There are a range of benefits to be gained from maintaining a positive and upbeat attitude.  Scientific evidence has shown that there are a number of benefits to optimism and a positive attitude.

Here are 7 ways in which you can benefit from having a positive attitude:

1. Your Immune System is Boosted

Numerous studies have shown that having an optimistic or positive outlook can have positive effect on your short term health. In fact, studies have shown that positive people show a better immune response to infectious diseases  than pessimistic persons, meaning that people with positive attitudes are less susceptible to illness and are able to recover more quickly from many infectious diseases than their pessimistic peers.

2. Your Life is Prolonged

Positive attitudes have also been shown to lengthen your life span. According to the American Journal of Cardiology, those with a positive outlook are more likely to outlive those with negative mindsets. Although there is no definitive answer as to why people with positive attitudes experience this  benefit, scientists have theorized that it may be that positive people are more likely to live healthy lifestyles, or that positive people are under less stress, and experience fewer of the harmful effects that stress has on the body. As a result, positive people are less likely to suffer from diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer that cut many people’s lives short.

3. You’re Less Stressed Out

People with a positive outlook are less likely to be stressed, and recover from stress more quickly than those with pessimistic attitudes. People with positive attitudes are less likely to dwell on negative aspects of their life and therefore less likely to become stressed out when negative events do occur. Not only that, but people with positive attitudes are more likely to use “silver lining” thinking, where they are able to take positives from stressful events.

4. You are More Confident

People who have a positive outlook often feel more confident and have higher self esteem than those with negative mindsets. People with positive attitudes often have high levels of self-confidence and a belief in their ability to control situations that they are in. By replacing negative thoughts with positive ones about yourself, you will find that your self-confidence will suddenly blossom.

5. You Have Better Mental Health

Having a positive attitude is associated with having fewer mental health issues. In fact, according to one study by the Mayo Clinic, pessimists were more likely to suffer from depression. Not only that, but one study shows that teaching people to be more optimistic can actually significantly decrease the level of depression that a person may be facing. In other words, being optimistic means that you feel better about yourself and others. A positive attitude has also been known to improve other mental issues such as anxiety and general distress.

6. You build new skills

Having a positive attitude makes it easier for you to build new skills and resources. This is known as the “broaden and build” theory, because positive emotions broaden your sense of possibilities and open you to new experiences, encouraging you to build new skills and gain expertise. In contrast, negative emotions encourage you to not try new things because of the threat they may pose, thus stunting your emotional and personal development.

7. You have better relationships

People with positive attitudes have bigger social circles and closer personal relationships than those with negative mindsets. Because of a positive mindset, positive people are more likely to actively seek to enlarge their social circles, and also are more comfortable with forming tight knit bonds that persons with negative mindsets may be uncomfortable with.

Having a positive and optimistic attitude can have a major positive effect on both psychical and psychological well-being. A number of studies have shown that positive attitudes are closely linked with a number of benefits such as better long term and short term physical health and better mental health. In addition, being positive also allows you to unlock your true potential and become a well-rounded individual. If you’re not a positive person, it is important to try to turn things around for your own well-being. Simple things such as surrounding yourself with positive people and identifying areas to think more positively about are important to be able to reap the benefits of a positive mindset.

There’s an entrepreneur right now, scared to death, making excuses, saying, ‘It’s not the right time just yet.’ There’s no such thing as a good time. I started an apparel-manufacturing business in the tech-boom years. I mean, come on. Get out of your garage and go take a chance, and start your business ~ Kevin Plank

You either learn from your success and mistakes or you learn from the success and mistake of others. Its a matter of preference. So I will share with you a few things from my experience and from the experience of others that can constitute a roadblock to the conversion of your ideas into action. You will have to get through these barriers at some stage.

1. You Are Unwilling To Fail

Because you do not entertain the possibility of failure, you are slow to act on your ideas. Many of your ideas will fail. Acting on ideas is an adventure into the future and an important part of your road to success.

