Power Can Start with a Smile

Success-minded people know that the greatest power they possess is that of a positive mind.  When we are positive in our thoughts and attitudes we have strength to face challenges and overcome difficulties.  The great coach, Pat Riley said, “If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges.”  Positive and optimistic people are the ones who know where they are going, why they are going there and have no doubt that they will arrive.

Success-minded people also know that a positive mindset does not just happen.  You have to work at it, cultivate it, feel it and hold on to it.  One of the most powerful ways to build and maintain a positive mindset is in how we move, talk and hold ourselves.  Tony Robbins says that “motion creates emotions” and that is so true.  Want to feel powerful?  Then move with power and determination.  What to feel like you cannot lose?  Then act and look like a person who cannot lose.

There is a reason that you can tell a positive person a mile away, it is because they look the part.  Positive people stand straight, look forward, breathe deeply, are animated and have a smile on their face.  These physical characteristics are not a result of feeling positive, they are the cause of feeling positive.  American businessman, Harvey MacKay put it this way: “Positive thinking is more than just a tagline. It changes the way we behave. And I firmly believe that when I am positive, it not only makes me better, but it also makes those around me better.”

Here is a fun and informative experiment for you to try.  Stand up and behave as you would if you were depressed and feeling negative.  Let your shoulders hunch over; look at the ground and breath shallow.  Have a frown on your face and think about all that could go wrong in your life.  Feel depressed?  Of course you do.  Now, quickly, stand straight, shoulders back, eyes forward and breathe deeply.  Put a big smile on your face and think of all the great things you are going to do.  Feel great?  Again, of course you do.

Here is the lesson to take from this experiment.  Yes, your feelings or emotions changed by the way you handled your body, but there is something even more important here.  The key thing is that you chose those feelings.  You controlled being positive or negative simply by how you behaved and thought.  The powerful thing about that is you have that same control every single day of your life!

Now if you could be positive and optimistic every day, why wouldn’t you?  There is no advantage to being negative and pessimistic at all, so why bother?  Here is another benefit to being positive: it is catchy.  When you feel good you make those who are around you feel good.  When you are happy, you make others happy.  Author and businessman, Les Brown said, “Your smile will give you a positive countenance that will make people feel comfortable around you.” 

Don’t be the person who walks into a room and people say, “Oh, he/she’s here.”  Rather be the one who people see coming and excitedly say, “Oh! He/she’s here!”  It is all up to you.  You are in control.

To discover how you can achieve the dream you have believed was impossible for too long, read On The Journey To Achievement by John Patrick Hickey.  You can get a signed copy for yourself and get one for a friend, by going to http://www.johnpatrickhickey.com/it-is-good-to-set-goals-better-to-achieve-then/.  Now available on Kindle, Oops! Did I Really Post That? Online Etiquette in the Digital Age by John Patrick Hickey.

© 2016 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this may be reprinted or published without permission of the author.