I'd like to ask you to close your eyes so you can envision what I want to describe but unless you are extremely gifted in ways I've never seen, then you won't be able to read my description.
So perhaps shut out everything except your eyes and mind and just imagine with me for a moment?
Imagine you're in the middle of a field covered with crabgrass. But through the grass, weeds have grown knee- level as the field hasn't been tended for years. A few small trees are scattered throughout but the trunks are pretty hard to see because of an overzealous vine spinning its way unhindered from tree to tree. Walking through the field wouldn't be wise as hidden briers lie in wait. The mostly brown landscape, speckled with the occasional pale green and gray, dismally stretches as far as the eye can see.
But the birds flying overhead get a different view. Smack in the middle of the field there sits a very small section about six feet square, cut out in perfect form. Perfectly tilled, hoed, and chopped. No crabgrass and all the briers have been replaced with a rich black topsoil. Flowers of every color are in full bloom, purples, yellows, and pinks, white, reds, and blues decorate the deep green carpet. Even the birds can't help but notice the striking contrast, the gray, foreboding area surrounding this luscious square of life tucked there in the midst.
If you live on the same planet I do, you're surrounded by this same field of weeds: negativity.
It's everywhere. Turn on the television, we're bombarded with it. Talk to your friends, listen to conversations at the gym, and we'll hear how things have never been as bad as they are now.
The economy is in the dumps. Nobody has any money. Things are only going to get worse.
How in the world would one attempt to live their dream when the world is in such a shape?
Even when things are going well (and there are a lot of things going well) much of the news is about the pending crash that's coming, these things designed to strip us of any positivity.
Good news is not news. Bad news grabs attention; it sells. But if we absorb nothing but 24/7 negative, we can't help but think negatively.
In the middle of our field of weeds, we each hold the opportunity to carve out a square of our own. We each have the chance to cultivate a positive environment. Here are some ways I practice doing that:
Refuse to listen.
Don't allow the garbage in or around your eyes and ears. If there's something bad going on we need to acknowledge, then indeed don't stick your head in the sand-be proactive. But if it's simply negative chatter, refuse to be affected by the fear pitched like a potion sold by a modern day medicine man.
Cultivate your top soil.
Nurture your square of life with encouragement, motivation, and instruction from those who are wiser, those who have lived where we want to go. Surround yourself with positive people, read inspirational books and listen to encouraging podcasts, and then water those seeds with your own dedication, positive attitude, and perseverance. You'll soon reap the vibrant colors of prosperity, health, and good relationships.
Choose deliberately.
Seek out powerful and truthful affirmations. We can learn how to become what we want to become. Focus on what we can do instead of what we don't have.
As a magician, folks are always asking me to share the secret. Here's one time I can. And the secret to cultivating this positive environment is indeed a magic word: Daily. Daily instruction. Daily affirmation. Daily motivation is the key.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." -Winston Churchill
A positive book or podcast once in a while isn't going to do the trick. We can't eat junk food all week and then grab one apple and expect to keep the doctor away. Consider the health of people who eat a daily diet of fruit, vegetables, and proteins as opposed to someone who grabs candy to keep going, or eats fried and fatty foods all. the. time. The difference is astounding.
A positive environment requires a healthy mental diet, a daily habit of positive input. So...what are you having for lunch today?