Be Upbeat: Win a Book
May 7, 2009 by Phil Gerbyshak
Filed under Business
In my never ending search to find books that change my life, I’ve found another winner in Raj Setty’s Upbeat Now. At 96 pages, it’s an extremely quick read that can turn your stinking thinking around and focus on the great parts of your life.
I got to spend some time with Raj this past weekend, and not only does this book help your thinking, Raj does too! If you ever get the chance to connect with him at a speech he’s given or even for a cup of coffee, TAKE IT!
This little book reminded me there is only one thing that is under my control in these crazy times: That I can choose to have an UPBEAT attitude that’s recession-proof.
That’s a simple, yet extremely powerful, tip. It reminded me the true power I have is over me, and nobody else.
As a way to share his knowledge with the world, Raj gave all the attendees of SOBCon a free copy of his book, and I asked Raj for a few extras to offer you, and being the wonderful guy he is, he obliged!
How can you win?
Share your best tip for staying positive in negative times.
Simple, yet effective. Stay Upbeat and enter to win Upbeat Now!
All entries must be received by next Thursday May 14th, 2009 at 5 PM. I’ll announce the winner soon after that. Open to residents of the US only.
Image courtesy of Upbeat Now at Amazon.com
Life has taught me some great lessons and the importance of having a clear focus of where you want to go is probably one of the best ones.
Create a vision of what you want and picture what it looks like.
Having a visual is easy to remember and helps you recognize it when you get there!
I have three top ways of staying upbeat!
1. I have a “no negativity” office policy! Only positive thoughts and attitudes are brought through the door. Now…understanding that everyone can feel a bit negative at times, those negative thoughts must be channeled into a solution and voiced as a positive. This is sort of like the old interview question, “what are your weaknesses”! Everyone knows that you never voice a true negative…you take a negative and turn it into a positive! :)
2. Rid yourself of negativity and stay upbeat through proper diet and stress relieving exercise! This is considered a daily ritual. It’s amazing how much more positve you are when your body feels physically healthy.
3. Start to feel negative…take a moment…turn on some good music…and dance like nobody’s watching! This works for me everytime!
Angela Marasco
Headhunter / Owner / Career Coach
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One thing I do is to write it out – get it OUT of your system. It is more like self-therapy than anything else but you can then let it go and get on with your life.
I also keep a poster that I made with some words of wisdom. The ‘words of wisdom’ came from my mother-in-law to my wife – a passing of a Native-American tradition for centuries. This is what my MIL passed on to the family – I read these words to make me think and re-focus …
Cherokee Wisdom
An elder Cherokee was teaching his grand-children about life.
He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me, a terrible fight between two wolves.
One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other wolf represents joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, security, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generos-ity, truth, compassion, and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too.”
The children thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
I do this through prayer and contemplation of the gospel. When I keep an eternal perspective I realize that no matter what this world throws at me that my home is in Heaven with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through His stripes I am healed. So when negativity arises it just makes me remember that one day, He will wipe away every tear. That one day there will be no more pain or suffering for those that are in Christ Jesus!!!
The best way to stay upbeat in times of distress and trouble is to stop, close my eyes, and picture myself inside one of those restaurant walk in coolers. I enter in and close the door behind me. I turn off the light and wait for 5 seconds. Then I scream my loudest. Since this is done internally, no one knows what I am doing. It always works. I feel stress leave, and my mind clear.
In “The How of Happiness,” we learn that 40% of one’s happiness is self-delivered through about a dozen different practices. (50% is set through genetics and 10% is circumstances, getting you to 100%). About 4-5 activities work for any given individual, but consistently doing the activities that produce happiness for you will help you stay positive. So I practice mine.
One other: only worry about what you control and what you can influence. What you can’t influence or control is just out there and you’ll get discouraged if you focus on it.
(Rajesh Setty rocks, by the way…)
Early on in life, I was introduced to the Book of Job in the Bible. Any morning I wake up and feel blah, I remind myself that I woke up on the right side of the grass, I have a job to go to, and a family that is a blessing everyday. I remind myself that if my body aches, its because I was working; some people can’t work. if i am unhappy about work; there are some who don’t have work to go to. I remind myself that its not a bad thing to park at the end of the parking lot because that means I have a car to drive, and legs to walk me to the door.
These are ways I keep myself upbeat when feeling a little down in the dumps.
