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You probably hear it over and over again how important it is to be positive, think positive and only engage in positive activity. In this day and age, being positive isn’t always an easy task.

Turn on the news and the first thing you will usually see is something negative. Head into work and a negative coworker is already complaining about the boss. Watch the presidential debates and all of the coverage leading up to the upcoming election while the only thing you can do most of the time is shake your head in disbelief while you watch the two potential leaders of this country.

The list goes on and on. The point is that negativity is all around us. No matter where you look, you will always find either a negative situation or a negative person. However, you don’t have to let what happens on the outside interfere with what happens within you.

Being positive each and every day is an inside job that consists of intentional effort even at times when you don’t feel like it. No, being positive won’t guarantee that you will be a success or achieve a major goal of yours, but it will help you a whole lot more than what being negative will do for you.

I recently sat down with Jon Gordon, the bestselling author of the mega bestseller The Energy Bus to discuss eight ways you can become more positive regardless of what is going on around you.

1. Make the choice.

All of life consists of choices. In order to be incredibly successful, stay positive, and reach your full potential, it all starts with a firm choice to do just that. Jon says, “You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can trust that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.”

2. Talk to yourself like a champion.

I have been speaking about the power of talking to yourself for quite awhile now.  Jon Gordon said, “Talk to yourself instead of listen to yourself. Instead of listening to your complaints, fears and doubts, talk to yourself and feed your mind with words of truth and encouragement you need to keep moving forward.”

3. Be strict with energy vampires.

Association is everything. It’s an absolute must that you have zero tolerance for negative energy vampires. Jon says, “Post a sign that says ‘No Energy Vampires Allowed.'” Gandhi said, “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”

4. Live your purpose.

Nothing helps you to come more alive alive and radiate positive energy like living out your purpose. Gordon said, “Remember why you do what you do. We don’t get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we do it.”

5. Change your perception of adversity and failure.

This is what my new book, Winning Plays is all about. Being able to redefine what failure really means and learning how to capitalize off of each and every setback. Jon says, The next time you ‘fail’ remember that you aren’t failing, you are becoming. You aren’t failing, you are growing.”

6. Smile and laugh more.

Very simple things to do, but so many forget the power of just smiling and laughing more. Just as Jon said, “Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.”

7. Protect your inner world.  

It’s important to remember that regardless of how bad or negative a certain situation may be that you don’t have to let it dictate your level of happiness or positivity. Jon said, “Remember that outside circumstances and events have no power over you. You create your world from the inside-out.”

8. Be patient.

A great majority of the negativity that holds many people back is a major lack of patience. Greatness takes an extraordinary amount of time putting in the work behind closed doors before anything blossoms. Jon said, “There’s no such thing as an overnight success. Anything worthwhile takes time to build.”

Originally Posted on Entrepreneur.com