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Paula Gregorowicz, owner of The Paula G. Company, helps you discover and successfully create the work you are meant to do in the world. Through the p...
 
 
 
 

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Positive Attitude - It May Not Be the Key to Career Success You Think it Is

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I recently received a question on LinkedIn from one of my connections who is a trainer and job search specialist. She was looking for stories about how keeping a positive attitude is crucial to success in one's job hunt during these times. In my reply, while I acknowledged that a positive attitude is important, it'll only get you so far. There is something far more important to succeeding whether it is the job hunt or building your business.

That something is your beliefs. Beliefs run deeper than attitude and consciously or unconsciously (often the case) have more to do with our success or lack thereof than anything else. When your beliefs are not aligned with what you say you want, your feelings take a hit (no matter how much positive attitude I will put on a happy face you do), your vibrational energy lowers, and instead of attracting what you say you want, you get mud.

I'm not trying to give positive attitude a bad rap. It is an important part of your success, just not the savior so many make it up to be. As Millionaire Mommy Next Door says, your attitude is your choice so make it a positive one.

In "Being positive..." Trish shares what we've all experienced at one time or another:

OK, so I am on a mission to change my outlook…it can be hard, it is hard, but I will do it!

I remember there was a time when I was very positive, always smiling and not too much got me down, I want that person back and I will get her back, I know it.

It is amazing that when you feel good, have confidence and a positive outlook, things do go well, or perhaps it is just that they at least appear that way as your attitude reflects it no matter what life is throwing at you.

It is true that with a positive attitude things seem to go better and we tend to feel better which increases not only our enjoyment but also our ability to attract success.

I don't know about you but sometimes putting on a positive attitude, especially when it doesn't match up with how I'm feeling feels more like a bunch of BS than a success strategy. I have known women who with their always upbeat, positive, "Can Do" attitudes simply smile through their pain as they go through yet another unfortunate circumstance.

The most successful people I have experienced know how to (or ask a coach to help them) dig beneath the surface and uncover the underlying beliefs that keep them stuck. The beliefs you have are like the operating system on your computer - it is always running the show whether you acknowledge it or not. The key to success is making these beliefs conscious, feeling the feelings that accompany them, and then transforming those beliefs layer by layer until your beliefs align with what you most want to create (new job, successful business, perfect mate, etc.). When they align it is like that perfect ahhh you feel when you put that all important piece into a puzzle and make a picture or align all those darn colors on a Rubik's cube. Tension melts away and energy is available and aligned for what you DO want.

In "What Does Managing Your Spiritual Energy Have to do with Your Success in Business?" Sharon Wilson gives a nice explanation on the power of beliefs. Her conclusion sums it up nicely:

On the other hand, when you do make that inner shift, it suddenly becomes easier for you to take actions that may have been uncomfortable for you before.

If you identify some of these patterns, and then learn a process to better manage your energy around them, you now have congruency.

You now have a situation where you can make into reality the vision you long to create, because you are congruent in your thoughts, feelings, words and actions.

So while a positive attitude is a great building block, if you really want the success you desire, look a little deeper to shift your beliefs and create a more powerful platform on which to stand.


Paula Gregorowicz, owner of The Paula G. Company, offers life coaching for women to help you gain the clarity, confidence, and courage you need to have success on your own terms. Get the free eCourse "5 Steps to Turn Fear Into Freedom" at her website

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Self Help 5 pts

Hi Paula

My name is Kymmy and I write about self help and personal development too!

I like this article - Positive thinking isnt everything you are right!

but.....maintaining a positive attitude comes with inner strength and a strong sense of self worth.  Your beliefs are crucial in attaining any of the above.

I think positive thinking comes into play when you experience rejection.  If you can remain positive and call on your inner strenghts and beliefs you are able to overcome pretty well anything.

You can keep pushing yourself until you acheive the success or goal you are after.

This is a pretty cool site - I will be coming back often to see your idea's and participate in your conversations.

Maybe you'd like to check out my site - we are on the same wave length :)  you can find it at - http://completepersonaldevelopment.com ( http://completepersonaldevelopment.com/ )

I look forward to forging a friendship!

take care - Kymmy

Tre - 5 pts

Your welks.

And congrats on being a BlogHer speaker....lookin so fwd to it :)

Tre~

tw:   @tresha

fb:    http://facebook.com/treshathorsen

e:     tre@thoughtbythought.net

blog: http://thoughtbythought.net

paulag01 5 pts

I love this Tresha

>tis one of the biggest reasons i rarely say be positive

 There is nothing worse than being told "just be positive" when that is not what you're feeling.  It makes the person "wrong" and gets you nowhere.  Love it.

