6 Ways to Turn Negative News into Positive Results

You don’t have to allow your past to hold you from your future.

I am often amazed at the number of people that I encounter that allow themselves to be held victim to an event that took place in their past.

It is “normal” to feel the effects of your past but it does not have to control the direction and results of your future.

When you hear “negative” news, just remember that information is theoretically neutral until you assign a label, positive or negative to it. Remember, news is nothing more than information. The purpose of news is to Inform you. Information should simply be processed. We can choose what information we intake and we can choose how we will process it.

First and foremost, we don’t have to see things that happen in our past, present, or future as negative.

Some things are not positive or negative; they are just a “fact of life”. It is just something we get to deal with, an opportunity to create something beautiful. We can even make the events in our life a game. We can challenge ourselves and others to come up with creative responses to “challenging” situations.

Whether you laugh, sigh, or cry after hearing “news” or information in your personal or professional life, you still have to make a decision and take an action. Whether you choose to label the news negative or positive, you still have to process the information and decide what you will do about it. To not make a decision is still a decision; it’s just a decision to not act. Either way, there will be consequences.

Any product that was made by a human will eventually need to be repaired. It is not necessarily a sign that your life or business is “cursed” or that you are experiencing bad luck when a car or your laptop needs maintenance. There is such a thing as “wear and tear”. If you continue to wear the same blue jeans often enough, eventually they will wear out. Things that breakdown need to be replaced or repaired, pure and simple. It doesn’t have to be positive or negative.

History is replete with people that have experienced what many considered to be insurmountable odds, or devastating abuse, but were able not only to survive but thrive. The common denominator of most success stories is usually the person’s choice to rise above the challenge. They chose to see the opportunity instead of the obstacle. They looked for what was possible and not for what was impossible. They chose to have a positive spin on the situation. They sided with the positive view instead of a negative view. A positive perception can be your greatest protection in “negative” situations.

Whatever you have experienced in your life, family, or business, it does not have to be viewed as negative, and it does not have to hold you back. Refuse to let anything or anyone hold you back.

Stress does not have to be a part of your life like a bad roommate that you cannot get rid of. Choose to manage your stress by focusing on methods that will accelerate your success.

Stress is a choice and so is a positive perception. Choose to increase your focus on the tasks and activities that will accelerate success. Stress is nothing but a clarion call for greater focus. You can focus just as well as anyone else on the planet. It’s a simple choice.

You do not have to be the victim of anyone or anything. Being a victim is a choice; being an owner is also a choice. You have the power to own your situation and create a beautiful result, just like a property owner has the ability to change the property's landscape anytime they get good and ready. Get rid of the weeds on your property! Someone could have done something “bad” to you or something “unfortunate” could have taken place in your business. You can choose to say, “What’s good about this?” You can choose to say, “This will turn out for my good. I can make this work. I can do this!”

At any point, you can choose to rise up and say, “What happened in my past is irrelevant. What matters now is what I choose to do in this moment.”

Operate from a position of strength in all of your personal and professional dealings.

If someone refuses to acknowledge you, you do not have to add a label of “rejection” to the interaction. They simply did not acknowledge you, it is what it is, and it’s no big deal. There could be a multitude of reasons why someone did not speak to you, hire you, or do business with you. The reasons are what they are. The reason for someone’s action or inaction toward you does not take away from the value of who you are.

A $100 bill backed by the Federal Reserve has the exact same value whether it is spanking brand new or crumpled up in the corner of someone’s purse or front pocket. That $100 bill will spend just the same no matter where it came from, and no matter what happened to it before it got to you. Similarly, your value does not change just because someone did not recognize your value. Your are brilliant, period, end of story.

Events that took place in your past don’t have to last. Process the information that they provide and decide to simply glide into the beautiful future that is yours and yours alone.

“The rest of your life will be the best of your life.” –Dr. Dave Martin

Remember the following keys when processing “negative” news from your past, present, or future:

1) Nothing is ever as bad as it first appears.

