More On Positive Associations And How To Avoid Negative People

Image via WikipediaThe Value Of Positive Associations And How to Avoid Negative People

There’s an old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” The reasoning behind this is that we tend to become like the people we hang out with.

If you’re around “cannot, should not, and do not” people, then you’ll constantly be discouraged and depressed. Instead, surround yourself with visionaries and those who can inspire and motivate you so you can, should, and do take action.

How To Avoid Negative People - Following your intuition can be an effective way of weeding out negative people early on. Here are some body language signs to look out for and be aware of when you meet new people:

· A sick or uncomfortable feeling forms in the pit of your stomach.
· The hair on the back of your neck stands on end.
· Your skin crawls and you feel jumpy and adverse to touch.
· Your shoulder muscles knot up and your throat and chest constrict.
· You feel a sense of pressure, agitation, or darkness.
· You feel physically, mentally, or emotionally drained after meeting the individual.

These symptoms may be your body’s way of telling you to stay clear of this person. You may leave their presence feeling depressed and discouraged because all you’ve heard is complaining.

Naturally, this sucks the energy right out of you, but you can learn to read these signs early on and you’ll save yourself from becoming involved with a negative person. These people are toxic and will poison your mind with their negativity.

Seek Out People with Positive Attitudes

Sometimes you can tell someone is positive just by their outward appearance or the way they conduct themselves. Walking confidently with their head up or even smiling are signs that a person is in a positive mood.

Some other signs of a positive person are more intuitive, such as:

· You get a feeling of familiarity – as if you’ve known the person forever.
· You feel relaxed, calm, and safe.
· You breathe easier.
· You lean forward instead of crossing your arms defensively and withdrawing.
· You’re at ease with the other person’s touch (hug, handshake, etc.).
· You leave their presence feeling energized and alive.

Just as negative people put out a negative energy, positive people have positive energy. These people are nourishing and supportive. Your body can pick up on this and warn you or encourage you depending on the situation.

How do we go about finding these positive people we wish to associate with? Much of the above responses are simply felt in our day-to-day associations.

However, there are more proactive steps we can take to align ourselves with positive people:

· Find a local community event, club, or group where people challenge themselves and encourage their members to be better people. They will help you set goals for yourself and then achieve them.

· Participate in online forums or organize your own positive mentoring group. Sometimes it’s impossible to completely avoid certain negative people (perhaps a boss or family member), but you can limit your relationship with them and seek out positive role models elsewhere.

· Utilize your positive support system to prevent the negative people in your life from getting the best of you. Get positive again immediately!

The choices you make in life are yours alone. It’s completely in your power to choose who you are friendly with and whether you want to live a happy life or be miserable.

If you feel too much negativity, take control of your life and make some changes to eliminate the negative sources. This will likely take some time but making these changes will help improve your daily mood and remind you that good things are ahead.

Find Like Minded Positive People To Associate With

Image via WikipediaHow to Surround Yourself with Positive People

One of the best ways to achieve your goals is to surround yourself with positive people. The energy these people have never seems to let them down, and they are achieving the great goals in life that they desire and dream about.

Positive people can help you stay on track and energize you toward your own goals. Many times these successful people share the same goals you have and are happy to pass on their wisdom and their techniques.

So how do you find these positive, like-minded people?

Here are 5 tips to help you find them, network with them, and glean valuable information and advice:

1. Smile. Although it may sound silly, smiling puts forth an image that instantly draws people towards you, especially other positive people. Having and showcasing a good perspective of life’s ups and downs makes other people want to be around you.

Positivism is often a difficult frame of mind to sustain all the time, and therefore, people are always looking for a way to be more optimistic.

· Staying positive is the building block of achieving your successes, as its opposite is futile. Smile and you’ll attract other positive people!

2. Communicate Positively. Although we all have rough days when nothing seems to be going right, the last thing you want do is complain and whine. No one likes a complainer, right?

For example, if someone were to ask you in a friendly manner, “how are you today?” don’t shoot back that “life stinks” or that you’re just “alive” or something to that effect.

Instead, take a moment – and a breath – and then reply with optimism, even if you’re having a tough day. After all, positive people don’t waste their time or energy on complainers or negative people.

· Even if you’re not feeling all that positive, by remaining optimistic in your outlook you’ll still attract positive people to you.

3. Think Positively. Keeping a level head on your trek toward success is one key to obtaining your objectives. Thinking positively – even through disappointment – will enable you to find the good in every situation and attract the positive people who share this vision.

· Even if you don’t really subscribe to these positive thoughts at first, or you find positive thinking difficult, sooner or later making yourself think positively will create a pattern of positive thoughts in your brain.

