Popular Free Positive Affirmations

By Ronnie Nijmeh

If you haven't heard, there are free positive affirmations out there that you can take advantage of right now. These affirmations are absolutely free and they have the ability to change your life right now.

There are a lot of positive statements out there to choose from and there are new free positive affirmations being added to websites every day, such as the one mentioned below this article. If you have not gotten in on the life changing process of using positive affirmations in your life you should not wait any longer. Because it's free to use them, what can you lose by giving them a try?

Free Affirmations Examples

If you are new to free positive affirmations you can apply them to your life to get you started immediately. After you see free affirmations examples you may find that you can create your own. This is a good thing because for affirmations to be powerful they need to be something that you strongly believe in and will actively implement into your daily routine. While this is true, you can get started right now with free affirmations until you are ready, if ever, to branch out on your own.

Below are some very popular free positive affirmations:

I am confident.

I am worthy of love.

I love myself for who I am.

I am a success in all I do.

I am confident and will be unaffected by negative people that surround me.

My possibilities are endless.

I am free to be myself.

Love, health, and wealth flows abundantly into my life.

I am only responsible for my own attitude.

The more positive I am, the more positive energy will be returned to me.

I can do anything I set my mind to.

By eating the right foods I nourish my body.

I can achieve anything I put my mind to.

No challenge is too big.

These are just a few of the free positive affirmations out there that you can use. They are general enough that you can likely apply a good deal of them to your life and benefit from them. Any of these free affirmations examples will help you to replace negative thought with positive thought or simply give you motivation to continue on your path even when you are thinking about giving up. When you believe in one of these affirmations and you reaffirm it at every turn by repeating it either in your mind or out loud you can make it your reality.

Many people have been surprised at the impact of affirmations on their life. Because you will be filling your life with more positive energy you'll feel more positive and the people around you will feel this coming from you. For many, when they introduce positive affirmations to their life they find that every day tasks seem a lot easier and even those stress provoking tasks seem to be easier to tackle.

Why not give the power of affirmations a try? You have nothing to lose and a more peaceful and meaningful life to gain!

Ronnie Nijmeh is an accomplished author, speaker and coach. He has been a featured expert on national television, radio, and print. Ronnie is the president and founder of ACQYR.com, an inspirational resource with free wallpaper downloads, affirmations, inspirational articles and much more. Learn more about ACQYR's positive affirmations.

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Do You Really Believe in Positive Thinking?

By Jahiel Kamhi

I got this unexpected question just a minute after finishing my presentation on positive thinking. Honestly, I was very surprised, even confused and totally unprepared. Actually, I sensed a bit of anger in the individual's voice. How should I answer this angry person? "Yes, I do"? In a split second I made a decision and said: "Would like to have a cup of coffee with me?"

"Me? I don't think so," said the angry person.

"No problem. Maybe next time. I understand," I replied.

I didn't have a chance to say anything more. He has just turned around and left the room.

This article is devoted to my angry listener who didn't want to find out more on positive thinking. My intention was to give him additional explanation, not to criticize him or to ignore him. I had just one desire-to help and encourage him. We know that people don't change by force, they change when they want to.

What I wanted to say to him is this:

Anger, doubt and blame are not appropriate answers to unhappiness. We can replace this negative energy with a positive one. It is up to us to put all the pieces together and switch from anger and unhappiness to live life well. We do not need anger. Anger is suffering. A productive and happy life goes only with understanding how to deal with problems.

Positive thinking is not just believing. It's the process of creating positive thoughts and clearing the mind of confusion, preparing the mind to meet every difficulty, and looking only for the good in any situation.

The positive-thinking person will accept whatever comes his way, not denying reality-tragedy does exist and life gets in everybody's way, but the positive-thinking person will refuse to dwell on it. Facing challenges, the positive-thinking person will make all possible efforts to find a solution. Dealing is a positive approach-complaining is negative one. This is the biggest difference between the positive and negative-thinking person.

