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Cultivating a Positive Upbeat Demeanor

How do you always stay so positive?

I just read a message asking “How do you do it? How do you always stay so positive, so upbeat?”

I decided answer via this video.

First, I’m not ALWAYS, so upbeat and positive. I have my moments. Times when for a brief time, I’m stuck in the problem or angered or upset by the way things are.

I do believe that I stay in these negative states for less time than many do.

When these “stuck” or unempowering states of mind come up, which is increasingly less frequent as the years go by, they typically stay with me for a matter of a few minutes. Not hours, days, weeks… or longer, like they do for some.

I think some of my “positivity” is innate, God-given, I think I was born with it. Some is a matter of upbringing, and some is a matter of beliefs I’ve consciously adopted over the years.

Of course, we can’t change what we were born with or how we were raised, but we can change our beliefs and the meaning we give to the events of our lives.

We can decide to view the world from a perspective that allows us to experience more joy. A perspective that is 100% correct and accurate and at the same time much more empowering.

Many years ago I began to consciously question my beliefs. I challenged my beliefs and the meaning I had associated with the events of my life. I discarded beliefs and meanings that were inaccurate or incomplete. I developed many new beliefs that I can now say have served well.

My earliest teachers “personal development” teachers were Napoleon Hill and Earl Nightingale. Later Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, J. Parker Palmer, and many, many, others.

As you’re watching this I’m preparing for my 700-mile commute from home in Southern Oregon to work in Los Angeles.

During this 10+ hour commute, I’ll most likely listen to several books on tape, I’ll probably re-listen to The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, the 4 Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz and Loving What Is by Byron Katie.

I’ll spend time listening and thinking. Thinking about how I can implement what I’ve heard to be a better husband, a better father and friend and of course how I can be a better Santa Claus and a better performer.

I’ll spend hours thinking about how I can serve more people and have a larger impact… and how I can add more significance to my life.

These 10+ hour drives are, at least at times, a time for deep thinking.

But not all deep thinking… At times I’ll be listening to the Allman Brothers with my widows down and the volume, my hair and beard being whipped around by 85 degree winds.

Enjoying the moment.

Whatever you are doing on this fine day I hope you too are enjoying each moment. Whether you’re accumulating or sharpening your tools, or simply letting your hair down, be there. Not worried about the future, or unhappy about the past… be present in the now and be grateful for what is.

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