10 Energizing Positive Choices That Keep You Inspired to Become Your Best

“Leaders who can stay optimistic and upbeat, even under intense pressure, radiate the positive feelings that create resonance. By staying in control of their feelings and impulses, they craft an environment of trust, comforts and fairness. And that self-management has a trickle-down effect from the leader.” ~ Daniel Goleman, Primal Leadership

How would you like to unlock within yourself more energy, resourcefulness, commitment and resilience, so that this year you truly make the life changes you desire? Rather than bogging yourself down with weighty and unrealistic resolutions, making positive choices on a daily basis will help you create an environment with less time for bad habits and more time and energy for the things that light up your life. This is the recipe for success!

My challenge to you this year is to do more of what makes you feel alive. Too often you can fall into the trap of living in a way that is not authentically YOU. This means you’re constantly fighting against yourself. Talk about exhausting and unproductive! When you align your life with what fills you with joy, you unlock your full potential for consistently making positive choices that quickly move you closer to your goals.

Are you making positive choices in all areas of your life? You can use my Wellness Assessment Tool to do an in-depth assessment of how you’re doing. If you see room for improvement, here are 10 examples of positive choices that enhance your motivation and resourcefulness.

• Are you spending more time with people you enjoy (in-person, on-line, and through entertainment)? Make sure the people you associate with are giving you love and appreciation. If you’re spending more time with characters like Carl Gallagher, Daenerys Targaryen, or Piper Chapman, then the positive choice is to turn off the devices and make close connections with real people who can encourage you to embody who you want to be.  

• Are you always putting others wants before your own? If “whatever you want” or “you choose” are ways you usually answer a decision-type question, then the positive choice you can make is to value yourself more and make your own happiness a priority. If you’re given an option, choose what you want, not what you suppose the other person wants.

• Do you know what you want? Slow down and notice what’s going on in life — what you like and what you don’t. Choose to mindfully live in the present and quit dwelling on what did or didn’t happen in the past. The positive choice is gratitude. This is essential for being able to acknowledge and appreciate the beauty in your life every day. Without it, you won’t clearly see what’s right in front of your face.

• Are you trying to be someone else? That’s a waste of the person you are. The positive choice is to be proud of yourself because you bring something valuable to the world that only you can bring. If something is worth doing, put your heart into it, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

• Do you treat yourself as well as you treat your best friend? Being kind and polite starts in your own head with how you talk to yourself. The positive choice is to challenge and rephrase any negative or belittling remarks before they have a chance to take root and grow in your mind. Love who you are, so other people can love you too.

• Are you waiting for someone else to make you happy? You’ll be waiting forever! The positive choice is to create your own happiness, by choosing to smile, be cheerful and greet the world with a positive disposition. Be the change you want to see in the world. Look for happiness and you will find it. 

• Do you give your ideas and dreams a chance? Let go of expectations and the desire for perfection and enjoy the process of learning and creating. Will things turn out like you envisioned? Possibly not. The positive choice is to just step forward, which creates more self-confidence, experience and excitement for what comes next. Be open to see where it leads you

• Are all of your relationships healthy, caring and supportive? Notice what you like about others. Some friendships will end; others will begin. That’s normal. The positive choice is to build a community of people who support your values. Always be on the lookout for how you can make another’s life better.

• Can you acknowledge and embrace all of your feelings? Emotions like stress, pain, frustration, and resentment are just indicators that something needs more attention in your life. The positive choice is to mindfully acknowledge how your emotions are affecting you somatically, without judgment, and consider what adjustments need to be made to heal and regroup.

• Are you self-disciplined and self-aware enough to take full responsiblity for yourself? If you make a mistake, be grateful. That’s how you’ll find your greatest achievements of all. The positive choice in each situation is to identify what you can do — and do it! Not by controlling everything, but by letting things unfold as they will. I love what H.A. Dorfman said about this,  

“Self-discipline is a form of freedom. Freedom from laziness and lethargy, freedom from the expectations and demands of others, freedom from weakness and fear—and doubt. Self-discipline allows a pitcher to feel his individuality, his inner strength, his talent. He is master of, rather than a slave to, his thoughts and emotions.”

Sometimes we can’t clearly see ourselves. It helps to have someone impartially assess our actions and attitudes. If you’re looking for that kind of accountability, I’d love to partner with you. Please contact me and schedule an “Unlocking Your Potential” 30-minute complimentary consultation (in-person, by phone or via Skype). Together, we’ll get the New Year off to a good start that keeps your momentum going!