On January 1st, my mom sent me a link to an article written by Harvey Mackey in the Star Tribune (our local paper). It’s about the power of the positive. You can read the whole article in the link below, but I plan to highlight my favorite bits (which is basically the entire article) in this post as well.

http://www.startribune.com/harvey-mackay-sees-the-power-of-being-positive/503632552/

I read this, and re-read it, and then saved it to my favorites so I could go back to it whenever I needed a boost of positive reinforcement. His message is so right on I could only dream of being able to say it so well. On this gloomy day, and after a sleepless night, I revisited these words once again because I needed a pick-me-up. Once again, it did the trick.

So, without further jibber jabber from me, I present to you some of my favorite pieces of his article…

“With the new year upon us, I have a challenge for you. Stop worrying about that which you cannot control.

Many years ago, this advice came from Robert Jones Burdette, an American humorist and clergyman: “There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept from fear and apprehension. One of these days is yesterday with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone.

The other day we should not worry about, is tomorrow with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow’s sun will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

This leaves only one day — today. Any person can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities — yesterday and tomorrow — that we break down. It is not the experience of today that drives people mad — it is remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what will happen tomorrow.”

Let that sink in for a minute. Today is the only day we can take action. Sure, we learn from yesterday. And of course, we plan for tomorrow. But unless we approach each day with a renewed positive outlook, we are wasting enormous potential.”

He then goes on to write about a fellow writer, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, who published a bestseller in 1952 titled, “The Power of Positive Thinking”. Some of the highlights of the book:

• “You do not need to be a victim of worry. Reduced to its simplest form, what is worry? It is simply an unhealthy and destructive mental habit.”

• “The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Fill your life with love. Scatter sunshine. Forget self, think of others. Do as you would be done by. Try this for a week and you will be surprised.”

• “When you expect the best, you release a magnetic force in your mind which by a law of attraction tends to bring the best to you.”

• “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. But with sound self-confidence you can succeed. A sense of inferiority and inadequacy interferes with the attainment of your hopes, but self-confidence leads to self-realization and successful achievement.”

Wow, just wow. Every time I read it I once again feel incredibly empowered. Sometimes WE are the only ones in the way of our own success. So get out of the way. Self-doubt is NO GOOD so let it go!