Your brain is created for efficiency and one way it accomplishes this is through neural pathways or programming. Think of cruise control or autopilot. If you want to change your programming, it's going to take some intention and you are going to have to do this intentionally. The first thing that is required is an intentional decision on your part to increase your positivity. It's absolutely possible and I can help you if you decide to become more positive.
I can tell if somebody is really serious about a declaration or a decision that they state. It shows up in two specific places in their life. It shows up in their calendar and it shows up in their checkbook. They are willing to spend their time and their money to make this happen. If you are not at that level then you probably don't even have to finish reading this article. If you are ready to make a serious difference in your positivity and you are ready to invest the time and the money to do that, then keep reading because this is going to change your life.
If you are serious about this, let's get the tools on board. I would suggest that you read Pathological Positivity or let me read it to you if you'd like. It's on Audible. If you have some audible credits, just go find Pathological Positivity. Spend one of your credits on it, I'll read it to you.
Let me tell you a little bit about why I wrote this book. I was going through a time that was probably the darkest most negative time in my life. And I've been teaching these principles in my practice but do they really work for me? Chapter one is called Lightning Strikes. It's about a time when I hit a financial low. My career, my job it was just at a place that I never anticipated that it would be. As I was dealing with that, I realized something, positivity is a choice. But until you see it as a choice, it's not.
You have to be able to understand two processes that are going on in your mind, and in the book I label those evaluation and creation. They are two separate processes that both have something to do with how we process our experiences. You need to understand what is going on up in your brain first, because that is going to give you the tools that you need to do the other steps. I strongly recommend reading Pathological Positivity or let me read it to you. Let's get you familiar with the processes that are going on in your brain so that we can take the other steps.
The book is great and give you some tools, but we need to go beyond. You may need to take a course or get some coaching. I'm not saying that you have to spend a lot of money. I'm saying that you have to be ready to incur whatever cost is necessary. I see far too many people saying, “Oh, I can't afford it,” and dismissing the option without another thought. When I was going through my bankruptcy, I remember thinking I can't afford certain things.
I shared in my book as I was going through financial challenges, I had an opportunity to hire someone to do something really important for me for a couple of thousand dollars. Well, I didn't have a couple thousand dollars at the time. One of my business associates was going through a similar thing at the time and had the same opportunity. We were both feeling like, “Wow, we can't afford to do this.”
I chose to do it. Now, this is interesting because when I chose to do it, it put my brain in a whole different mode because now I had to figure out, “Okay, how am I gonna afford this?” Listen to the difference. “I can't afford it”, “How can I afford it?” Very different questions. One of them shuts your brain down. When you say I can't, what's the next step? Well, there isn't one. Curl up in fetal position in the corner, I guess, I don't know. When you say, “How can I,” what's the next step? You get to figure out how you are going to do it.
Well, here's the short end of the story: Because I chose to do this thing and figure out how can I afford it, it saved me about 10 times what I paid. My friend chose to not afford it and he missed out on the opportunity for a tenfold return on his investment. Without going into detail, you get the picture, right? Instead of saying “I can't,” say, “How can I?”
There are courses available that will help you to become more positive. In fact, I would love to recommend my personal favorite which is the Positivity Power-Up. Why? Because I teach that course. It's like you get to take a private positive psychology course from me. You can do it anytime you want so you can fit it in your schedule It's all recorded and there are downloadable workbooks and you get digital copies of my books. Now, I'm not saying you have to do that one. I'm saying find something that engages you at the level of your calendar and your checkbook. If you are not investing the time and the money to do this, then you are not serious about it.
I'm talking very boldly with you and I'm not saying you have to buy my program. I'm just saying that it's available to you as an option that I prefer because I created that one and I know what's in it. PositivityPowerUp.com is where you can connect to that. Look/find one that suits your needs and engage at that level. If you are still thinking about it, then you need to take action, which means it's going to hit your calendar and it's going to hit your checkbook. So, get real about that.
Now, I'm up to number 4. Engage a coach. Don't try to do this in your own mind. I think taking on a self-improvement project without engaging other people to coach you and to mentor you and to guide you through the steps and to save you the time and money and energy that you don't have to expend reinventing the wheel. I think it's kind of like doing yourself dentistry. Don't try this. Get the professional help that you need to really move this forward powerfully. Now, you know that I offer coaching too. Again, let me reiterate. I'm not here to sell all my products and services. I want you to know that they are available because if might be a good fit for you. I'd be honored to be on your team. I'm talking about overcoming the barriers in your own mind so that you can move forward with power and purpose toward creating that outcome that you are hoping to create. Engage a coach. I'm speaking from experience here because I've been a lone ranger far too many times in the past.
I've been in that position where it's like, “Well, I should be able to do this myself.” Like, what else? What else in your life do you do by yourself? Getting dressed in the morning? That one comes up. Yeah, I do that myself. Really? With what? Clothing that you made from materials that you harvested? I don't think so. Probably over 100 people helped you get dressed this morning. Let's get past the lone ranger mentality into a community kind of a mindset. Skills and talents and abilities that other people have are sitting there waiting to enhance your life. Engage them at that level. And whatever coach you engage should be experienced in the kinds of outcomes that you're trying to create for yourself.
If you want a health and fitness coach, hire someone who's healthy and fit. If you want a positivity coach, find someone who's pathologically positive. You engage at that level. I've got another offer for you here again not because I'm trying to tell you this is the only thing that will work for you, but because it's available. A free discovery call with a member of my coaching staff who can tell you what we have available. Just go to drpauljenkins.com/breakthroughcall. You can spend a half hour with a member of my team. It might even be me to talk about whether what we have available for you it is good fit for you. Find somebody whether it's on our team or somebody else.
Obviously, a lot of what we've talked about today can be applied to any aspect of personal development or professional development. We're talking about becoming a more positive person. And so, for this last strategy, I want to take it out of the selfish place, okay? Why do you want to be more positive? Because your life gets to be better when you are. But that's the selfish part. Becoming more positive puts you in a position to increase other people's joy. Particularly those who are closest to you. Your family, your spouse, the people that you work with. Their life improves as soon as you become more positive. Which is the unselfish reason to do this.
So, for this final strategy, I want to encourage you to share. Share with other people what you are learning about positivity. Share Live On Purpose videos on You Tube with people that you think would resonate with it. Become an ambassador of positivity and positive thinking. This also increases your power and influence, and your life gets better. Focus on those other people and lets shift our awareness to how what we are doing here can improve and enhance their lives and then your improvement gets to be a strategic side effect.
Well, I got pretty bold for some of that. But you know what? I'm passionate about this. Let's get you connected. If you want to take that first step with my book, Pathological Positivity, you can get it just by paying the shipping. Go to www.drpauljenkins.com and hit the big orange button. We will get the book shipped to you and you can get started getting positive.