Thanks for the rest of your thoughtful post...great addition.

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company

http://www.thepaulagcompany.com

Tre - 5 pts

hey to all....value this kind of discussion so much.

bravo paula for callin it. tis one of the biggest reasons i rarely say be positive

 no one can authentically BE anything they're not feeling and most of us can discern phony/fake a zillion miles away. thankfully, when you have a compassionate ear, you can also discern when that fakeness is offered to hide deep pain...and everyone needs a break now and again b/c a lot of us are walking around harboring a lot of stuff...

what you call forth in this post is an invitation for all to really get to the core root of what people believe.

and i'm gonna call it: we're all so busy and running around and doing what society said would constitute a successful life that I think MANY DO NOT KNOW what their core beliefs are.

Whenever practical and however it can happen, i invite all to take time to define them..their core beliefs...whether that means taking a weekend retreat...going off and journaling solo for an hour..hell elizabeth gilbert trekked around the world. she also left her husband to do so.and that had to take a ton of inner discerning.

What there--to me--needs to be more of and maybe there's a way to create it on blogher is a way to hold each other's hands in the process...of figuring out beliefs.

it's hard as heck to admit let alone then go figure them out..but not when you feel supported.

Count me in to be there for you/whomever if you're at that point of wanting to discern your beliefs and needing that support.

But truly it's the most important investment any of us can make...

In a recent discussion the speaker said 'you sometimes gotta slow down to speed up"

i'm not sure I dig speeding up...she was talking taking your life to another level of success :)

but to be sure, we should all invest in ourselves to slow down and discern what's in our heart of hearts....what matters most...before we can begin to chart a path that way. The beauty of life is that it gives us opportunity after opportunity to recreate our directions...

Thanks for this.....

Tre~

tw:   @tresha

fb:    http://facebook.com/treshathorsen

e:     tre@thoughtbythought.net

blog: http://thoughtbythought.net

paulag01 5 pts

Thanks Nordette... I will check out those resources. Sounds intriguing.  If your beliefs do not align with what you are visioning, then there is no way it can become a reality in your life.  You give the perfect reminder of that from The Secret.

Great quote Wilma... and Wallace D Wattle, what a great name!

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company

http://www.thepaulagcompany.com

Wilma Ham 5 pts

We can hope and try to manifest till our heart's content but when the belief is not really there, it is not going to happen.
But believing is hard as is having faith and trust. 
Wallace D Wattle says that it is the hardest labor of all, to trust and focus on your vision without getting distracted by negative thoughts and boy is he right.

Wilma Ham

www.wilmasblog.com ( http://www.wilmasblog.com/ )

Nordette Adams 6 pts

The key to success is making these beliefs conscious, feeling the feelings that accompany them, and then transforming those beliefs layer by layer until your beliefs align with what you most want to create (new job, successful business, perfect mate, etc.). When they align it
is like that perfect ahhh you feel when you put that all important piece into a puzzle and make a picture or align all those darn colors on a Rubik's cube. Tension melts away and energy is available and aligned for what you DO want.

With all the talk about books like The Secret, people seem to think you can imagine stuff and make it happen, but as you suggest, what we really believe in our hearts is the driver. The truth will out.  And so we get farther if we take the time to figure out what is is we really believe about ourselves and the world around us and if we don't like what we discover, then we can work to change ourselves.

I'm working on the inner shift.

You might be interested in the talk about telling lies and the emblematic slip, a concept that got attention recently because a new show, Lie to Me, deals with the signs of lying and is based on research.  It shows us that it's harder to fool ourselves than we think. What we believe will show through. It used clips ( http://bigsole.blogspot.com/2009/02/lie-to-me-obam... ) of President Obama and others, commentary about human nature not politics.

Nordette ( http://blogher.org/blog/nordette ): BlogHer CE. Blogs @ WSATA ( http://bigsole.blogspot.com ) & UMBOP ( http://urbanpsalms.blogspot.com ). @Twitter ( http://twitter.com/nordette_verite )

Wilma Ham 5 pts

Hi Paula.

Positive attitudes can help me to fake it when I make it. 
Beliefs come from within and will definitely add to making things work from a deeper level and with more confidence and more authenticity and maybe more integrity.
Working on beliefs is hard but absolutely worth it.

Thank you, Paula. 

Wilma Ham

www.wilmasblog.com ( http://www.wilmasblog.com/ )

evecita 5 pts

A positive attitude definately gets you moving in the morning and the momentum building.

My belief is that you need to learn the relevant skills to succeed and then take loads of action!

This is where personal development and motivational material comes into play.

Evecita :)

http://www.successuniversitymomentum.com/ ( http://www.successuniversitymomentum.com/ )