Positive thinking is a state of mind and is the choice of the wise man. It's more of an outlook- how you will explain the situation to yourself when bad things happen. A true positive thinker actually understands that whatever happens, they will know how to handle it. If unwanted or unexpected events occur, they'll require wisdom, not sympathy, to move forward and to deal with the situation.

The problem with my "opponent" is his non-critical way of thinking. There is no way to reach any goal, any destination or anything else with narrow-minded thoughts. Pessimism is just one example of narrow-minded thinking.

Mistakenly, people believe that a positive thinker is always "in the happiest state of mind". No, it's not true and it's totally impossible, but positive thoughts will bring positive energy when you need it the most. Anger or sadness will bring only more unhappiness and more negative energy.

Do positive people feel sorry for their mistakes? Of course, but they know they can't undo them.

I know it's not easy to change negative thinking into positive. It takes time to break an old habit. We must have a good reason to change ourselves for the better; in this particular case, the reason is avoiding unnecessary anger and doubt.

Also, we need to use and exercise our minds! It sounds silly but the mind is developed by use, like our muscles. Using the mind by exercising it in the positive direction will provide us with mental power.

Every comment, thought or act is a direct outcome of belief. Every believer is known by his conduct-the negative believer by negative behavior, the positive believer by positive actions.

Whenever we are angry, sad or hurt, and we step forward to change it, we are doing a great service to ourselves. I can't stop emphasizing the immense ability of the mind to produce a healing change in the body. Emotional states (anger, fear, hurt) influence physical health for the worse and my angry listener probably is not aware of this fact. I must repeat a well-known statement: Whatever we expect-we attract. What we think, we become.

My non-believer doesn't accept positive thinking. How can he expect a positive outcome out of his negativity? What comes out of person is always what's inside the person.
I do not know the reasons for people's anger and unhappiness, but I know: when people stop blaming for their unhappiness, they'll start taking real steps toward recovery.

One more friendly piece of advice to my suspicious acquaintance: Be around positive people, they are our sincere friends. We can't be at our best when we are around negative people who bring us down. This is just one more reason to believe in positive thinking.

Whatever you do for yourself, do it with the love. Whenever you do something with love, your mind opens and everything changes.

Wise men use knowledge, while the ignorant ignore it.

Jahiel Yasha Kamhi
jasakamhi@hotmail.com

Jahiel- Yasha- Kamhi holds a degree in Medical Biochemistry and a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry.

Jahiel is passionate about writing, and conveying positive ideas that help people live life with more passion and purpose. His mission is to promote a good mental and physical health. Jahiel's core message is to inspire and encourage people, to give them hope and help them live their everyday life.

Being thankful for what is good in life rather than focusing on the negative is his message. With hope, all things are possible.

He writes regularly for online Newsletter http://www.personal-development.com and magazines. Jahiel delivers customized presentations, inspiring others to find more meaning and balance in their lives.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jahiel_Kamhi

Your Mindset - Why It's Important

By Kathy Whatley

Consider this:

How you think determines how you feel.

How you feel determines how you act.

How you act determines what happens to you... good or bad.

The one and only thing you have control over is your thoughts. You cannot think two thoughts at the same time. If I say "Purple Dinosaur", right at that moment you cannot help but think of it and nothing else.

You must choose (yes, I said choose) your thoughts as you would items you eat. Your body probably likes things that are not good for it, sweets and fatty foods rather than fresh vegetables, but what must you feed on to be a champion? A strong body requires good fuel. Consider your thoughts and feelings to be fuel for your mind. Make no mistake you are competing and you are in a race. A race for success. To not compete, to not try, is to lose the race. If you do not decide on what your life will be, then others will surely decide for you. You have the menu. It's in your hands, place your order.

Like attracts like. Think of everything as a magnet. You attract to you what you think and feel. So if you want success, you MUST think of things that make you feel good, powerful, in control and successful.

This is where the laws of attraction and the effect of your attitude take place. To be a positive person and to expect good things are essential and to take action is critical to success.

So, where do you start? You start by what you put into your mind.

