5 Powerful Ways to Release Negativity
Negativity comforts defeat.
- There’s no use trying.
- It doesn’t matter what you do.
- It seems like the harder you try the worse things get. Just stop trying.
Defeatists get it right eventually.
Bad stuff happens. Small problems escalate into crisis. Predicting troubles is useful, but it doesn’t fuel success. Greatness includes self-confidence.
Wallowing is defeat.
Negativity:
- Blocks achievement.
- Limits potential.
- Undermines happiness.
- Stifles learning.
- Pollutes environments.
- Drains motivation.
- Saps energy.
Leaders believe they can make a difference.
5 powerful ways to release negativity:
#1. Own your own darkness.
You can’t fix what you don’t own. Own your negativity but don’t excuse it. Get over saying, “I’m not a pessimist, I’m just a realist.”
#2. Embrace useful pessimism.
Use problems, resistance, choke points, and adversity to inform plans. Devise strategies and solutions.
#3. Cultivate self-belief.
Confidence reinforces positive attitudes. Self-doubt energizes negativity. If you feel incapable, believe you can become capable.
Confidence transforms “I can’t” into “I’ll learn.”
#4. Stop fabricating negative stories.
Pessimism fabricates dark stories when it doesn’t know the facts. Get the facts rather than feeding negativity with dark speculations.
#5. Establish aggressive deadlines.
Long timelines are the swamps of negative speculations. Aggressive – yet achievable deadlines – lead you away from speculation to action.
Action answers anxiety.
Bonus: Focus on what you want rather than what you don’t want.
How can negative people develop positive attitudes?
Still curious:
How to Overcome Negative Thoughts
15 Reasons Positive Leaders Seem Negative
Here’s a book: The Power of Bad and How to Overcome It.
John David Mann and I invite you to checkout our new book, The Vagrant: The Inner Journey of Leadership.
I figured out that when I (rarely) experienced pessimistic feelings it usually followed skepticism that wasn’t addressed forthrightly, By dealing with skepticism quickly and directly, either confirming or alleviating my doubts and uncertainties, I was able to avoid a slide into pessimism. I know this isn’t a panacea but it helped me.
Thanks Jim. Wonderful insight. Fake positivity is simply denying the truth. Better to move through the dark side with a flashlight
Negativity also narrow your thinking. It creates tunnel vision.
Try framing the problem or issue in new ways to identify new opportunities.
Check in with your network. Find out who has had similar problems and what did they do.
Practical and actionable as always, Paul. Walk around the elephant.
Dan, Thanks and I like your comment–“Walk around the elephant.”