“Be positive. Your mind is more powerful than you think. … What is down in the well comes up in the bucket. Fill yourself with positive things.”
– Tony Dungy, Super Bowl Champion Coach and Player
The above quote from Tony Dungy is one I refer to often because it concisely reinforces two very important truths.
First, it reminds us that the nature of our thoughts (positive or negative) will determine the type of people we become. You can’t dwell on negative, pessimistic thoughts and expect to be a positive, can-do type of person. Fill your mind with negative thoughts and you’re going to have a negative outlook on life. Period.
Secondly, the Tony Dungy quote reminds us that we have a choice in the matter. We don’t have to passively allow negative thoughts into our minds. Just as we can choose what we feed our bodies, we can choose what we feed our minds.
In fact, we must take charge and actively protect our minds. If you sit back and allow whatever you happen to see, hear, or read dominate your mind, there’s a good chance your mind will be filled with mostly negative things.
This is because we live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with negative and fear-inducing content. Negative news gets attention. It gets more clicks, viewers, and listeners. And people then tend to spread around that negative news much more rapidly than they do positive news. It’s an ugly cycle.
Now, I know it’s important to be informed. You don’t want to bury your head in the sand and ignore the often-negative realities of life. But there’s a difference between being informed and being inundated with negativity. There’s a difference between gathering relevant information and dwelling on the most shocking incident that happened to be captured by someone’s phone. There’s a difference between listening to two sides of a debate and cheering on a meanspirited argument.
Make it your mission to protect what goes into your mind. Friends, news, books, movies, music—they all have an enormous impact on your mental attitude, whether you realize it or not.
Pay attention to what you’re feeding your mind and don’t let yourself be blasted with negativity. Instead, feed your mind positive things. Engage with positive people. Watch funny and inspiring movies. Read motivational books.
Shut out the negative and feed yourself the positive. Doing so will make you a happier and more motivated person. And you’ll find yourself enjoying life a whole lot more.
This Month’s Featured Book:
RELENTLESS OPTIMISM:
How a Commitment to Positive Thinking Changes Everything
If you want to change your results, you must first change your attitude. Set in the world of professional baseball, this book shows just how powerful a positive attitude can be in changing one’s results. It explains, with practical techniques and examples, how to protect your mind and use positive thinking to make your biggest dreams come true.