Reading books. You need to associate yourself with people who have done great things. When you read books written by those who have what you have, who have been where you are and tell you how they did it, it inspires you. Their success rubs off on you. It's been said, if you could play basketball with Michael Jordan or golf with Tiger Woods, you would vastly improve you basketball or golf skills. Success is contagious. You just need to expose yourself to it.

Listening to Audios. This and watching videos are the same as reading books. Hate to read? Well, here is your solution. Drive to a job? Instead of spending your time listening to Elton John, Toby Keith, Nickelback, or whoever, why don't you spend that time feeding your mind? You're stuck in your car, so you might as well make it a university on wheels and feed your mind while you're in traffic.Here is what's going to happen. You're going to change. If you run, do sit-ups or push-ups, you change. You look better. You feel better. Same here. People will notice. Your outlook will change. Success will become automatic for you. You will instinctively make the right decisions in everything you do.

Lastly, Notice And Give Appreciation To Everything You Have.

Are you where you want to be? Of course not. Nothing wrong with you. If you're not growing, you're dying. You need desire in your life. So, instead of focusing on what you do not have, focus on every aspect of what you DO have. You already have so much more than nearly everyone on the planet if you are reading this. Give thanks for your health. Give thanks for your family, for your home, your car, your spouse, your children, and yes, even you're job that you despise.

You will find you will be given more as you show appreciation over what you have been given. If you are a parent, you know exactly what I mean by this. So, I'll suggest this. Make a list, right now, of 100 things you are honestly, earnestly, appreciative of. Go ahead, make that list...right now.

If you followed instructions and you have that list, then proceed. If you haven't done it, then ask yourself why. Is this maybe something that holds you up?

Have your list? Good. Now, read each item, out loud with feeling.

I'm going to assume you've done this now. If that's the case, it's impossible that you do not feel better. Guess what? You are now far more in line to have success in ALL areas of your life, right this moment than you were before.

That means in business too. Yes, this DOES translate to dollars in your bank account!

Remember, it's these kinds of things that everyone who is successful does. In fact, they think about these things all day long. That's why, they expect success! It's automatic for them and it can be for you too!

It's YOUR Time Now!

Hi, my name is Kathy Whatley. I live in beautiful Colorado, USA, and have two wonderful children!

I have been working in internet marketing for several years and I am currently in a wonderful and very profitable online business called My Internet Business.

My Internet Business

If you have ever wanted to get started in an online business, or add another successful business, this is an excellent place to do so as we have everything you could want built right into our system!

If you need me to, I will be there to assist you every step of the way. That's a promise.
Also, take a look at my Squidoo Lens page for some other helpful information.

My Squidoo Lens

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What Are Affirmations

By Meeyuen Thang

Close your eyes for a full minute and observe your thoughts. Try it. According to a study, an average human have 55,000 thoughts per day or 38 thoughts per minute. So, what were your 38 thoughts about? Were the thoughts running so fast you couldn't decipher its meaning? If you try observing your thoughts in silence with your eyes closed for a longer period of time, you will come to experience how our thoughts are a reflection of our inner beliefs. Every thought you think that is decoded into a word you say is an affirmation.

Our reality is created by our beliefs; beliefs are thought patterns we developed since childhood. These beliefs make up our personality; the positive beliefs become our strengths while the negative ones form our weaknesses. So, self development is all about transforming our weaknesses in order to have a more fulfilling life. You would have probably read numerous self-help books and attended countless motivational seminars, yet the dysfunctional thought patterns are still a hindrance to growth. Why? Most of our learning experiences are done on a conscious level. There is still growth and change on this level but some of our erroneous thought patterns are deep-seated. These flawed thoughts ought to be released and replaced with affirmative positive thoughts.

