Positive Thinking and The Optimist

I consider myself an optimist. But, I don't always THINK positively. I'm extremely hard on myself. Why? Well, I think it all goes back to that expectation thing. I've been trying to make a conscious effort to stop inner negative thinking. It's actually harder than it would seem. I guess we are preprogrammed throughout our life to believe and think one way. This holds us back from living the successful abundant life that I truly believe everyone can and should have.

Obstacle Number 1: Family.
We all love our families. Whats that phrase? "Can't live with them, Can't live without them."
If we have been preprogrammed all of our life by negative thoughts, who do you think helped? Our Family! This is NOT about that anymore. So, next time Mom or Dad or your Brother voices a negative thought I believe you can get around it.
a. ask them WHY they believe the way THEY do, what experiences have they had to give them this opinion. yes, ask in a CALM voice like you are philosophy academic having a conversation.
b. Play devil's advocate but in a good positive way. Start asking what if questions but word them to where they are only positive. No name calling or anything like that.

Our family can be our greatest cheerleaders. See things from their perspective because once you start understanding where the negative thoughts come from you can start overcoming them one by one.

What We Know vs What We Have Been Taught to Believe

"The good news is that the moment you decide what you know is more important than what you have been taught to believe, you will have shifted gears in your quest for abundance. Success comes from within, not from without"
Emerson

Oh My Goodness! You mean everything we were taught may not be necessarily true? When I read this quote I truly had a light bulb moment. OK, maybe not an immediate light bulb moment. I had to let it sink in for a few days. It's a very powerful concept in creating successful abundant thoughts.

I have to admit, I'm a self help book and information nut. But, I've realized that so is everyone else these days. We are all trying to make our lives better. In my opinion, that's a good thing. So, my question of the day is...

What have you been taught to believe vs what you know to be true?
Shed all those misconceptions and baggage and let's create a positive abundant life. One thought at a time.

Expectations

We all have expectations about life. And, as we all know sometimes our expectations don't exactly work out as we had planned. How do you face adversity when your plans don't work out as you had expected? I've made a conscious effort lately to stay more positive. I have been choosing to look at the "bright side". Yes, I read "The Secret". On my journey to being positive and allowing the Good Karma to come, I've been thinking more about my expectations.

Do you expect and anticipate the worst?
Or, maybe you expect the best and are completely let down when things don't go your way.

I fall into the second category. I'm the optimist looking at the world through rose colored glasses. I tend to see life, scenarios, and other people as I expect them to be. I've been told I have much too high of expectations. Huh? I don't really get it so if anyone can enlighten me, please feel free to comment. The way I see it is if you have an idea of your expectations, you have an idea of what you want. Does this mean that you never, ever, ever deviate from what you expect? No, of course not because as we grow and develop, our expectations change. My point is that I don't want to have such high expectations set that I feel completely defeated if/when something doesn't go my way. Because we all know stuff happens. So these are the issues I will be turning over in my head for awhile.

1. Are my expectations realistic?
2. Do I set myself up for failure by having high expectations?
3. How do I deal with adversity when my expectations aren't met?
4. How do the people in my life feel towards me if I have super high expectations of them?

I found the best quote the other day and I want to share it:
"The good news is that the moment you decide what you know is more important than what you have been taught to believe, you will have shifted gears in your quest for abundance. Success comes from within, not from without"
Emerson

I'm concentrating on my expectations now, more about what we know and what we have been taught to believe another day.