7 Ways To Stay Positive and Focused On The Best Possible You

Posted on August 03, 2014 by Hanneberit Hahnemann, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

As someone addicted to facilitating change in others, I never thought I would be writing this, but here it is: a blog about change for myself, and some lessons I have learned. I guess that means starting out with a lil’ disclosure; I recently had a conversation with a coaching colleague in which I shared about some stress I have been feeling lately. When I say “shared”, I mean that it was a case of my own personal Vesuvius erupting. The list of things currently overwhelming me came flying out of my mouth like hot lava: flyers, websites, newsletters, blogs, columns, seminars, books, ezines, copyrights… web designers, copywriters, autoresponders, fixers, cleaner uppers, logo designers, consultants…. I heard my own out-of-breath voice as I was going down my enormous list of things I was feeling extremely less-than-awesome at.

Silence.

Then she asked…… “What is going well?”

??

Redirection.

Epiphany.

You know the feeling when you open a door you think is to the kitchen, but it actually opens out to the garden? Well, that’s how I felt. Imagine being completely taken aback by the unexpected fresh open air, and all the beauty you forgot to look at.
It felt good to go on another breathless rant, this time about all the things I had accomplished lately, the people I had called, the stuff I had written, and all the things I had actually checked off my to-do-list. I seems I had been ignoring them in my misplaced need to be better and more effective than yesterday.

Trust me, I see nothing wrong with being driven and expecting a lot of oneself. Only thing is, for some of us, the temptation to take that to another level seems to be lurking around every corner. I know that is true for me! As a former professional violinist, an unbending discipline is inherent in my blood. An effective work ethic is great to have, but in my drive I sometimes forget why I do what I do and where I was just a month ago.

And that reminds me of the importance of focus. Human beings are deletionary creatures. The brain can only focus on one thing at a time so when we focus on the negative, all the positive stuff goes in the background. And vice versa. When you redirect your focus onto something positive, then that is what you will see. You will look at it when you look for it. Did you know we become our thoughts? If all we see is all that we are not and don’t do, then we will BE discouraged and unhappy. And overwhelmed, like I was.
If we focus on our accomplishments, gifts, potential and abilities, we will have contentment as our aura, and will be empowered to do so much more.

So, here’s my question to you: what picture are you looking at?

For all of you hard working, driven individuals out there who, like me, misplace your focus and drown in your own high expectations, I implore you to follow these important steps for continued sanity:

#1, Keep the wins close, as your greatest guide
#2, If you are focusing on the negatives, take a step back, cuz you’re losing perspective
#3, Don’t waste energy berating yourself – give yourself a break
#4. Take some time to reassess
#5. Remember why you do what you do
#6. Reconnect with your inspiration
#7. Don’t forget about the door to the outside

Much love,
Hanne-Berit

Live free * Live Strong * Live Happy

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