Without a willingness to fail, you will remain rooted to one spot and not make a move until you are comfortable with the risk. Well here is a bit of advice, don’t bet the house. There are no 100% guarantees for your ideas. Create some room in your thinking for the fact that it just might not work out as planned. Now get on with it.

2. You Are Not Talking About Your Ideas

One reason people keep their ideas to themselves is the fear that the idea will be stolen. Yes there is a real possibility of this happening. However let me assure you that no matter how unique you think your idea is, try typing it into google and see how many thousands of other people have ideas similar to yours. Good luck to whoever steals your idea.

Even if someone else puts your idea to action, you might learn some lessons from that implementation that will help you start work on yours. Besides, people can only copy your idea. They cannot copy you the idea person. They cannot copy the unique experiences, strengths and ability that make you who you are.

By talking about your ideas, you continue to refine it and get useful feedback to improve on it. it will also increase your chances of coming across willing partners and investors who will help you make it happen.

3. You Spend Time Looking For Money To Finance Your Idea

No doubt that at some point in time you will need money to finance your idea, but right now, money is not what you need. You just need to get started. You need to take the next step.

There is also what is called sweat capital by you and sweat equity from other people. Here is a simple question to ask, “What can I do right now to take action on my idea that will not cost me money?”  Come up with some ideas and then get on with it.

4. You Have Not Completed Your Last Project

Having uncompleted projects will slow down. It will distract you and dissipate your energy. There are those who believe in multitasking. I belong to that school of thought. And that for me is a weakness which I continue to do battle against every day. Resist the temptation to start on a new idea until you have brought the last one to a logical conclusion. Schedule time to work on your uncompleted ideas to finish them off.

5. You Have No Written Plan Of Action

One benefit of writing is that it clarifies your thinking. A written plan of action means you have thought things through. It also provides you with a path to follow and helps to keep you on track. No matter how unglamorous writing a plan is, it can increase your chances of success with your idea.

Your written plan will also help you to determine the logical next step. If you are at a loss of what to do next, simply look at you plan and do the next thing.

6. You Are Seeking Everyones Approval

Wake up! You are not going to get everyones approval. As a matter of fact, you are on your own for the first few miles (no matter how long that is). And even if you get their approval, then what happens? The world has changed. We live in a crowded and noisy world. If you care about the value of your idea, then begin to work at it. That is all the approval you need. Someday, it may create a platform for you to get noticed in this noisy world.

7. You Are Waiting For The Right Economic Conditions

There is a proverb that says “Don’t sit there watching the wind. Do your own work. Don’t stare at the clouds. Get on with your life”. You are going to have to take a decision based on what you know now about the economy. A decision not to implement is still a decision.

Based on what you know, there must be something you can do. Perhaps you can come up with new ideas that are suitable for the economic conditions you are in at the moment.

Why not leave a comment and tell me about things that slow down ideas to action.

In Bounce, Matthew Syed debunks the myth of talent and gives hope, inspiration and encouragement to all who have dedicated themselves to the put in the hard work necessary for success in any field of endevour.

I do not know if I have an innate talent for writing. If I did, it stayed dormant for many years. But as I have pursued my dream of creating the most read Leadership and Personal Development blog on the planet, I see myself getting better and better at writing. You can improve on your skills by doing the work.

Let me tell you five things I like about this book and one thing I don’t like.