We’ve all got energy within us and we have the choice to use it constructively or destructively. If you want to attract positive people to network, then you’ll notice they try to be upbeat and optimistic, even during difficult times.

4. Act Positively. It isn’t enough to smile, communicate, and think positively when pursuing your goal. You must also put forth actions to substantiate this positivism.

For example, perhaps you thought you could get a promotion in the past, but then sat idly by while someone else snatched it up. This time, transform those positive thoughts into action!

· Showing your boss and employees that you are proactive and positive will set you up for more successes.

5. Reach Out. Lastly, reach out to people at your work, in your circle of friends, or even to people on the street who seem to exemplify positivism. Ask them what it is that makes them continue to be positive and reach their objectives.

· Seeking out positive people will not only give you valuable information to help you reach your goals, but you will also become a successful person with your own network of positive friends and role models.

Being positive and exemplifying positivism attracts others. After all, like attracts like.

People enjoy being around others with similar attitudes and, by maintaining a positive mindset, you’ll surely lead yourself to those successful people you seek.

If you don't feel like it then act as if you do . . .

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Achieve Your Goals Faster Using These 5 Steps

Image via Wikipedia5 Ways to Focus and Stay on Task

Each day, there are dozens of tasks that are calling your name, both at work and in your personal life. With life being so busy it’s easy to lose focus on the big picture.

How many times have you gone to bed wondering what you actually accomplished that day? Or have you ever felt like your day was somehow wasted?

To avoid these feelings, you can try a few different methods to get yourself back on track. Rather than bemoaning your wasted time, resolve to regain your focus and get back on task.

Confucius Says...

There’s a famous quote about focus by the great philosopher Confucius: “If you chase two rabbits, you catch none.” True, there might be people who are able to multitask and do it relatively well; but more often than not, people who split their attention between two different tasks have a more difficult time completing both tasks well.

Here are five ways to maintain your focus and stay on task:

1. Eliminate the distractions. Get rid of the barriers that are causing you to avoid getting things done – it’s that simple! Forget about checking email every five minutes; those emails will still be there when you complete your task. Make a list of distractions and eliminate!

· Turn off the phone and let the voice mail take over.
· Close the blinds in your office.
· Turn off the music if you find yourself singing more than working.
· Simply closing the door to your office can give you more privacy and more focus.

2. Prioritize your work. Rather than working on projects simultaneously, take one thing at a time, focus on it, and worry about all the other projects later. Ultimately, you’ll get a lot more done and you’ll finish it more quickly. You’ll also be recognized for the high quality that you deliver when you’re free from distractions.

· Find a way to prioritize that works best for you. Choose either the project that has the earliest deadline or the one with the least components so you can finish it quickly and get it out of the way. There are pros and cons to both systems so tackle it whichever way works for you.

3. Tell everyone to respect your time. There are many nice and respectful ways to tell people to back off. If you’re finding yourself in a time crunch and can’t seem to get away from others, consider letting them know that you need time to finish some important tasks. There are a lot of different ways to do it – just make sure you do!

· Set times that you’ll accept phone calls and even visitors. Tell them to contact you by email and then set a regular time to check your email.

· Set business hours during which people can expect you to return their calls or emails.

4. Set some limitations with your internet access. The internet is wonderful but it can be a huge time waster, especially if you work at a computer all day long. Hone your focus with some self-imposed rules.

· First, close all those windows you’re not using. Avoid MySpace or Facebook, quit searching on eBay, and leave messenger alone while you're on the job!

· Establish certain times each day to use these fun things and just focus on what you have to do. You’ll quickly accomplish more!

5. Have confidence in your abilities. This may seem like a really small thing when it comes to focusing and getting back on task, but believing that you can get everything done that you set out to do puts you in a positive frame of mind and you’ll be less distracted with stress and worry.

· Have confidence that you can complete each task with ease and believe in your ability to deliver. If you’ll just have the confidence, you’re sure to have the focus!

Now that you’ve been introduced to five ways to focus and stay on task, it’s up to you to take action and learn how to focus your thoughts. If you’ve got to get stuff done, follow these steps so you can put yourself – and your goals – first!

Benefits To Goal Setting For 2009

If you are not already setting goals or making New Year's Resolutions then you should really get busy and complete this very important life task. This past week I have been reviewing my 2008 results and making 2009 plans.

Goal Setting has always been an important skill for me to have and I believe in it entirely. Goal Setting is a technique that can be very powerful and can result in some great returns in all areas of your personal and professional life.

It can exponentially increase your productivity inside the time frames you have available. However, you must be very specific and avoid generalities in your goal setting strategies.

At a very simple level, goal setting lets you determine where it is that you want to go in life.

On a more complex level, goal setting can be a vision that is long term and comes with the motivation to change your entire life.

