Keeping A Positive Mind In A Negative World

Unless you’ve been on another planet for the last few months, you’ve probably heard the word “recession” more times than you would have liked to. The news is full of it, mainly because negative material like that is more newsworthy – have you noticed how the [few] positive stories on the news are at the end of the reports, and are given the least amount of air-time?

All this negativity flying around is one reason why I really try hard to limit my exposure to the news during the day, and I try very hard not to look at it at all before at least noon.

But it isn’t just the news – it’s all around us; the people we talk to on the phone, our family, friends, neighbors, Facebook friends, Tweeters and all those other folks we connect to online. Everyone, it seems, is convinced that the end of the world is on its way.

Sure, business is down for everyone compared to previous years, and many people are facing some hard times, but the economy isn’t brain-dead yet. It might be on life-support, but we’re not going to give up and simply pull the plug.

So, how we do get up in a morning and fire ourselves up to being enthusiastic about what we’re doing? How do we “attack the day like birds of prey” [as the rock band Rush might say] with the passion and expectation that this is going to be the best day ever?

Napoleon Hill, the author of “Think and Grow Rich”, said something to the effect that we are the result of what goes into our minds. In other words, we become what we think about. So, if we get out of bed in a morning with the idea that today is going to be awful, that we’ll make no sales, our latest photography project will be bland and uncreative, or that we’re just not going to make it, then that is probably what will happen. Then, later that day, when we go to bed, tired and miserable, we can say to ourselves, “see, I just knew today was going to be a bad day!” It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But, can the reverse be true? What happens if we fight off those negative thoughts and fill our minds instead with hope, encouragement and a determination to succeed no matter what the odds? How much more creative can we be, as photographers or business-people, when our minds are happily involved with thoughts of having a good day? What if we take action and become proactive instead of reactive? What kind of day will it be if we have a positive attitude?

Instead of turning on the news in a morning (or even the weather for that matter), listen to a motivational tape or read an inspirational book instead. I even heard recently that people who laugh in the morning are more likely to have a good day, because laughter, being the great medicine it is, generates positive thoughts. Maybe a good joke or two can help.

Personally, as a photographer, I find that spending some time to absorb the work of other photographers who inspire me helps tremendously. Just 30 minutes to an hour spent like this at the beginning of the day to think, study and plan is worth a great deal.

If you’re reading this and thinking to yourself, “that will never work for me”, then why not just give it a try? You have nothing to lose and you can at least try to prove me wrong… Just try it for one week and see if you feel any different.

The way I look at it is this: If you feel positive on the inside, you can’t help but look positive on the outside. Other people see what’s on the outside and will enjoy talking and working with you more. Feeling positive makes us smile and it’s often said that a smile can be heard on the phone. Now, if your prospects “hear” that smile, it just gives them one more reason why they should choose to work with you… and we all know that more work means we’re a little closer to beating the odds.

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Personal Zen attitude, encouragement, inspiration, positive, professional photographer, success