Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life: How to Unlock Your Full Potential for Success and Achievement

Supercharge Your Thinking
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of time. If you are a 
positive
person, you will say something like,
“Well, it’s just one sales call.” This makes it temporary. You will
say, “The customer is probably having a bad day.” This makes it
specific. You then say, “I’ll be more successful on the next call.”
This focuses you on the future. When you dismiss temporary set-
backs in this way, you keep your mind positive. You remain confi-
dent and optimistic.
■
DON’T TAKE THINGS PERSONALLY
When
negative
people experience problems, setbacks, or difficulties,
they interpret them differently from confident, optimistic people.
When they fail temporarily, which is inevitable, they immediately
interpret this as a personal statement about their deficiencies. If the
sales call is not successful, they say, “I must be a terrible salesper-
son. The product is no good. Customers are not interested in what
we have to sell. I’ll never succeed in this field.”
In other words, they overgeneralize and overdramatize a small
failure rather than dismissing it as a temporary setback and going
on to the next call. They interpret the experience negatively. It then
has a negative effect on their self-image: “I’m no good.” Their work
performance declines and they do even worse next time.
The good news, however, is that how you interpret an event is
under your control. It is a matter of choice.You determine how you
are going to feel and react by how you choose to explain a situation
to yourself. Choose to put a positive spin on it, whatever it is. You
are in charge.
■
MAKE IT SIMPLE
When you verbalize your goals in the form of positive affirmations,
you should use words that your subconscious can easily understand
and go to work on. Make your statements simple and practical. For
example, “I like myself ” is personal. “I’m the best” is personal and
positive. And “I love my work” is personal, positive, and in the pre-
sent tense.
These are the kinds of affirmations that are immediately ac-
cepted by your subconscious mind as commands. They have an im-