Positivity is like a superpower. You can use it to save yourself from the dark side and to propel your wildest dreams forward. You can also use the power of positivity to be a hero to others and show them the way to success.

No matter what happens, you have the power to stay in control and choose to be positive no matter what. That’s right. Positivity is a choice.

Would you believe your positive style and how others perceive you is more important than your skills or even your results?

It’s true.

I have seen people get fired who way exceeded their goals because they were deemed not the “right fit” which basically means they were a total negative downer or worse, an a-hole.

Who do you want to follow or have on your team? Someone who is full of drama, complaints, reasons why everything sucks. Or, the person who keeps it light, has lots of ideas and fully believes that anything remains possible even during challenging times.

Soft skills, E.Q., there are all kinds of ways to describe it and now many experts are admitting that your style and how you deal with challenges and people are the most critical keys to your success.

Here are three simple ways to harness The Power of Positivity and keep moving forward towards your goals no matter what type of obstacles are thrown in your way.

Keep Perspective

When things don’t go according to plan or something or someone creates drama, be slow to panic. Breathe. Try and immediately put the situation in perspective.  Will it matter in 5 years, 5 days or even 5 hours? Move quickly to new ideas and solutions which could turn the situation around.

Important warning. Don’t lose your cool in front of others. People have long memories and love to spread the story of someone who “lost their crap.” If you find yourself too negative to deal, retreat and take a walk if you must. Maybe call a friend. Remember to Rally Your Relationships as you don’t have to save the day alone. Do whatever it takes to quickly return to a positive frame of mind and get some solid options in place.

Don’t forget the importance of finding the humor too.  Sometimes bad things that happen are so absurd the best thing you can do is keep perspective, laugh it off, tap into your power of positivity and move on.

” Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” – Dennis P. Kimbro

Stay Flexible

Remember, we can’t control everything although most of us wish we could. However, what we can always control is how we respond and by all means, you want to stay positive. There is always a chance that there is an even better way forward.

No matter how clearly you have defined your vision, how detailed your plan is and how hard you worked, crap’s going to go sideways every now and again. That’s part of life. That’s how we learn. It could also be the universe protecting us from something not meant for us. Consider bad outcomes unexpected opportunities to show what you are made of.

I am a recovering control freak, so this is a hard one. But trust the universe. Some of the most interesting and educational periods of my career were not on my vision board.  Be open-minded and curious about other potential ways forward. Rise to the challenge like a BossBabe.

I am a big fan of raw determination but there is a big difference between being flexible and giving up. Don’t beat yourself up if you need to spend some time moving laterally. It's ok to learn some new tricks which will allow you to leap even further forward.

Challenges are opportunities to guide others too. Let your leadership shine by being flexible and pointing out the benefits of alternatives plans.

“Blessed are the flexible for they shall never be bent out of shape.” Micheal McGriffy

Practice Gratitude

You can’t be negative and be grateful at the same time. That’s why so many masterminds recommend starting the day journaling a list of things for which you are grateful. If you have your health, friends, family, a place to call home and hope in your heart, all is well. Gratitude provides you a very strong foundation from which to rise.

A simple trick for maintaining the power of positivity is being aware of and shifting your self talk to positive. Try shifting from I HAVE TO get up early for a meeting to I GET TO get up early from my warm bed and have a new exciting experience.

Once you master the power of positivity, show others the way. When you see someone struggling, remind them of all the good they have in their lives including you as a loyal member of their super hero squad.

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie 

Look, if none of this landed for you, how about this? Being positive is simply way more fun than being negative. While a wild bitch session may feel good for a quick minute, it really doesn’t do a body good. Negativity just fuels stress.

Life is about energy, so be sure yours is always turned up on high and vibrating on a positive frequency. Tapping into the power of positivity is how you win friends and influence people.

If you want to be successful, have lots of fun and hear people cheering you on towards your wildest dreams, you need to choose and practice positivity no matter what.

I hope these tips about maintaining perspective, being flexible and practicing gratitude help you fully harness your own super-hero-like power of positivity. Check out these additional positivity tips for more ideas.

P.S If you want to hear the story of our CEO Natalie Ellis who is redefining feminism and the female-forward movement behind BossBabe check out our first episode of the BossBabe podcast here.