Positive Thinking Series - Are you a victim or a survivor?

Over the past six weeks, I’ve shared my Positive Thinking Series.  Last week we talked about how failure was a good thing, you can read that post HERE. 

In the final post of this series, I want to discuss ways of moving forward and not letting your past hold you back.

We’ve all experienced a setback or two in our lives.  Sometimes they are small inconveniences, and other times they are life altering situations.  How you react to these events frames the way your future self copes with other circumstances.

Have you ever listened to someone as they grumble about a physical ailment, knowing that you, or a friend, suffer from the same problem?  We all learn to cope with our setbacks in different ways. However, some people are unable to do this and live a ‘victims’ life instead.  Which would you rather be, a victim or a survivor?

Positive Thinking Series - Failure is a Good thing

Over the past few weeks, I’ve shared my Positive Thinking Series.  We’ve looked at how not to feel alone, learning to believe in yourself, and taking things one step at a time.  Last week we talked about how to have a good day, and you can read that post HERE. 

Today I want to talk about failure.  An odd topic to discuss on a motivational site, however, failing is part of life, and it’s how we deal with this aspect that shapes how we cope with future events and situations.

Many of us shy away from even saying the word ‘failure’.  If you are a parent then failing is a taboo subject, even sports day has changed to accommodate all the physical needs of a child to ensure no-one ‘fails’.  I could argue that a bit of healthy competition is good for the soul, but I think that’s a whole post on its own!

Positive Thinking Series - How to Have a Good Day

Last week I talked about not having to be perfect, you can read that post HERE.  It leads me on quite nicely to this week’s post; how to have a good day. 

Not having to worry about being perfect 24-7 helps us to go with the flow and relax our outlook on life.  I attend a creative writing class every Monday evening, where I have to read out my work to the group.  When I first started, I was terrified that my writing wasn’t perfect, and I would be laughed out of the class.  What I failed to realise, my fellow students are in the same position, we all want to improve on technique and find new ideas.  I relaxed, and suddenly my writing improved and I even got a few belly laughs from my homework piece – it was a good day!

We very often forget to remind ourselves of all the good stuff in our life.  It’s human nature to dwell on the negative rather than focus on the positive.  Of course, when we linger on the negative talk this only increases the negativity we attract into our daily life.  My favourite quote is ‘thoughts become things, pick good ones’.  I try to live by this mantra.

Positive Thinking Series - You Don't Have to be Perfect!

Last week I talked about taking things one step at a time, you can read that post HERE. 

It’s a wise idea to break any goal down into smaller chunks, but this doesn’t automatically make us exempt from sabotaging ourselves further along the path.

To succeed, we not only need a plan, or structure, but we need to be attentive to our needs.  If we don’t nourish our ideas, and indeed ourselves, then we can trip up at the first hurdle.

Being diligent and planning ahead, or putting in the effort when it’s needed, can be the difference between success and failure.

However, being determined could be mistaken as perfectionism.  Could you cope with a setback?  Would you fall apart when faced with a failure?  If you can’t accept that it’s okay not to be perfect, then you may risk creating a huge barrier to achieving your goals.