude. For example, “I never win anything,” can be reworded instead to read, “I am in the process of winning a 10-speed bicycle.”

Positive Thinking Step Five: Be gentle.

Creating a shift from negative thinking to positive thinking isn’t easy. Remember this when you’re having bad days (because you will have bad days!). Take it one day at a time. Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps. You’re learning and growing. Be kind to yourself as you engage in positive thinking every day.