When we integrate positive experiences like a duck takes to water, it means we have made an affirmative deposit into our subconscious level. Our self-talk is a stream of affirmations and we are constantly affirming subconsciously through thoughts and speech which in turn become our life experience in every moment. The subconscious utilizes the behaviour patterns learned in the past to respond and react to all that is happening every moment in our life. If the basis for our beliefs is flawed at an early stage (e.g. "I am not good enough"), problems would crop up throughout life. The skills of being aware of our thoughts are not taught in schools as we were growing up. So, as long as we haven't understood that faulty beliefs are the source of our problems, we would be going around in much despair.

Just like how you would re-boot the central processing unit of your computer when you want to start anew, you can re-programme your thought patterns. Positive affirmations can replace invalid beliefs and create the reality you desire. Positive affirmations are short statements that help focus your awareness on your power and ability to create and have what you want. They are stated in the present tense as you repeat and say these affirmations, you will begin to create them as true for you. So in place of the erroneous belief in the example above, affirm: "I accept and love myself for who I am now"; and, "I give myself permission to be all I can be".

Use affirmations to open and expand your awareness of what you can have. Use them to align with your wisdom and to attune with the unlimited abundance of the universe. As you repeatedly say them to yourself, you will create positive, more enriching realities in your life. For a start, you may write your own affirmations on small pieces of paper and plaster them on your computer screen, car dashboard or the bathroom mirror.

Meeyuen Thang is a former journalist and since becoming a mother, her main interests are self improvement and child development, particularly in emotional literacy. You can visit her website at http://www.parentingtalks.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Meeyuen_Thang

Never Give Up

By Sue Craig

When you first start learning about the Law of Attraction and start thinking about how everything is working in your life, it all seems so obvious... you are ready for some major self improvement.

You feel excited and feel the power rushing through you. You understand now why your life has been the way it is, why you are where you are today, and what you need to do to make it better.

You look at the ideas that have been instilled into you through the years, your ideas, your beliefs, and your actions... put the pieces together and WAALAA, there you have it, this is your life.

You set out to make the Law of Attraction work for you instead of against you and know that it is in your hands ( or should I say ' it's in your mind' ). You have the power!

So your going along just fine, changing your beliefs and your way of living and your life is getting better. You see the Law of Attraction in action and you feel yourself expanding into the universe.

Then something happens that is a reminder of your past ,that was negative and held you back. You feel yourself slipping backwards and just can't shake the negative thoughts that are rumbling through your mind.

Once those thoughts start haunting you and you keep hanging on to them, the positive experiences that you were having, turn into negative experiences.The Law of Attraction is reflecting what you are feeling.

When these thoughts arise , you know that they are serving no purpose, so do whatever it takes to snap yourself out of it. Meditate, use affirmations, read inspirational material, or at the least, distract yourself with a comedy or some relaxing music, but never give up!

Remind yourself that this too shall pass... doors are opening to amazing and wonderful things .This is no more than a temporary discomfort so just let it go.

You are a wonderful person and deserve abundance in all things. The past is not a reflection of who you are but it is what made you who you are, and You Rock, so take it as a blessing in disguise.

Sue Craig is the creator of http://www.unlimitedpower4u.com an enlightening and encouraging site designed to assist people in continually moving towards their higher selves. She is a massage therapist, writer, internet marketer, and lifestyle advocate. Sue has made the principles of the Law of Attraction a way of life and shares what has worked for her to give her a life of total fulfillment and wants others to have the same peace in their lives

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sue_Craig

The Power of the Mind

By Adora Ganir

How many times have you fabricated an alibi that you are sick just to avoid attending a party, or a meeting or even going to the office? Did you not experience in one or more occasions feeling sick afterwards? That's the power of the mind working against you.

There were times in my life when I was so afraid that my son would acquire viral infections or any other ailments just because the babies of my colleagues are sick. After giving so much thought on that, I will just find my son suffering the same condition. It may be just a coincidence but it's also possible that I have invited that negative energy to come to life. Realizing that, I resolved to dump all negative thoughts as quickly as possible. I am now more determined to think good thoughts. Thereby, I have opened myself to God's abundance.