This 1st key is taken from a quote that I cherish from author Mike Murdock. One of the principles that he shares in his book, “The Law of Recognition”, is that every season in your life has a purpose. It is up to you to discern the purpose of the present season that you are experiencing. Learn to extract the benefits of every season that you are in. If you are presently unemployed or in need of new clients, use this time as an opportunity to refuel and retool; upgrade your skills and services. The season for research is not the season for marketing. The present season you are in will change. It may initially feel bad, look bad, or sound bad, but nothing is really that bad. There is likely some positive benefit in the situation just waiting for your recognition. Remember, nothing is ever as bad as it first appears.

2) Change is inevitable, misery is optional.

Things will change; this is a part of life and business. One of the best ways to manage change is to prepare for it. The economy will change. Business will change. Human bodies grow older. Muscles that are not used will eventually atrophy. Change will come, how we deal with change is a choice that is ours and ours alone. We don’t have to be “negative” about change. Change can be one of the best things that ever happens to us, but we must perceive and negotiate change appropriately in order to fully benefit from it. Make a habit of preparing for and being positive about change. Remember, change is inevitable, misery is optional. Be positive, you can do this!

3) Rejection is nothing more than redirection.

It may have been the best thing for you that you did not land that position or account that you thought you really “had” to have. You later found out that the company hit hard times 12 months later and had to reduce their workforce by 50%. You did not know this at the time but now you are grateful that you did not land that position or account. You were protected from further financial setback. It may have been for the best that the relationship that you thought you had to have never developed. You later found out that the person had some major character flaws that would have significantly impeded the positive progress of your life. Your life was spared from the potential grief and heartache. Remember, rejection is nothing more than redirection.

4) Learn the lesson and forget the drama and the details.

It is our own choice to assign a label to a particular interaction. When a buyer or a manager or a family member corrects us we should see it as a positive thing. For the most part, people that we do business with or that are friends or family only want the best for us. In mutual business dealings, the other party does not truly benefit if you are not doing well. Friends and family only want the best for you. If your friends or family don’t want the best for you then you don’t have to call them a friend, or if they are family you don’t have to be victimized by them. You can choose who you allow access to your life. If an event takes place that most people would call “negative”, refuse to feed into it. Forget the irrelevant details and the emotionally charged discourse and choose to learn the lesson. What is the main point, what is the key takeaway? Take the lesson, apply it, and experience a better result in the future. It’s not deep, simply learn the lesson and forget the drama and the details.

5) Build a Buffer Zone.

A buffer zone as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary is a neutral area between hostile or belligerent forces that serves to prevent conflict. Build buffer zones in your personal and professional life. Allow people space to disagree without you having an emotionally charged response. The fact that two people do not agree on a certain topic does not diminish the value of either party. What building a buffer zone does is enable two differing parties to exist in an area that is safe for both entities. The fact that someone does not agree with your goal or pursuit does not have to impede your progress, simply build a buffer zone.

6) Build Margin into Your Life.

Stress will be significantly reduced when you build margin into your life. Expand the time frames in which you execute important tasks. Plan for the unexpected, some people have mounting stress in their lives because they try to get too much done in too little time. Many that feel like they have not completed half of what they intended for a particular day often have unrealistic expectations. Readjust your expectations and be realistic. Give yourself more time to do important tasks and stop trying to get "everything" done, and just get the most important things done. Margin is when you give yourself 45 minutes to get a 25 minute task done. If you get the task done in 25 minutes, great; if you don’t, no big deal, you built 45 minutes into your day for this task and it doesn’t throw your entire day off. Building margin into your life will make life more enjoyable and more effective.

Apply the above keys to your life, business, career, or family and enjoy the results of turning negative news into positive results!

Question: What methods do you use to turn "negative" news into positive results?

I really enjoy reading your comments.

Turn Your Setbacks into Accelerated Comebacks,


Craig L. Sanders
“The Comeback Specialist”

P.S. To inquire about Craig's book, "Keys to Manifesting Your Destiny", his coaching packages, or to have him speak at your event, please visit his website: http://www.craiglsanders.com/  

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