Three Steps for Creating Positivity in Leadership and Life.
The past few years in my career have been a journey, to say the least. There have been the high points where I have grown and expanded. And, with this growth there has also been the discomfort – reaching outside my comfort zone, exposing my weaknesses, discovering doubts I never knew I had.
As an over-thinker, I found that I can easily get stuck in the doubt, the self-judgment and the fear of failure. I felt the power of negativity.
But I don’t have room for doubt. I am on a mission for more success in my career – to reach more women, to spread my message, to build a platform for consciousness, environmental sustainability, and women empowerment. And to create a lifestyle for my family where we more frequently travel, learn, and soak up this world while we are here.
So what’s a woman with a mission to do when the doubt appears?
1.Acknowledge the negativity bias: Understand that we were designed to doubt to protect ourselves from potential danger around us. The doubt and negativity we experience today are still here to keep us safe. However, unlike our ancestors, we are no longer faced with life-threatening situations on a daily basis. We now have the choice to acknowledge the negativity we are feeling and change focus. And we have the ability to train our brains to focus on the positive. We can let down our guard.
2. Have gratitude: When you let down your guard you create space for gratitude. Make an effort to focus on the positive until it becomes part of the flow for you. Every night, for 21 days, write down every positive thing from your day. How about that moment when you locked eyes and smiles with your child, or when you arrived early to your appointment, you ate that banana instead of ice cream, or you ate the ice cream and didn’t feel guilty, you went for a walk at lunch, you went out of your way for someone else, you received help from an unlikely person. Find ALL those little and big moments that make you thankful. Keep digging to find thanks for the unexpected. And create your own explosion of positivity in your day.
3. Envision Success: When you are in doubt go to your destination of success. Find a place to sit down, breathe deep, and envision you as the successful woman you desire to be. Imagine how you feel and get present in this moment of success. Lift yourself out of the doubt by getting clear. You will then have more energy and clarity to take more intentional and positive action.
These three steps have helped me significantly overcome the doubt that kept me “safe.” And by bringing these three steps into my daily meditation, I visit the valleys less frequently, while hanging out on the peaks more often.
Our thoughts create our reality. And as women on a mission, our success is up to us. So let’s focus on the positive.
Christy Venza is the Founder of Career Loved, a career coaching firm specializing in leading-edge strategies for high-achievers. To read more articles by Christy, visit www.careerloved/blog.