When things do not turn out as you expect, then think positively as you truly become what you think. The less you focus on negativity, the more energy you have to focus on what is truly essential (i.e. making lemonade out of the dang lemons).

Positive people are more accepting of situations beyond their control. They inherently learn how to shift the negative into a positive.

Positive people are more interesting and fun to be around. Of course, I am not necessarily talking about those peppy perky people that are just plain “too darn happy for their own good”. They can definitely be annoying at times, and just maybe are hiding something negative….

What I mean by being positive is following a few simple steps –

• Do not have any expectations of another person’s thoughts, feelings, or actions. This is not to say that your employees should not follow your instructions or rules. Those expectations are legit. Rather, expectations that others will act, think, speak, or behave in a certain way leads one to disappointment and negative thinking about others. Remember, People are people and they come from that place of “human-ness” that means they are flawed and make mistakes.
• Let Go….On Sunday, I had a birthday party for my eight year old, Savannah. During the torrential downfall that occurred during the middle of the party, I put on the Frozen Movie and watched with fascination as 20 kids stood singing and dancing as loud as they can to the theme song in front of my TV… “LET IT GO….The Past is in the Past”. What a lesson on letting go! This song is my new anthem, and when those pesky negative thoughts enter into my mind, as much to my chagrin they often do, I find myself breaking out into an entirely off tune rendition (hopefully not in the presence of others) of this anthem. It truly helps get me out of my funk.
• Avoid talking about others, especially when they are not around. This just reflects negatively on yourself. I had a boss once who would approach everyone as such a positive and caring person. However, this boss had a family member that worked at the firm who would go around telling everyone what this boss was really saying about all of the staff and attorneys, especially the negative thoughts about each person and having the “chore” of doing firm activities with us. This very negatively undermined the entire integrity of the firm and especially the boss who was obviously not as “positive” as he wanted his image to project. Now, I am not including in this step bringing to the attention of management those crucial observations of other’s conduct that may be problematic to your job or the organization, just do this privately and through the appropriate channels
• Be true to your word at all times. It has been said, and quite astutely I might add,
• Watch your thoughts; they become words.
• Watch your words; they become actions.
• Watch your actions; they become habits.
• Watch your habits; they become character.
• Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

(Author unknown)

• The key to a positive destiny is a positive attitude.
• Recognize the negative thought or feeling immediately, and reject it as being harmful to you and your success in life.
• Avoid the temptation of conversations about others. Simply walk away, or turn the conversation into positive about the person being spoken about.
• Simply say “my good is mine, I claim my good” and watch what happens… I can guarantee that it will be something positive!
  

Remember, you cannot control people, places, things or circumstances. You can control how you think, speak, act and conduct yourself. So act accordingly and forget about what others are doing, saying, thinking. Is this difficult? That is the understatement of the year! If it is practiced however, it allows for the greatest freedom from the prison we have built based upon what others think.

When you find yourself thinking negative about another person or situation, find something positive about that person or that situation. Write it down. Thinking this way takes the power of the negativity and allows it to evolve into a more powerful approach to any aspect of your life.

Your success in life is important! Enjoy it POSITIVELY!