I’m always fascinated by the people who lift huge weights,
particularly in competitions like the Olympic Games. There
are events for men and women and they get up on stage to
lift a bar with huge weights attached.
I often wonder what sort of things they’re saying to
themselves as they pace up and down, rubbing their hands
with resin powder and taking huge breaths.
What if they were saying – “That looks really heavy – it’s
heavier than anything I’ve lifted before. I’ll probably drop
it, make a real fool of myself and even injure myself to
boot….!”
Do you know what’s going to happen if they say all this
stuff to themselves? Their subconscious will say – “Okay,
you say you’re going to drop it. Then, that’s what I’ll
arrange – and I’ll try to make sure you injure yourself at
the same time.”
Of course, that isn’t what happens. This weight lifter,
who’s trained for years to do precisely this thing, is
screaming at himself internally – “You’re going to lift that
bar and push it right through the ceiling! You’re going to
break the world record! You’re going to win this competition
and everyone in the world will see you doing it!”
In the day-to-day tasks that we face in our life, we should
be no different from these sportsmen and women. Think
negative thoughts and that’s what your subconscious will
focus upon.
If you think illness, you’ll become ill.
If you think gloom and doom – that’s what you’ll get.
But if you think health, happiness and success – you’re
already there.
“Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be”
– Abraham Lincoln.
I read this quote some years ago and I know some people have
a problem with it. We all face difficult situations in our
lives and some people more than others. However, I’ve made
up my mind to be as happy as I can and I recommend you do
the same.
Focus on the positive things in your life – the things you
can do – not the things you can’t. Think about what you’ve
achieved in the past – not what you haven’t. Look at where
you’re going – not where you’ve been
There’s a story about a young man who was really into
positive thinking. His workmates used to make a fool of him
and of course, he was challenged by their taunts. He told
them one day that positive self-talk was so powerful that if
he told himself he could fly through the air, he’d be able
to fly.
“Prove it” they cried. So off he went, up to the 20th floor
of the building they worked in. He jumped off and was heard
to cry as he went past a 10th floor window – “Well, it’s all
going great so far.”
That sort of thinking isn’t what this article is about. I
sometimes get tired of hearing people say – “Think
positive.” What I’m suggesting is that – in all the things
we face in life, we focus on the positive aspects.
Say for example a customer complains to you about some
aspect of your product or service. It’s so easy to think –
“We’ve messed up, we’re going to lose this customer’s
business, this is a disaster!”
It’s far better to think – “Okay, we’ve made a mistake, what
can we learn from this so that we don’t do it again and make
our service even better.”
Ironically, it’s often the case that if you solve a
customer’s problem, apologise and recover well, the customer
will forgive you and become even more loyal.
Here’s another example of what I mean:
Say you were to discover a small lump in some part of your
body – or a mark on your skin. Positive thinking might cause
us to say – “It’s nothing, I’ll leave it and it’ll go away
by itself.”
Negative thinking, on the other hand, would have us say –
“Oh no! I’ve got cancer, I’m going to be in pain and misery
and I might die.”
Focussing on the positive allows us to say – “I must get
this looked at immediately, whatever it is. They have
marvellous ways of removing and curing these things
nowadays.”
There will always be challenges to face with customers and
the people who work with you. Focussing on the positive will
make them so much easier to deal with.
Discover how you can generate more business by motivating
your team!
Alan Fairweather is the author of “How to get More Sales
by Motivating Your Team” This book is packed with practical
things you can do to get the best out of your people .
Click here now
