This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The Energy Bus" by Jon Gordon. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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Do you want to know how to make a positive change in your life? How can positive thinking help you get what you want?
The key to making a positive change in your life is to think positively. Positive thinking can help you take control of your life, turn your visions into reality, and overcome obstacles, giving you the best chance of changing your life for the better.
Find out how to make a positive change in your life below.
How to Make a Positive Change in Your Life
Use the following five steps to find out how to make a positive change in your life:
Step 1: Realize You’re In Control
Realizing you’re in the driver’s seat is the most important thing to remember, because if you don’t take responsibility for your life, you can’t go where you want to go. Someone else will set your course.
Instead of taking charge, many people feel they have no control over their lives. It’s been said that more people die at 9 a.m. on Monday than at any other time. The implication is that some people feel so powerless that they’d rather die than start another work week.
In reality, you have the choice to create your life—it’s your bus, you’re in the driver’s seat, and you determine what kind of ride it will be. The power of choice is your greatest gift. When you claim it, everything starts to change.
To understand if you’re in the driver’s seat, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you feel as though you’re in control of your life, that you’re “driving your bus”? Why or why not?
- What is your typical mood on Sunday night when you think about your upcoming week? In describing it, did you use mostly positive or negative terms?
- Next Sunday, how could you frame things differently, as if you’re in charge and you get to determine what kind of ride you’ll have?
Once you realize you’re in control of your life, you’re a step closer to finding out how to make a positive change in your life.
Step 2: Choose Your Vision
Once you take control of your life, you need a vision for where you want to go. First, you must decide what you want in the three key areas of your life—then you can make it happen by focusing your thoughts on it. You have the power to create the world you want.
To decide where you want to go, complete the following exercise:
- Write down your vision for your life.
- Next, write your vision for your work and team.
- Finally, write down your vision for your relationships.
It’s good to know what you want to achieve, but if you want to know how to make a positive change in your life, you must turn your vision into a reality.
Step 3: Visualize Success
Turning your vision into reality starts with focusing your thoughts on it.
There’s a law of energy (also known as the Law of Attraction), which says that by focusing on something, you attract it into your life. Your mental energy attracts a corresponding energy outside you. For instance, people often think of someone and then get a call from that person. Or after they buy a new car, they start seeing that model everywhere because that’s the type of car they’re thinking about.
Simply put, thoughts are magnetic. Focus on your visions for at least 10 minutes each day and visualize yourself creating the results you want—for instance, revitalizing your marriage or uniting your team at work. Athletes often use this technique to visualize winning performances.
However, because thoughts attract like energy, it’s important to focus your thoughts on what you want, rather than what you don’t want or are afraid will happen because you don’t want to attract the negative. And don’t be a complainer because complaining brings you more things to complain about. It also uses up mental energy that you could spend creating what you want.
Step 4: Fuel Yourself With Positive Energy
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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Jon Gordon's "The Energy Bus" at Shortform .
Here's what you'll find in our full The Energy Bus summary :
- How to turn things around when you feel unmotivated and discouraged
- The 10 rules for reenergizing your life through positive thinking
- How to build successful teams at work and improve your relationships
