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You have to face the fact that some people will disapprove of your decision. I also learned that you often have to let go of some things in your life and take a few steps backward before you can move forward in a new direction.
The person with the negative attitude thinks “I CAN’T.” The person with the positive attitude thinks “I CAN.” The person with the negative attitude dwells on problems. The person with the positive attitude concentrates on solutions. The person with the negative attitude finds fault with others. The person with the positive attitude looks for the good in others.
The person with the negative attitude focuses on what’s missing. The person with the positive attitude counts his or her blessings. The person with the negative attitude sees limitations. The person with the positive attitude sees possibilities.
Consider the attitude of a child who’s learning to walk. When he stumbles and falls down, what does he do? I’ll tell you what he doesn’t do. He doesn’t frown or blame the carpet. He doesn’t point fingers at his mother or father for giving him lousy instructions. He doesn’t quit. Oh, no. He smiles, gets up again and makes another attempt. And another. He keeps going for weeks and weeks with a positive attitude until he gets it right! His window is squeaky clean, and he feels like he can conquer the world.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s
WE BECOME WHAT WE THINK ABOUT.
Success requires effort, commitment and patience.
Or the advice provided by James J. Corbett: “You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round.”
If your answer is, “I’ll do just about anything, except that I won’t do _____,” then frankly, you’re not committed.
No pressure, no diamonds.
Never discuss your goals with negative people.
For instance, let’s say that someone has lied to you. You could react by saying that you’re “angry” or “upset.” If, however, you used the words “furious,” “livid” or “enraged,” your physiology and your subsequent behavior would be dramatically altered. Your blood pressure would rise. Your face would turn beet red. You’d feel tense all over.
On the other hand, what if you characterized the situation as “annoying” or said that you were “peeved”? This lowers your emotional intensity considerably. In fact, saying that you are “peeved,” explains Robbins, will probably make you laugh — and break the negative emotional cycle completely. You’d be much more relaxed.
You want to be the one who lights up a room when you walk in!
Here’s how it works. You tell your friend about the agony you went through with the flu. Your friend interrupts and says, “You think you had it bad. When I had the flu, I had a 104 degree fever and had to be rushed to the hospital. I almost died.” Or, tell someone that your back or foot hurts — and count how many seconds it takes for that person to switch the conversation to his or her own back pain and aching feet. Complainers love to play this game — their pain is always worse than yours.
I’m sure it has happened to you many times. You hear a song on the radio, and you say to yourself, “What a ridiculous song.” Later that day, you hear the same song again. The following day, you hear that song a few more times. As the song climbs the charts, you can’t get away from it. You hear it several times each day for a week. Then something incredible happens. You’re sitting at home and all of a sudden, you start to hum or sing that silly song! If, at that very moment, I were to ask you what you think of the song, you’d tell me, “It’s horrible.” Then why on earth are you singing it? The
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Your friends will stretch your vision... or choke your dreams.
What contributed to your ultimate success in learning how to ride your bike? Well, persistence and sheer repetition, certainly. You were going to stick with it no matter how long it took! It also helped that you were enthusiastic about what you set out to achieve — that you could hardly wait to reach your goal.