Your mind is so powerful. That is why it is important that you choose the focus of your thoughts. You are naturally drawn to whatever you focus upon. Imagine yourself in a miserable state and in no time you will feel miserable. On the other hand, picture yourself as happy, successful and enjoying the beauty of life. Instantly, you will feel refreshed, hopeful and ready to face the challenges of life.

Since our mind is powerful, why not focus yourselves in creating positive thoughts rather than draining your energy into negatives. You may be bombarded now by problems and financial burdens, but thinking more about it will not do you any good. In fact, it may be even worse when your health suffers and succumb to anxiety. Headaches, hyperacidity and even nervous breakdowns are just some of the ailments that you may develop in putting so much stress into your lives.

Why not focus on the solutions instead. Acknowledge the problem but quickly shift your thoughts into the possible solutions. In case of marital conflict, for example, think of ways on how you can remedy the problem. Do you need to consult a marriage counselor, or just sit down and talk about it, or just set up a romantic date and rekindle the fire in your relationship? In case of financial concerns, you may start by letting go of the things that you can do without like dinner outs and fancy gadgets. Some issues may look deeper than what I have cited, but the point is that you have to use the power of your mind to your advantage.

Believe that you have the power to better your life. Think positive. Focus on your dreams. Have high hopes. Trust in God and make a fresh start.

Adora C. Ganir
http://dadbytes.blogspot.com
visit my blogsite at the above link

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Five Tips For Developing an Unoffendable Attitude!

By Doyle Slayton

I recently told a few people that I have been working on being unoffendable. I feel comfortable sharing this because I feel like I'm getting really close! Needless to say, the most common response I'm getting is a funny look. Now, I'm pretty good at reading people, but in this case, I'm not quite sure what these funny looks mean...

"What?!!!"

"I think he's gone over the top with this one!"

"You mean never... for the rest of your life?"

"Yeah right!"

"Is that even a word... it's not even in the dictionary!"

"Do we need to get you some medical attention?"

Pretty funny huh!

When you start to really think about it... you might say... you know what... I want to work on that... I want to build myself up to be unoffendable!

Let's do it... here are five tips for developing an unoffendable attitude!

1. Build your self-confidence. It is the most important factor.

2. Your happiness does not depend on other people.

3. Understand that your state of mind is your state of mind

4. At some point you are going to have to get over it. How about right now!

5. Claim it as true, "I don't get offended."

Best Practice: When somebody asks you, "Did that offend you?" or "Wasn't that offensive?" you can respond with... "I'm not sure... I've reached a point in my life where I don't get offended."

Each day... I pray for wisdom... to see things for what they truly are... to be able to communicate my ideas clearly... in way that everyone can relate and understand the message... so that people may move forward in a positive direction... and achieve great success!

What did I miss... What would you add to these five tips?

Doyle Slayton, Executive Director & Sales Strategist at http://www.SalesBlogcast.com

Join the community where sales professionals network, share best-practices, and just get better! Receive new articles and interviews throughout the week. Participate in sales, leadership, and business discussions. Subscribe today... it's FREE! http://www.SalesBlogcast.com

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An Experiment in Positive Affirmations

By Simon Meadowcroft

Sometimes after people have read my articles they write to me and tell me how they like what I have written and that I have really got things sorted out internally.

I have to tell them that my life is not organized, I often screw up and I often give the advice "do as I say and not as I do". The truth is that mentally I now have the right attitude, the problem I have is putting my thoughts into action.

In one way it is not surprising that I have mental development work to do. It is the reason that I started writing my articles in the first place and my problems with self esteem in the past are the very thing which allows me to empathize with people who are suffering with negative attitudes and negative self image.

So firstly I have to state clearly what I need to do:

'Program at a subconscious level the thinking that I have been developing at a conscious level'

The technique I intend to employ is positive affirmations, every morning I will repeat the following affirmations that I have developed.

