"If you are positive, you’ll see opportunities instead of obstacles". 

When a situation presents itself in your life, it doesn’t become a reality until you process it. There’s some computation that needs to take place before it can be encoded and you can decide what exactly it all means. Well, we have more control over that processing power than we might think, and sprinkling that process with a little positivity can go a long way in changing results. If you are positive you’ll see opportunities instead of obstacles.

Let’s think about this from the angle of neuroscience and physiology, which was my college major. Thinking about vision as a sense presents a lot of similarities to choosing positivity. 

The objective of our sight is to translate stimuli in our environment into usable pieces of information. The intricacies of sensory identification, neural transduction, and perception are still unbelievable to me, but what it does is it creates an understanding about the world around us. That’s exactly what we’re trying to do when we’re presented with opportunities and obstacles, we use the information we have to draw a conclusion. With positivity, you can manipulate the way things are being interpreted and paint them in a more positive light. It’s a gift we can all tap into with a little effort and commitment.

Here’s something we can all relate to. What can we do to get less distracted? Well, there may not be anyone in the world more qualified to answer this question than Nir Eyal, behavioral design specialist and author of the soon to be released book Indistractable. Nir would argue we first need to understand what exactly distractions are.

That’s a powerful way to define it. Distractions aren’t inherently good or bad, they are simply different than what you intended to be doing. So, the first step is to gain clarity on how you want to spend your time, what you want to be doing, and make decisions accordingly. 

I really like the simplicity of this quote.  It’s a perfect example of how we too quickly jump to the extreme scenario in our life without understanding the steps to get there.  And this one is specifically significant with respect to one of my primary motivators which is impact.

It comes from an amazing quote from Pat Flynn, "If you want to change someone’s life, you have to change their day first".  Flynn has built an impressive personal brand and following through his blog, “The Smart Passive Income Blog”, and a few different podcasts he hosts.  The quote means that much more from him because he started small and practiced the grassroot tactics necessary to eventually build his empire.

All great things take time. It’s just like what Simon Sinek famously said about leadership and romantic love. It’s not that you at the flip of a switch can call yourself a leader or say you fell in love. It was an accumulation of things that eventually brought your life to that state. There is no one moment.

Well I believe that for most of us, the same goes for having an impact on someones life. Value needs to be delivered and received over time in order for it to be life-changing. I mean that’s a tall task! Conveniently for my explanation, a lifetime is simply made up of many days, so you can’t change a life until you’ve changed at least one of those days.

So, be practical and start with the right approach Seek to better the days of those around you if you want to change their life.  It could be as simple as a smile, a warm greeting, an extra 10 minutes helping on a task, or lending your ear.  

If you want to change someone’s life, you have to change their day first.

Theoretically, doing the right thing is always the right thing. However, we need to be aware of the assumption built into this, that we all share the same sense of right and wrong. We can all agree that is not true.

When evaluating this I always try to go back to intentions.  In fact, intentions are everything to me. If someone does something that negatively affects me but they didn’t mean to, I can’t find myself being upset by it.  Alternatively if someone helps me out, but do so as a way of getting something for themselves, I am good at seeing through the fluff and calling it what it is.  

The reality is, determining what the “right thing” is all comes back to intentions.  If you believe that you are doing the right things for the right reasons, then that’s something that I support and you should lean into.  At the end of the day we are all meant to live the life that is uniquely ours, and we all have our own measures of what is good and what is evil.  We each need to understand, and more importantly, be honest with ourselves when we are deciding how we feel about our own choices and behavior.

But the core takeaway from this convoluted, complicated, and subjective mess: We will find the most fulfillment and joy living the life that best aligns with our values and intentions.  Do the things that make you proud when you look in the mirror, whatever those “right things” might be for you.

Do you have to think twice about making your morning cup of coffee? Aimee Tariq shares a few tidbits about caffeine addiction, and the effects it has on you.

‍

‍

If you were told that all of your responsibilities and requirements could go away for one hour right now, what would you do?  See, it’s not that easy to answer is it. That’s because we get so caught up in the to do lists and the objectives.  We forget at the heart of it all, the work we do is all in the name of happiness. So, why do we sacrifice that so often?

There is one word in the quote that really stands out, and it’s not happy. It’s the word “you”.  "If it makes you happy, then go for it."  It’s already hard enough deciding what to do in the free hour scenario I previously explained, but now let’s get out of our heads and be practical.  Are you really doing what makes you happy? Or, is it possible you’re happiness is being biased or guided by your understanding of what others believe makes you happy? Honestly, social norms are strong and often act at a level we can’t perceive. The only way to truly do what makes you happy is to take a step back and reflect.

I get it. Life doesn’t go according to plan, and sometimes it takes a step or two backward to go forward. There are necessary evils that may not be joyful in the moment but they contribute to a larger, ultimate joy.  Well, I would encourage you, if that’s the case, and you’re clear on what makes you happy, then go for it!

This message comes from Affirmation Addict Payal Aggarwal. As she explains in the interview, affirmations are positive statements that communicate your ambitions with the world and help turn them into reality.  I had her break down the fundamental components to a solid affirmation routine.

I know that was packed with material so lets quickly review it. First, is set the intention, or what change or addition you want to manifest in your life. Then, create an affirmation in present terms that helps communicate that intention to the universe, and last repeat that affirmation at a frequency that is comfortable to you but best done at least once a day.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, come back on Sunday to hear the full conversation!

This message is a technique by an individual I really admire from Joel Brown. In his coaching business, he gets results by encouraging his clients to step outside of their comfort zone.

I recently implemented this for myself and put it up on my wall, and although it’s too early to advocate completely for it I want to share the theory behind it. First, it is very visual and a constant reminder of what you want to achieve, serving a similar function as a vision board. Then, when you do achieve a stretch goal, you get the validation and reward of expanding your circle, which motivates you tackle the next one. And last, it forces you to specifically list things that exist outside of your comfort zone, and in the pursuit of achieving them you experience growth as you navigate new frontiers, making the uncomfortable more comfortable.

Recently, I spent a weekend in Mexico volunteering through a company called “The Greatness Foundation”.  We built a house for a family in need, visited orphanages, and added love to the community. It was a very emotional and heart-filling experience and I am so grateful for it. It provided an immense amount of perspective in two very powerful ways.

First, for the blessings and privileges I live with on a daily basis that I often take for granted, and second for the realization of what poverty looks like in the world and how widespread it is. The work we did in one community, and specifically for one family is life-changing, but knowing that one family is just a grain of sand compared to all of the people in need was overwhelming to me.

That’s where the story of the starfish comes in. The founder of the Greatness Foundation, Mike Sherbakov, shared a story that put our volunteer work this weekend all in perspective. 

A girl is on a beach and on by one, bending over, picking up a starfish, and throwing it into the ocean. The tide was low on a hot summer day, and all of the starfish were bound to be dried up before the tide came back. 

An old, cynical man walks up to her and says “what are you doing?” 

She answers “I’m saving the starfish, they’re going to die if I don’t help”. 

The man replies, “there’s miles of beach in each direction with thousands of starfish, there’s nothing you could do to make a difference”.

The girl picks up one starfish, throws it in the ocean, and says “I made a difference for that one”.

The truth of the world’s problems are huge, but if we each focus on our own role, and saving our own starfish, then the world quickly becomes a much better place.  Focus on your cause, be present with the people around you, and live a life of service and you’ll pick up more starfish than you knew possible.