Today I listened to a great message about training your mind to focus on the positive. I’ve always been a very positive and optimistic person maybe borderline idealist if not full idealist. I was raised by entrepreneurs and sales and motivational training experts. Positive thinking is in my DNA. 😉

I’ve encountered and overcome a lot in my life and always kept a positive attitude by feeling grateful for the lesson I learned that might help me to be a more understanding or compassionate person. All of this changed when I faced the biggest setback I have ever encountered. The pain was so great. My mistakes were monumental. I struggled to manage perspective. I blamed myself. I made mistakes. My negative thinking caused me to make even more mistakes. I stopped thinking clearly and logically. I felt / feel sorrow and regret. No matter how I tortured myself I couldn’t undo it. This shifted my thinking.

I was angry with myself. For the first time in my life my thinking changed. I felt raw and hurt. I felt disappointed, sad, maybe even jaded. For the first time ever, rather than seeing the good in every situation - the shining light, I started to look for reasons to reject the positive. The pain from that experience lingered on and reshaped my natural response. I was angry with myself over this loss. I felt that I never deserved anything good again. I worked to sabotage myself.

No amount of regret, no amount of punishment will bring you to a point of closure. In order to address this situation I made amends and remained kind and calm. I didn’t weigh intentions or make judgements on what someone should be doing. I decided to change my thinking. I’m not saying that I fully forgive myself or give myself a pass - I don’t, but I realized that the only way I could become the great things I want to be is to focus on the positive and stop replaying the reruns of that channel.

I changed my mindset. If I decided to stay in the negative mindset I’d never reach my potential. I won’t be able to help others and I won’t be on the lookout for opportunity. I had to silence that inner voice - that channel and change it. Every. Single. Time. I work on this everyday.

I’ve always been an optimist - someone who wants to help others and who wants to make a difference. I am working constantly to combat any negative thoughts and train my brain to see the positive and to expect victory.

A negative memory takes more processing power in your mind and takes more room. If someone hurts you - rather than dwell on the interaction or words - change the channel. Think about what you can learn from a situation. Take the lesson and move on to the way you can use the positive.

Train your mind.

Think about this -

If we feel sad we are dwelling on the wrong memories.

If we are happy we are dwelling on the right memories.

A negative memory takes up more space. A person will remember losing $50 more than they will remember gaining $50. How do we combat this?

Be proactive. When the negative memories come replaying in your mind rather than play it over and over - change the channel. Switch over to your Victory channel.

You have the remote control. The memory may display on your Netflix keep watching list, but you don’t need to watch it. Change the channel. Don’t relive bad memories. Start thinking of all the great memories you’ve created.

Don’t relive hurts or bad breaks. You may have had bad things happen, unfair things happen, that’s okay. It helped shape you. Use that as fuel for your victories. Scroll to your Victory channel and press play!

We all do things we wish we had done differently. This is not supposed to be on the forefront of our mind. Remember the good things. The times you were good to a stranger, the kindness you’ve received and given. The opportunities that came our way and the times we’ve made an impact.

Quit dwelling on the things you’ve done wrong. You may have fallen, but dwell on the fact that you got back up.

Quit focusing on what is wrong with you and focus on what is right with you. You won’t become everything God has created you to be if you focus on the negative.

Let the first thing that you recall be what you did right, not what you did wrong.

Train your mind. Stay on your victory channel.

How do you do this? Each time you feel yourself creeping toward the negative or watching that channel - immediately stop. Redirect your mind to something else and start thinking of something positive or something that went right. Play the Victory Channel. Play the good memories. Listen to music. Do something positive. Feel the sunshine.

Psalm 77:11-13 Living Bible (TLB)

11 I recall the many miracles he did for me so long ago. 12 Those wonderful deeds are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about them.

Joel Osteen’s positive message mentions a great reference - Memorial Stones. Memorial Stones - remind you of specific victories. Every one of us should have our own memorial stones. When we review our life we shouldn’t remember the times we failed, but instead remember the times that it was dark and you thought you’d never have another happy day and God gave you beauty for ashes.

All through the day start remembering your victories. Go over your memorial stones. Recall your victories. Remember the good things that God has done. This is what helps us stay strong and become stronger. Mental Training. Athletes do it. Celebrities do it. The most successful do it. Train your mind to focus on the positive outcome you want to create.

Dwell on your victories and see your life go to a whole new level.

Don’t forget what it took to get you here. There were a lot of miracles along the way. Not only in your life, but in the people that came before you. Remember this tell your children. The more you brag on God’s goodness, the more you will see.

Jesus “If you open the door I will come in.”

I am working on a Memorial Stone project. I’m creating a physical representation of my Memorial Stones so that I can see all of the amazing things I have to be grateful for. I’m creating a list of good things for my channel and have a physical reference that I can use to remind me. I’ll post the results in the near future.

I'm focused on the opportunities I want to create. I'm focused on hope. Hope is a powerful tool for positive expectancy. Focus on your victory channel and focus on hope.

The bottom line is … see the good in your day. Find the victories.

Even in our current circumstance where the world is facing greater challenges than ever - more people are coming together than ever before. Families are together. Friends are grouping. Celebrities are opening their homes and sharing their lives. Competitors are reaching out to make sure each is okay and that everyone can succeed. There are victories in what we are facing.

Let’s join together and focus on our victories.

• Do something today that helps someone else.
• Learn something new today.
• Do something your future self will thank you for.

Remember, if you want to move forward into the new things God has in store for you, stop replaying the negative things from your past. We've all been through disappointments, setbacks and bad breaks. Those memories will play the most often. The good news is that you have the remote control. Just because the memory comes up doesn't mean you have to watch it. Learn to change the channel and keep your mind focused on the good things God has in store for you!

Play your victory channel. You’ve got this.

Thank you friends.

Joel Osteen: https://www.joelosteen.com/Pages/Blog.aspx?blogid=7895