Three Ways to Maintain a Positive Attitude

By Pat Heydlauff

Are you mentally prepared to end this year and begin a new one? With the New Year rapidly approaching, everyone’s thoughts are not only filled with holiday celebrations, enjoying a Merry Christmas and gift giving; it is also a time of reflection on the past year and for looking ahead. What did you accomplish, what did you leave undone? What really worked and what can and should be changed?

It is also a great time to give serious thought to creating and maintaining a more positive attitude in all areas of your life so you can not only enjoy the new year to its fullest but create the year ahead you would like to have, and not feel like you are stuck with whatever happens or be a victim of circumstances.

Do you believe one of your goals should be to enjoy life to its fullest and to create the days you want instead of simply going through the motions of living each day, taking them as they come? After all, aren’t you the one that is in full control of what happens to you? If you think big thoughts and act upon them, you will create big positive results. If you worry about all the things that could go wrong, you will attract things that do go wrong.

The Answer - Use Feng Shui Principles: They are all about taking control of yourself and your surroundings so that you can create the life that you want and live it to its fullest. My rather simplistic definition of Feng Shui is the use of positive energy to bring about desired or improved results both externally and internally. Through the use of basic Feng Shui principles you can improve difficult aspects of your life and create a positive attitude to help eliminate the negative and attract something better. You can also focus energy on the things you love and do well so you can enjoy them even more do them better.

Principle one - Rid yourself of anything and everything in your life that does not provide you positive energy. In other words, unclutter your surroundings you’re your thinking. This includes too many clothes in your closet that no longer fit or do not look great on you; foods you eat that do not nourish your body; stacks of stuff on counters and desks that are no longer relevant; and thoughts that no longer serve you well. It is amazing over the years just how many things get collected and stashed into closets, cupboards and drawers that you never use or do not fit or are out dated. The rule of thumb is “if it doesn’t look great on you, if it is broken or if you don’t love it, get rid of it”.

Principle two – Be involved in activities and events that energize you because you love them. Do activities you support or are involved with throughout the year energize or nurture you in some way or do they simply drain your energy? Review each of them carefully. Are you volunteering your time to energize or nurture others? Helping others is always energizing and help you maintain a positive attitude as long as you don’t overdo.

Determine if there are a number of activities you participate in that drain your energy. Evaluate each organization you belong to or every event you support with your time and/or money. If you do not receive an appropriate amount of positive energy in return for the time you invest, you should evaluate whether your participation is still important to you at this point in time as it used to be.

Make a list of all of your events, activities and organization you participate in throughout the year. Using a scale of one to ten with one being the most important and ten being the least important, give each of your activities a number. If the number is greater than four, consider eliminating it from your permanent activities’ list. Focus your energy on those things you really love to and they will provide you positive energy and help you maintain your positive attitude.

Principle three - Unclutter your thinking. Everyone is constantly talking to themselves. The question is, “what are you regularly saying to yourself”. Are you telling yourself that you are a great person and can do anything you put your mind to? Or, are you constantly putting yourself down, sabotaging yourself and creating negative energy within?

It is critical to observe carefully  what you are telling yourself because you can tell yourself you might catch a cold, and you will; or you will probably fail an exam, and you will; or you might be the next one to lose your job, and you will. On the other hand, you can make an effort to build yourself up by regularly using encouraging and success developing thoughts. It is very easy to put yourself down and deplete your much needed energy within. Be determined to lift yourself up so you build good energy within. Stop that constant loop of can’ts, don’ts, won’ts, should haves, would haves and only ifs. They help you create only negative energy and thoughts, which creates negative results.

As you reflect on the past year, be aware of the fact that you really do have to get rid of the old negative thinking and things before you can ring in the new. You cannot move on to a new calendar year without leaving the old behind.

Similarly, you need to eliminate old thinking, non-relevant activities and “get rid of stuff” to move on to new things in your life. In order to live life to its fullest, you need to take control of self and maintain a positive attitude to make it happen. Use Feng Shui principles and newly created positive energy to lift your spirits and nurture your mind so you can maintain a positive attitude to attract the future you want.

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