Focus on the Positive

I was on a flight from New York to West Palm the other night. I helped the couple next to me (who were in their 60’s), put a suitcase in the overhead compartment. As soon as we sat, the pilot made an announcement about a long delay due to a mechanical issue with one of the engines. The woman immediately began complaining. She blamed the airline for incompetence. She proceeded to vent for at least 15 minutes. Through our discussion I found out that she was going back to Florida to an empty house. She hadn’t even made a connection from anywhere else. This rant was all because she just “wanted to get home.” After she finished she looked at me and asked how I could be so calm. I simply told her that I was thankful that they found the problem while we were on the ground.

The bottom line is that neither of us had any control over the outcome. I could have made it a bad situation but I chose to focus on the positive side of things. I had a much better experience as a result.

With few exceptions, those with defeatist attitudes normally don’t excel in business or in life. In business, people don’t want to work with you, in life, people don’t want to be with you. If instead, you continually chose the positive, you would undoubtedly live a happier life. People will like you better because you will be more pleasant to be around. Being well liked by others has significant benefits.

Focusing on the positive also offers significant advantages when it comes to your health. A study done at the Harvard School of Public Health concluded that happiness and optimism were linked to a lower of risk of stroke and heart disease. The most optimistic people experience less stress and have the greatest health benefits.

We always have a choice. Given any situation, you can choose to be positive or negative. Next time you find yourself about to complain, stop and reframe the situation. There must be something positive about the predicament you find yourself in, even if you have to reach for it. You can retrain your brain to focus on the positive. If you are serious about it, begin every morning as soon as you wake by listing three things you are thankful for. Not only will it set the tone for your day, it will help you to continually focus on the positive side of things.