Surrounding yourself

It is very important to surround yourself with people who are loving and supportive.  Most of us have enough negative self talk that we don’t really need to hear more from those around us.  What each one of us can use is support and the best way to get that support is to surround yourself with people who are positive, optimistic and successful.  After all, you want to have a more positive outlook on life, you want optimism to propel you forward and you want to be successful in all your endeavours.  

The people you associate with will affect you.  You can learn from people who have done what you want to do.  These people may not be your old friends or family.  In fact, your old friends or family may be holding you back.  Look at your current relationships and determine if these people are a positive influence.  If they are a negative influence you need to minimize your exposure to them.  This can be very difficult especially if the person is a family member.  You may have to talk to the person and set boundaries about what is acceptable and the things you don’t want to talk about with them because it often leads to negativity. This may be a very hard conversation, but often people find themselves feeling better and lighter like a weight has been lifted from their shoulders after such a conversation.  Start out small if that helps and discuss books or articles you’ve read about the positive effect of optimism on health and happiness.  Then you can tell the person that sometimes your conversations with this person are not optimistic and uplifting and you are really working hard to remove any negativity from your life to improve your health.  This may or may not work and you may feel like you’re talking to a brick wall because often people don’t realize just how negative they are being.  They may become defensive and blame you or other circumstances, but just calmly re-iterate your need for a positive environment.  Hold your ground for your own health, prosperity and success, however you define that.

Removing as much negativity as possible from your life is one of the best things you can do for yourself.