What Resonates with Me

1. Anyone Can Reach the Top – Matthew Syed has taken the trouble to examine his own success as a top sportsman and come to the conclusion that hard work and a commitment to purposeful practice is a vital ingredient to reaching the top. This gives hope to millions of people all over the world who feel that they have had a disadvantaged birth or upbringing. While the when and where of your childhood can be an advantage  (Unequal Childhood), you can make up for a lack of privilege by committing to do the hard work necessary for success in your chosen endevour.
2. Practice Does Not Make Perfect; Purposeful Practice Makes Perfect. – We are made to understand that opportunities and access to serious practice will improve your chances of success. This means you have to learn from and train with the best in the best facilities. If practice is not intentional or if practice is denied, then no amount of talent can make up for a lack of practice.
3. There Are No Short Cuts to Success. – Everything takes time. Syed quotes from Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers” and points out the fact that top performers practice their craft for not less than one thousand hours a year. Twenty hours a week. At this rate, it will take you ten years to have any prospects of making it to the Olympics. To succeed you have to put in the years of continuous and purposeful practice. Top violinist  and top athletes put in at least two thousand more hours a year than the good ones. So stick to your trade. You can only get better with time. And if you want to be the best, you can, by putting in more hours into the doing and practicing.
4. Systematic Evaluation Of Your Performance With A View To Making Adjustments Is Key To Deliberate Practice – I never took squash lessons and as such I find myself good at playing the wrong strokes. So its not all about the hours. Its about the thought and planning behind those hours. As someone once said, there is a difference between having ten years experience, and having one years experience repeated ten times. Just because you have been driving a car for eight hours a day for ten years as a London taxi diver does not make you a world class driver. You may have an expert knowledge of London roads but you are certainly not an expert car driver. Most of your driving is done on auto pilot and that does not equate to purposeful practice. To make improvements, you need to get feedback on your performance and then take corrective action. You also need to increase the difficulty level of your practice.
5. The Curse Of Choking And How To Avoid It – All the practice in the world will not prepare you for that time in your life when all eyes are on you to deliver a top class performance. And you end up with mediocre results. Choking is the word used to describe the catastrophic decline in performance when it matters. Syed himself experienced this at the Gold Coast Olympics in Australia. To avoid choking, you need to train your mind to think that its only a game and that your performance at that point does not matter.

What I don’t Get

If this book is about the myth of talent and the power of practice, I am yet to figure what connection chapters like “The Placebo Effect” and “Baseball Rituals” have with talent and practice.

Bounce is a well written book and Matthew Syed has done a great job at demystifying talent. Well worth reading.

NB. Feel free to leave a comment if you have read this book or if this review has inspired you to read the book.

So you have summed up the courage to stand up and speak. You have decided to take up the challenge to elevate your career and overcome your fear of public speaking.That is a good thing.

You have decided to do something about your speaking skills, because you know the benefits of good speaking skills. What next for you?

Except for impromptu speaking, you will need to do some preparation before speaking. Your preparation will include:

1. Selecting a Topic
2. Creating an outline
3. Writing your speech
4. Practicing your speech
5. Delivering your speech
6. Evaluating your speech.

Today we will be looking at how to decide what to talk about. Remember that speaking is only a means of communicating a message. So avoid telling yourself that you can speak. You speak on a subject in which you are an authority.

How to Select A Topic

1. You Are Given The Subject To Speak On

You might be given a subject to speak on. This will make your choice of subject or topic easier but it does not make your speech preparation any easier. You will need to find out as much as you can about your topic. The internet is the easiest place to get information. However you do need to check you facts.

2. You Have To Choose A Subject

In choosing a subject, you will need to consider:

Your Purpose

Here are some types of speeches

• Sell a product
• Provide information that is
  • Technical
  • Non Technical
• Business Proposal
• Inspire your listeners to raise to another level
• Motivation for change
• To persuade to your course
• To entertain

Who will be in your audience?

• Young people
• Adults
• Male
• Female
• Mixed
• Cultural background
• Religious considerations

How about You

• Your knowledge of the topic
• Your enthusiasm about the topic
• The interest it will generate in your audience.

Where to find Topic ideas

• Personal everyday experiences
• Hobbies and recreational interests
• Discussions with friends and work collegues
• Books and magazines you read
• News and events

Keep an ideas file

This is a very useful tip. You never know when you have to stand up to speak especially at short notice. Getting into the habit of writing down and filing your ideas for later use is good practice.

Do you have your own way of deciding on a topic? Why not tell us by leaving a comment.