A positive influence may come in many shapes and sizes. There is a theory I read about, quite a long time ago but that theory left an impact on me. It goes something like this-just the act of observing something can have an influence on what is being observed. In simple terms, to look at something or just be in its presence actually changes its nature. Now if I was to explain what this means I would have to go into a physics lesson and that is not what this is about. The overall principle and how it relates to human behavior and interaction is what I am most interested in.
When we come into contact with other people we need to have the knowledge and inclination to discern whether they will have a positive influence over us or a negative one. While people can have all sorts of influence over each other, there are two general classes that we can examine and those are negative and positive. Negative influences are to be avoided or weakened in their power over you. These are people who are pessimistic, complaining, hopeless, deceptive, and basically believing that life is an endless struggle.
Filling your life with positive influences will have a far better effect on your ultimate destiny. Positive influences are people who are optimistic, disciplined, confident, supportive, cheerful, honest, loving, and generally believing that they can control their lives and destinies. The degree of influence we have over each other is much more powerful than you may have ever known. The mere presence of someone with a negative personality can affect you in a negative way. You see attitudes are contagious.
The trick is to free yourself from the negative influences while, at the same time, opening yourself to the positive ones. Luckily, positive influences are out there in abundance, and you can surround yourself with those who hold a positive attitude for the purposes of mutual encouragement and support.
There is no reason why the negative influences in the world should have more power over you than the positive ones, or than the influence you have over your own destiny. Negative influences try to hold you back, but you can free yourself from their clutches. And the key lies in recognizing them for what they are and negating their effect on you. A positive influence will stand out in a crowd as well as a negative influence will. Therefore it is your job to choose to fill your life with only positive influences and no matter who it may be, separate yourself from the negative ones.
The amount of approval we crave from the people around us will affect how much they influence us. We consciously or unconsciously do many things to win the approval of our peers, and this does not refer only to actions or favors. The problem comes when we actually start living like the person that others want us to be in order to impress them. These are not the actions triggered by positive influences. You see it is easy to miss the signs and we may not even be aware that we are adopting the attitudes and beliefs of those around us. So, you must choose wise and well the people that make up your own personal inner circle.
To this end, it's best to be a positive influence yourself. This will serve to counter the negative influences and bring a more positive network of people into your life. In the case of influence, opposites don't attract, "likes" do. And when likes get together, the influential effect is multiplied. So surround yourself with positive influences, and watch the exponential effect this will have over your ultimate destiny.
"Won't saying positive things to myself make me delusional, especially when I don't believe them to be true?"
Now, isn't that interesting? You see, many of us say negative things to ourselves and about ourselves on a continuous basis, e.g. "Stupid!" "Clumsy!" "Fool!"
And, we say these things so often that we begin to accept them as FACT.
In reality, they are lies that we say to ourselves but even if you repeat a lie often enough you will soon start to believe it. This is particularly true when a lot of emotion is put into it as is generally the case when we say negative things to ourselves.
The negative self-talk is usually accompanied by feelings of anger, frustration, humiliation, resentment, etc. and often leads to depression. These emotions allow the self-talk to penetrate the sub-conscious mind.
Repeating these sentiments over and over again is like seasoning meat. Imagine rubbing seasoning into a piece of meat and perhaps even making small incisions so that the seasoning can penetrate deep into its flesh, imparting its flavor. However, the herbs and spices that you have selected are pungent and bitter so that when you taste the cooked meat it is not palatable.
Now here's the curious thing. Even although you don't like the end result you keep using the same recipe. The finished product still tastes just as bad but you begin to convince yourself that it's ok. Heck! You could get used to this - perhaps even grow to like it. You say to yourself that this is just the way things are and you don't do anything about it. It's too much effort to change.
Yes, you start to rationalize.
But you can change and while it may take some effort the results are so worth it - once you find your winning combination. You could share your new recipe with others. You could even sell your new recipe!
So how do you effect change? Simply put:
1. Stop the negative self-talk, and 2. Use positive affirmations on a daily basis.
Using positive affirmations regularly will commence the gradual process of the re-conditioning your sub-conscious mind. It's like trying to restore a ruined and neglected house that was once a beautiful, well-kept home with flourishing gardens. The restoration work will take time, patience, attention to detail and a methodical, persistent approach. Yet, once achieved it will not only bring enormous joy to its owner, it will have a positive effect on all those who glimpse this beautiful dwelling.
It won't be easy. Your old self image will put up a fight. It doesn't like change. Change feels uncomfortable.
Also, we are trained to assess situations using just our basic senses. Hence, when your bank statements shows a low, or perhaps even a negative, balance; when it seems that there are more bills than money to pay them; it is all too easy to think lack and poverty. Yet money is in abundance.
Similarly, when your blood tests and x-rays indicate a diseased body, it is difficult to focus on health. However, there are many documented cases where individuals have disregarded negative diagnosis and restored health to their bodies and sometimes even saved their own lives using the power of positive thought and affirmations.
Saying positive affirmations such as "I am rich", "I have a healthy body" or "I am very successful" may seem crazy to someone who doesn't understand mind dynamics. But even if your present circumstances do not support your positive affirmations, repeating positive affirmations forms an important role in conditioning your sub-conscious to produce the results you desire in your life.
Claude Bristol, author of "The Magic of Believing" said,
"It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen."
So, it's no use just saying positive affirmations in an absent-minded fashion. You have to get emotionally involved with your new affirmations for them to become a "deep conviction", to effectively take root in your sub-conscious mind and successfully replace your hidden image that is creating the results you don't want.
I like to start my affirmations by saying - "I'm so happy and grateful now that I am" - a technique that was taught to me by Bob Proctor. The beauty of this is that it's a positive affirmation all on its own!
Also, gratitude opens up channels so that you receive more of the things you want and appreciate.
So persist with your positive affirmations until they become deep-rooted in your sub-conscious mind. Your reward will be an enhanced self-image and a more abundant life.
Both Howard Platt & Nickolove Lovemore are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Howard Platt has sinced written about articles on various topics from Adware, Lose Weight and Internet Marketing. Hi, I am Howard G. Platt 111 a 25 year student of Personal Development and Self-Improvement. If you enjoyed my article and found it helpful I think you will enjoy information at:. Howard Platt's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.
Nickolove Lovemore has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Energy Healing and Blood Pressure. For more articles and resources please visit Nickolove LovemoreNickolove Lovemore's . Discover how you can enhance your self-image and impro. Nickolove Lovemore's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.