1. If you wish to live to the fullest, learn to die.
2. Whatever motivates you – just do it!
We’ve all had our share of trials during this last year. Downsizing, revenues slashed, etc. Staying upbeat is a must or you will kill your entire organization. People need something secure to hold onto. If you are negative, people will stop being creative and thinking outside of the box because they have already “lost” and are “defeated”. A positive attitude fosters out of the box thinking and allows you to invent your way out of the slump or to rise to the top.
There has to be a core group of “cheer leaders” — yes managers, that’s us. Management gets together regularly to pump ourselves up in order to stay positive and help that positive attitude be contagious in our organization.
Be optimistic! Have a positive attitude.
I focus on what I can do to the make things better and on the positives that are going on in my life and around me.
By focusing on what I can do, I know I can make a difference–it’s all within my span of control, so I know I can be successful in achieving a positive result.
I don’t want this post to sound “morbid” — i told my friend the following story and her response was “jeez – I wish I never asked”…. and I never really understood WHY she would say that.
How Do I Stay Positive in “NEGATIVE TIMES”??
well – first – negative is all PERCEPTION so it would be a RARE occasion I’d deem something as negative. I ALWAYS try maintaining a Positive Mental Attitude.
Background info….
I am in the Financial Industry & personally knew a dozen people who perished in the Twin Towers. Whenever dealing with “difficulty” (or “negative” situations) I think HOW LUCKY I am to be ALIVE. I think how EVERY one of my 12 friends who were killed would GLADLY change places with me – in a heartbeat! They would WELCOME the “adversity” b/c it would mean they are alive.
I often think about this when people are complaining about the weather. What’s the point?? As far as I know – all the complaining in the world has never changed the weather. And if the weather is so bothersome to you … i know a dozen people who would trade places with you….. and would ENJOY experiencing weather – whatever type it is. There is no such thing as bad weather – just different kinds of good weather….. WOW – can you say TANGENT — sorry about that…. i just kept going. always positive….. htd
Here’s a two step step process that will
work to elevate a negative mood instantly.
1. Take an action step regarging the issue.
i.e. phone call, buying stamps, email, etc.
2. Reward yourself with positive self talk.
Ex.,”the situation is getting better and so am I”
AND do these with a great attitude. Peace.
The best way for me to stay positive is to constantly remind myself of all the wonderful blessing that life has bestowed upon me. Since I spend a great deal of my time on my computer (at work and home), my desktop background is a collage of images (family, friends, places) and phrases the hold deep meaning for me. I also have a copy of that image in the front of my paper notebook I carry to meetings. It is easy to be distracted by all the negative things that go on around us. So we need to constantly remind ourselves of the postive things that never get any air time.
I’m a “quotes” junkie. I post my favorite motivational quotes, articles, blog clippings, etc. all around me…tucked under the clear plastic desk blotter, on the bulletin board, in books on the side of my desk. When I start to feel like I’m slipping, I look around, find one that suits the moment and focus on finding something positive. There is ALWAYS a bright side. As a customer service professional I know that my attitude conveys to my team. If it’s a bad one, we’re all in trouble! As Zig Ziglar says, “If you see someone without a smile, give him yours.”
Ways to stay positive in negative times.
Make it a great day or not – the choice is yours! We all have the choice to be positive and negative and there are situations that call for both. there are ways; however, to be negative, but in a positive way. I hate to give someone bad news, so I do my best to be there for the person for as long as I possibly can. Listen as you would want someone to listen to you.
I surround myself with my favorite quotes, which often lift my spirits throughout the day.
don’t forget to laugh at yourself. I think that’s probably my favorite. We are all human and when we finally realize that, laughing at ourselves takes a lot of the negativity out of situations (especially problems that we created).
Make the effort to FORGIVE!
In order to stay positive, I have stopped listening to the negative news. There is a complete news media black out in my life. If it is truly important, I will hear about it. I focus my time on the positive things and actions I can take in my life including reading, learning, creating and enjoying living.
I find exercise keeps me positive. I work in customer service and it gets stressful at times. I get two breaks and an hour lunch, during these times I go to the exercise room or just run up and down the steps a couple of time. When I’m done I feel ready to take on the world. Exercise is the ultimate drug, its 100% guaranteed to put you in a good mood.
I bought a puppy. She is my inspiration, she is always happy to see me, she always wags her tail. She doesn’t know there is a recession and it’s my responsibility to give her the best life I can! My drive comes from that, my positivity comes from that – I am invincible making sure she is well looked after.
Know that what you do is for yourself and your loved ones!
(Even though I have wet patches on the carpet sometimes!)
I like to workout, usually run or bike-not only does it relieve stress but makes you feel better about yourself.
It’s the GRATITUDE ATTITUDE — I LIKE IT Justin !!!