When you know what it is that you want to achieve you can set goals and focus on taking the steps to make them a reality.

When you set goals that are clearly defined you’ll be able to measure them and feel proud as you achieve each one.

Forward progress for small goals is crucial so that you can find motivation for your bigger goals.

Some of the non-material things that you accomplish when you set goals include:

• An increase in your improvement level.
• An increase in satisfaction for what you accomplish.
• A feeling of pride for achieving personal and professional goals.
• An improvement in your self-confidence.
• Fewer attitudes that are holding you back from being happy.

Studies show that when people effectively set goals they suffer less from anxiety and stress. An increase in self-confidence can help you to concentrate more fully on both your personal and professional life.

Not to mention that you successfully achieved what you went after . . . (GRINS).

We have a FREE Ebook version of "The Power Of Setting Goals" available from our Free Ebooks And Reports section of the RGG Ezines page. Just scroll down and download it FREE.

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Your New Year's Resolutions - How Are You Doing With Them?

Cover of Go For It!New Year’s Resolutions – Resolving to Make Things Happen

Every January 1st, millions of individuals make a pledge to themselves to make specific changes in their lives. By February, most people's goals have begun to languish, if not altogether dissolved. They pledged but didn't commit.

What makes New Year's resolutions so very hard to keep?

Why does it become so difficult to keep the momentum going?

Oftentimes, the problem is simply that our goals are too lofty, too unrealistic, too out of reach. We set ourselves up for failure by setting goals that are very difficult to achieve. Sometimes we go too big without preparation and good planning.

So how can you beat the odds and keep your New Year's resolutions? The best way to succeed in keeping your New Year's resolutions is to come up with a personal plan. Construct a strategy for success.

Here's how to make things happen. Resolutions are just goals. The only difference is the "vocabulary" you use.

Spend some time contemplating your goals before acting. Many individuals tend to operate out of a vague sense of dissatisfaction with the way things are going in their lives.

Achieving your goals often demands that you take a time out from your life to seriously examine your life trajectory.

Be honest about what you want. What do you really want? When answering these questions, you will have to put aside the needs of your family members, friends, and personal relationships. You must be honest with yourself.

Also ask yourself, "What has kept me from achieving my goals"? What are you most afraid of? This period of contemplation is paramount to realizing your goals.

If you simply act before thinking, chances are you will begin the process of realizing your goals unprepared. You will run into obstacles and abandon your goals when the going gets tough.

By contemplating your desires and motivation beforehand, you are more likely to be prepared to encounter the obstacles and challenges you will probably face.

You should concentrate on one resolution at a time. Many people tend to make numerous resolutions, or lump several resolutions into one large category.

Be specific about what you want.

Write it all down.

The power of articulating and putting down in print your resolutions can be surprisingly powerful. It is very important that you be as specific as possible.

Don't make a promise to spend more time with your family or become a more healthy person.

Instead, pledge to spend two more hours a week with your family. If weight loss if your goal, resolve to lose two pounds a week. Be specific and realistic.

Set up a system of accountability designed to keep you on track. Many people abandon their New Year's resolutions because they simply forget the pledge they made at the start of the year.

Setting up a system of personal accountability ensures that you keep your goal at the front of your mind. Create a nurturing support system made up of friends and family members.

Research shows that people who are successful at realizing their goals feel a sense of responsibility to keep going. They made a pledge to themselves and others, and feel more pressure to keep their resolution.

Communicate your intentions to friends and family. Tell them about your New Year's resolutions. Explain what you are trying to accomplish, and why. Enlist their support. Encourage them to help keep you on task.

Also, you should not be afraid of exposing vulnerabilities or perceived weaknesses. Rather, you will find that most people will admire you for preparing to achieve your goals.

But remember that ultimately, success lies in your hands.

Make it as easy as possible to begin.

Another important consideration in working towards your New Year's resolutions is that you may need to start off small. Expect the process to be difficult, but still achievable.

Start by making small changes. If you are trying to lose weight, begin by integrating short exercise routines into your schedule.

The smaller you start, the better the chances that you will keep going. This will allow you to cultivate a sense of change in your life.

Drastic or massive changes in your life will be too difficult to keep going for a sustained period of time. Start off small, and keep going.

Be Passionate. Almost all individuals who successfully achieve their New Year's resolutions have chosen goals that they are passionate about. In order to be successful, you need to cultivate a sense of passion about your resolution.

If you are not passionate about achieving your resolution, you will be more likely to abandon it.

Passion creates determination. Determination creates persistence.

And persistence will almost always bring you to your goal.

After all you did make a "Resolution" didn't you? Didn't you resolve to accomplish your task?

Commit to it's execution and Go For It! (For more goal setting information check out our new Free Self Help Library section)