A positive mindset is crucial to success. Study after study has confirmed that those who have a positive, can-do attitude are happier, more resilient, and more successful in life than those who don’t.
But building and maintaining a positive attitude isn’t always easy. Like anything else worthwhile, you must work hard to keep a positive outlook—especially when times get tough.
Rick Pitino knows the importance of maintaining a positive mindset and he follows a disciplined daily routine to ensure that he stays positive…
The foundation for your positive outlook and approach to life does not happen by accident or luck. Your positive approach to life and work must happen on purpose, through planning and preparation.
You must start with the understanding that the realistic positive mindset doesn’t just happen naturally. It is something you must plan for, starting with how you go to bed the night before. You have to be thinking about the next day’s positive mindset before your head hits the pillow.
The mindset you go to bed with and the mindset you wake up with are key factors. Your subconscious, while you are sleeping, will take whatever emotions you fell asleep with and run with them.
I’ve found that a good book works better than anything. I switch off the news and any other negative influences that may creep in, and read a chapter or two of a worthwhile book on my way to going to sleep.
[How do you make sure you’re] waking up “on the right side of bed”? During the five to eight hours you sleep, your mind is going to take care of that. But it starts before you ever fall asleep, with your confidence that the next day you will get up and take care of things.
– Rick Pitino, from his book The One-Day Contract
Rick Pitino’s advice about making sure you turn off any negative news and read a positive book as you fall asleep each night may sound simple, but the simplest things can be extremely effective IF they become a part of your daily routine.
You have to take your daily routine seriously, and that includes how you end your day. If you’re falling asleep worried about all the things you didn’t get done today, stressing about everything you have to get done tomorrow, and fearing all the things that could go wrong in the future; you’re going to have a restless night and you’re going to “wake up on the wrong side of the bed.”
Pitino’s simple habit of cutting out negative thoughts and filling his mind with empowering thoughts as he falls asleep each night ensures that he starts the next day with a positive mindset. It sounds so simple, but Pitino takes this daily habit seriously. He’s disciplined about making sure he follows this routine because he knows how effective it is and how important it is for his success.
Make it a daily habit to do the same. Turn off the TV and finish your day with a book that makes you feel good. As you wind down, fill your mind with positive thoughts and visualize yourself achieving your dreams.
Do this every night and you’ll be amazed at how much more positive you’ll feel as you start each day.
