Negative happens to all. There are no exceptions. Negative circumstances are almost like they jump out from behind the corner, and we are startled by the fact that there is uncertainty within our world. Yet, we can see that throughout history, there have always been seasons of life.
Nature shows us this in a yearly cycle. We have the start of the planting season with spring. This is a time to work hard and get our ground prepared and get those seeds growing into an opportunity. Summer, we watch the growth happen, adapting for the environment and the challenges within our timeline. Fall is now the time to reap what we have sown, to gather in the bounty of what the opportunity has offered. But then comes winter. When the environment, the supplies, and spirits are going to be a little tougher than the previous 3 seasons.
Our business is the same. We all are going to be facing 4 different seasons. The difference is how you master the time and the season, whether positive or negative, in front of you. Mastering Negative is not a process of avoiding.
Mastering the Negative is about embracing and running forward into the challenge placed in front of us. We know that the negative times will happen, and we also know that there are times that allow us to prepare for the negative times.
Four Steps to Mastering Negative
Disgust: Using this negative emotion to create a positive result.
The point of being fed up with the current situations that define your life. When you have had enough, you reach the point of refusing to accept what has been normal. For each of us, this point will be a different triggering moment.
I have had several of these moments, resulting in several different changes within my own life. One involved financial decisions, another focused on health, and while another focused on relationships. Each of these had one thing in common, and I got to the point that I was disgusted with the way my life was currently going, a turning point where I made knew I had to make a decision. I was willing to accept it a moment to shift my thinking from mediocrity to embracing the idea of change. In your life, look for the disgusted in four different areas. (1) In your physical well-being. (2) In your educational growth (3) In your relationships. (4) In your internal happiness. Find the actions, attitudes, or mindset that you are no longer willing to accept as your current way of life.
Decision: Find that path that will lead you to your positive movement.
The original root word of the decision is to cut off the other options. To make a move in the direction that you want to grow by eliminating the other actions.
When you are truly disgusted with your current life and situation, you will be willing to decide to change what has been your “normal.” Within the decision process, you will need to recognize the difference between the things you can control and what is outside of your control. This is one of the greatest mind shift, focusing on the things that are within your control and deciding to change those habits, routines, and patterns to create a new way of doing life.
Decide for your first step into a new way of living an extraordinary life.
Desire: Find the inspiration to fuel your commitment to act on your decision.
To master your negative, you need to find the desire to begin to take your decision to grow and move it into a plan that you can implement. This is the fuel that will generate the momentum to move forward and grow into this new life. To continue to nurture the desire, we need inspiration. Inspiration comes from either external influences, like motivational speakers, sermons, books, podcasts, or internal influences, like journaling, meditation, and exercise. Each of these will allow you to keep the desire to move forward. There is no doubt that the way forward is going to be hard.
To push through those uncomfortable times and situations, you will need a burning desire to change.
Plan your day. Create the habits and routines that will keep that desire in front of you. Find others that will support and inspire your desire to complete what you have started.
Resolve: A soul commitment.
Resolve is a deep commitment that begins within your soul, a will strong enough to endure the challenges you will face on the path toward growth. While you will feel the emotion of disgust and desire and logically make the decision for change, it is the resolve that creates the determination to follow through to the end, no matter what comes.
Mastering Negative in our lives will be a daily, step-by-step action that will lead us forward. Often we get caught up in the larger picture and get frustrated in the daily actions. It is during times like this that we need the resolve to do the next right thing. Resolve allows us to take the next right step, even when it appears that the negative will not change. It will if we continue to take the next step. It is time to change your verbiage to “I will change” and “I will overcome.” Don’t allow the emotions to weigh you down. Feel them, and embrace the growth that comes from walking through the emotion.
Saying “I will” allows you to get through the doubts and questions that come with growth progress. When you find the resolve to keep your commitment, fuel your desire, implement your decision, and remember the disgust, you will become the master of the negative within your life.
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