Emotions play a part in how you go after your goals, go about your day, and deal with challenges that come up. Human beings are naturally programmed to look at the negative rather than focus on the positive. In fact, people need three positive experiences to counterbalance one negative experience. In some cases, one negative five-minute encounter can ruin some people’s day. Even worse, some people’s days are ruined when someone cuts them off on the freeway, which only takes a few seconds. 

We also have to deal with life and the emotions that come with the everyday struggles. Some paths in life have more struggles than others. For example, being a pediatric oncologist involves being constantly bombarded with bad news and negative experiences. In addition, we may have unique circumstances that we have to deal with. Ingrained in my life are the negative messages and the psychological ramifications that my cerebral palsy presents. I am constantly reminded of everything that I can’t do. Sometimes I just watch people. I watch people type quickly on their smart phones. I watch people hop in and out of cars. I watch people drive. I watch people speak without an impediment. When I focus my emotional energy on those things, I get down pretty quickly. A key to my process is to balance these negative emotions with a steady diet of positive messages. 

Everybody has a barrier in front of them. Maybe it’s anxiety. Maybe it’s a fear. Maybe it’s a lifetime of family members saying that you are not good enough. Throughout the day, we are exposed to a diet of information and other messages. If we don’t control them or we don’t control how we engage with them, it can limit our ability to be amazing. Some of these types of messages can be an employer either encouraging us or degrading us. It can be the way our friends and loved ones interact with us. People around us can encourage us, dismiss our efforts, make remarks about our lives, or anything like that. Other messages can come from the media or the outside.

In order to counteract the negative messages, we must have a diet of positive messages and, more importantly, be influenced to take action. I was fortunate that my parents always gave me a diet of positive messages. Other ways I have a healthy diet is that I am always reading books, watching online classes, and attending events.  I also put a lot into helping my kids become amazing.

Unfortunately, it is not wise to ignore limitations or challenges. Part of success is understanding how challenges affect your life and then develop a plan to outweigh the negative. A big part of my process is really looking at where my disability limits me and coming up with systems that help me become amazing. Fear, anxiety, your beliefs, or any circumstance that limits you needs attention and focus. However, you need the right focus and attention.

Human beings have a natural tendency to be negative. One way to counterbalance the negative is to have your own diet of positive messages.

Summary: 

On the road to amazing success, it is important to manage emotions in a way that allows you to be productive. In order to be amazing, it is important to have a healthy diet of positive thoughts and actions to balance out the obstacles faced in daily life.