1. I am a giving person

2. I can do anything I put my mind to

3. I am worthy of the respect of others

4. I am inspiring to others

5. I will become organized

6. I will improve my memory

7. I will sail through minor setbacks

8. I will handle major setbacks

9. I will learn the positive lesson from each setback

In order to further reinforce the process of infusing my subconscious with positive energy I am also looking for positive feedback from people in what I am trying to do. So if you can provide some helpful positive feedback to this article please do.

I will be writing follow up articles on my experiences with using positive affirmations, watch this space.

PS, if you are in need of some encouraging words, please let me know.

Simon

I am a husband, and father of one son who works as an engineer. I became involved in writting articles about self improvement and positive attitude as part of a process of developing a more positive attitude to life myself.

I am committed to making my thoughts freely available to anybody who takes interest in reading my articles in the hope that they can similarly make their attitude more positive.

For anybody who is interested in improving their attitude to life and would like to see more of my articles or simply wants some advice on how they can feel better about themselves please visit my website http://www.positivity.9f.com - I am interested in any feedback about whether my articles are providing a positive benefit.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Meadowcroft

The Power Of Positive Thinking - 5 Useful Tips To Manifest Your True Power

By Lucas Adamski

To really see the power of positive thinking you have to believe in it. Perhaps you watched movies like “The Secret” and know that it can bring many positive things in your life. Everyone want to be happy, positive thinking can give to your life more colors and possibilities. Here are my top 5 useful tips to enjoy your life even more.

1. Affirmations are always a good way to tell to your subconscious mind positive phrases like: 'I can do it', 'It is very easy', It is possible' or some longer about your future goals. Affirmation can only work if you absolutely believe in it and repeat it quite often. Every time you are waiting for something or your mind is free try to repeat your affirmations.

2. Monitor your thoughts every day. I know it’s impossible to monitor all your thoughts but those main ones. Try to measure amount of negative and positive thoughts that you cross through day. When you catch yourself of negative thought try to find the source of such thinking and transform it to positive. After time it will become automatic, when you will think about negative things, reminding bad events in past you will stop it. It can become very tiring at start as it’s not too easy to reform pattern in your brain that cause creating negative thoughts. It takes some effort at start if you tend to attract to your mind negative thoughts.

3. Visualization is a powerful tool where you can experience the power of positive thinking. Visualization is amazing think if you can do it right. Think about future in positive way, pick what are your main goals and dreams, focus on them and think about how your life will look like than if you will achieve it. Be a daydreamer, everyday find few minutes to relax for a moment and flow to your dream world. In visualization key thinks is felling and emotions. You have to feel as you already achieve your goals and dreams.

4. Try to find every day 20-30 minutes to yoga, meditation or any other activity that can calm your mind. Stay then in positive attitude, enjoy the moment and relax. Positive thinking to any activity will bring you better results.

5. Everyday when you wake up tell to your mind, tell to yourself that it’s going to be a great day. Nothing will disturb your positive attitude and you will achieve more than ever. The power of positive thinking is really powerful, practice it on daily basis and enjoy your life.

Lucas Adamski is 19 years old successful internet marketer who teaches people most lucrative and effective ways to market online. Get FREE E-Book about the greatest lies of network marketing and discover best ways of How To Make Money Online.

Article Source: http://www.amazines.com/Self_Improvement/article_detail.cfm/519174?articleid=519174

Affirmations: Positive Actions Begin With Positive Thoughts

By Kale Mcclelland

Success is important to everyone. Many people have specific goals for success that they are working towards or have already accomplished. Success can look different to different people. Some people's definition of success requires a lot of hard work and commitment. No matter how you view success, affirmations can be a useful tool to attain what you want.

Affirmations are our own personal statements that will guide us in our everyday lives. They serve as our goal to success. You can see your improvements and failures by assessing your affirmations. It is important that you list down your affirmations. Post it in an area where you can always see it.

Experts advise you to meditate on and repeat your affirmations daily for at least forty days. This process implants the affirmations in your mind, makes them a habit and will have a positive effect on your daily thinking. Repeating affirmations is retraining your mind to think differently much the same as you did in school. It takes time and repetition before affecting your life.

