by Rella Ingram

Created on: January 31, 2009

"No!" It is one of the most powerful words in the English language. Why? Because words are attached to emotions and our emotions are the most powerful part of humanity! It gives a feeling of being let down, rejected, or declined. The key response to "No" is to find a way to make it a "Yes!" Where there is a negative, there is always a positive. It does not matter whether you are one that believes in the new age self-improvement movement, the ancient Chinese yin-yang, or the teachings of the Bible of good and evil. It exists.

Ask yourself, "Am I where I want to be in life?" If the answer is "no..." then why aren't you? Could it be because you are dwelling on all the things that are holding you back? Are you letting those negative thoughts keep you from dreaming your dreams, writing down your goals, and setting a date to get it done? It is a fact that we talk to ourselves more than we talk to any other person on the planet throughout our lifetime. What are we saying to ourselves? Are we saying get up and fight another round or sit still and let someone else fight and win? If your chatter to yourself is negative, always with the "no" attitude, you will never know what you could become. If you change that to a "yes" there is no limit.

Here is a personal experience with a negative office...

There were whispers and gossip flying in the office and if it did not stop things were going to escalate to a level beyond repair. There was talk of people going to quit because of the negative chatter, and work not being accomplished because of jealousy or imagined favoritisms.

After thinking for quite some time on the issues at hand and the gossip that was waving through the office, I had come to a conclusion. We were to have a training session one Tuesday night. I was to train on positive attitudes. Instead of getting up and giving a long boring speech that no one would listen to anyway, I decided to make this a hands-on exercise.

I made strips of paper with the most positive sayings I could find from books and anything I could think of. I made sure each one was meaningful and powerful. I instructed each person to take one and pass them around. Next, I told them to stand up, read their statement aloud as if they believed it completely with no doubts. Each person followed this instruction as I had asked. (To my surprise!) With every new person's statement the atmosphere in the room became so positively overpowering that by the time they had reached the end they had decided to all stand up and almost shout out their positive statements. It made them feel so good, that at the end of our training session, they ended with standing and stating them again. I asked them to keep the slips with them during their work to remind them of how the negative effects of daily chatter and stresses can be overcome.

From that day forward there has not been the same backbiting gossip or whispers as there had been in previous meetings. That was a year ago, and there are still people with those slips of paper taped to their computers, notebooks, and day planners. A couple of the team members have gone through life altering situations and informed me that having those strips of paper at hand reminded them that they did not have to deal with it in a negative manner and suffer unimaginable pain, but they could look at the situation in a positive light and make their way through it to the other side.

Never underestimate negative emotions, or positive ones! Don't forget to say something positive to yourself today!

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