If you want to be successful, you need to think positive. Positive thinking will help you obtain your goals. When you are positive, it is easier to go through the rough patches in life. If you start thinking negatively, you will probably give up on reaching your goals. That is not the way to be successful. You will not reach your goals.

If you want to achieve success, you won't get there unless you are good at goal setting. You can set short term goals, medium term goals, and long term goals. Short term goals are those that you can expect to attain in a few week. Long term goals are goals that you can attain over the course of a few years or even a lifetime. Medium term goals fall in between those two. Set goals and measure your progress.

It does not matter what kinds of statements you use as affirmations. There are lists of them online if you have trouble thinking of some on your own. The important thing to remember is that you need statements that mean something to you. You should also have a few moments each day where you can meditate on the statement that you are repeating. If you follow these steps, success will not be far away.

Nobody sets out to be a failure, everyone desires to be successful. Everyone has their own idea of success and how to achieve it. Affirmations for success can be used to guide you towards a positive experience. The most important key to success is positive thinking. People that think positively, act positively and achieve positive results. Goal setting is another important skill to learn when you want to be successful. You should set both long and short term goals in order to measure your progress. The process of affirming your self worth, thinking positively, and setting goals should lead you to success very shortly.

Article Source: http://www.amazines.com/Self_Improvement/article_detail.cfm/518270?articleid=518270

Increasing Expectation Positively!

By Richard Gorham

At your next staff meeting lead your team through the following discussion and exercise.

This exercise is focused on getting people to perceive things positively. The exercise goes like this:

Make the point to your team that they have the power to perceive virtually all things either from a positive or negative perspective.

Lead a discussion asking for attendees to offer up negative circumstances resulting from a well-known tragedy.

As an example let's consider the tragedy involving the Space Shuttle Columbia.

Creating this "list of negatives" will come easily for the participants given the nature of the disaster. For example: The loss of life, the potential effects for radiation on the ground, the devastating blow to the space program, the children and families effected by the loss of loved ones, etc.

In the interest of time and keeping your entire team fully engaged, make the list no longer than 8-10 items.

Next, ask the group to come up with a list of positive outcomes from this experience.

(Hint: This will actually be more difficult for the group because it is hard to voice optimism when talking about personal tragedy. However, you can offer up a few of your own ideas to get people started thinking from a different point of view.)

For instance some positive outcomes are:

- The space program will learn from this disaster and become even more safe for future flights - thus saving countless lives.

- The nation came together from the crisis, which is good for the solidarity of our country.

- The family members will remember their deceased as American Heroes and throughout history their family will take pride in his/her commitment to space exploration.

- The focus on the tragedy from the national media will inspire a new generation of space enthusiasts. Perhaps a child will become the greatest space explorer of all time as a result.

Now, challenge your team to come up with 5 additional positive outcomes. You will be surprised now by their creativity and renewed vision for what is possible.

Lastly, go through the exact same exercise. This time however, choose the following topic appropriate to your own business. Here's the challenge:

"Revising our production goals UP by an additional 15%."

After going through the negatives first (limit the list to only 5 items), then go through the positives, and allow your team to have a lengthy discussion on HOW this 15% production increase will be achieved. In effect, let them create a mini action plan.

Once the group has agreed on how to increase the production by 15% you can ever-so-gently inform them that "the goals did NOT just go up by 15%, only 10%! BUT, now that we have a plan for achieving 15%, don't you think we should use it?"

Have fun with this exercise! It shows people you are a leader with vision and that you understand the power of perception and belief.

Hopefully, it will also show your team that you have a good sense of humor and that you can relate to their concerns. This exercise makes for a terrific opportunity to "CONNECT" with your employees.

Show your team that it's ok to have fun while increasing expectations.

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About the Author: Richard Gorham is the founder and President of Leadership-Tools, Inc. His web site, http://www.leadership-tools.com is dedicated to providing free tools and resources for today's aspiring leaders. Offering high-quality tools in the areas of Business Planning, Leadership Development, Customer Service, Sales Management and Team Building.