Staying Positive and
Optimistic Even When
Bad Things Happen
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Staying Positive and Optimistic Even When Bad Things Happen
Copyright © 2009, SkillPath® Seminars
All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................................................................................3
The Five-step Plan to Becoming the Master of Your Thoughts and Feelings Instead of the Victim..........4
How to Break the Negative Habits of Worrying and Catastrophizing...........................................................................5
10 Specific Ways to Turn a Negative Attitude Around..............................................................................................................5
How to Establish a Positive Work Culture That Encourages
Optimism and Mutual Support for Correcting Negative Patterns...................................................................................6
Recognizing the Self-defeating Activities That Contribute to Negativity....................................................................6
Taking Control of the Quality of Your Life With the CPA Formula...................................................................................7
How to Use a Simple Yet Very Effective Formula for Changing Pessimism to Optimism.................................7
Personal Action Plan—When Bad Things Happen....................................................................................................................8
Bonus Material....................................................................................................................................................................................................9
Symbol Key
Symbols used in this workbook:
Introduction: A brief overview of the course you are about to begin
Learning objectives: A guide to a session’s key points intended to help focus your attention
on important elements and essential take-aways
Summary: A quick review of what you have learned in the current session
Personal Action Plan: An opportunity to apply your newly learned skills and knowledge to
your specific work environment
Introduction
Everybody goes through difficult times in their lives. The most important things you’ll
learn in this audio conference are that you can turn your negative thinking and attitudes
around in order to face your problems head-on and that you can rid yourself of
negative thinking.
 List the five steps to becoming the master—not the victim—of your thoughts and feelings
 Explain how to break the negative habits of worrying and catastrophizing
 Define the self-defeating activities that contribute to negativity
3
The Five-step Plan to Becoming
the Master of Your Thoughts and
Feelings Instead of the Victim
Your thoughts and feelings help make you who you are. They have a profound effect on your life, your
success and your happiness or lack of happiness.
Put your problem in perspective:

Everybody has problems

Every problem has a limited time of existence

Every problem changes you, but you can choose what your problem will do to you

There is a negative and a positive to every problem
Mastering negative thoughts and attitudes:
Step 1: Tune in to your thoughts
Step 2: Pinpoint the “I can’t” thoughts that are contributing to your negative attitude
Step 3: Turn off the negative thoughts
Step 4: Replace the negative thoughts with positive ones
Step 5: As you begin to see the situation in a more positive light, begin considering alternatives
to your situation
4
How to Break the Negative Habits
of Worrying and Catastrophizing
“A thousand fearful images and dire suggestions glance along the mind when it is
moody and discontented with itself. Command them to stand and show themselves,
and you presently assert the power of reason over imagination.”
– Sir Walter Scott
What is “catastrophizing”? Catastrophizing is a thought process whereby you imagine that a
situation is far worse than it truly is.
Two forms of catastrophizing:
1. Letting a situation appear catastrophic
2. Looking to the future and imagining all the things that will go wrong
Here’s how to stop yourself from catastrophizing:

Ask yourself to confront the worst-case scenario

Ask yourself if you can live with that possibility

Instead of worrying, use your energy to head off the anticipated problems
10 Specific Ways to Turn
a Negative Attitude Around
Use these methods to turn your negativity around.
1. Assess what’s going well in your life
2. Make yourself focus on what is actually happening—the real situation
3. Change the way you view your job—or change jobs
4. Visualize yourself succeeding
5. Ask yourself whether you’re holding yourself to higher standards than you do others
6. Strive to use more positive language when you speak and write
7. Avoid rigid thinking
8. Don’t procrastinate. At some point, the things you put off will pile up, and you’ll be
forced to address them as an overwhelming group of tasks. This can lead to negativity.
9. Work to keep your relationships vital and fun. Distance yourself from pessimists.
10. Have a support group that can give you encouragement during rough times
5
How to Establish a Positive Work Culture
That Encourages Optimism and Mutual
Support for Correcting Negative Patterns
Your positivity can have a constructive effect on your workplace. People naturally gravitate to happy
people. And your positive attitude can “rub off” on them.
Establishing a positive work culture:

Keep the lines of communication open

Encourage employee participation

Set realistic job expectations and evaluation criteria

Be consistent in treatment of individual workers

Understand that negativity in the workplace can result from problems at home

Provide continuous feedback/positive reinforcement

Show respect

Remember your manners
Recognizing the Self-defeating Activities
That Contribute to Negativity
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always
do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
– Mark Twain
If you find yourself in a difficult situation, it is up to you to get yourself out of it. And you surely won’t
succeed if you are guilty of these self-defeating activities.

Smoking, overeating, drug and alcohol abuse and other activities that abuse the body,
confirming that you’re not “worthy”

Workaholism

Lack of goals—provides an excuse for not taking charge

Workload—both at home and at work

Frantic pace but little progress
6
Taking Control of the Quality of
Your Life With the CPA Formula
By taking accountability—and using the CPA formula—you can increase the quality of your life.

Create

Promote

Allow
How to Use a Simple Yet Very Effective Formula
for Changing Pessimism to Optimism
You CAN change your negativity to optimism. Consider this formula and its truthfulness.
Dr. Albert Ellis defined this formula for explaining how what we believe about an event
determines the consequences:
A = Event
B = Belief
C = Consequence
A+B=C
You can’t change “A,” but you can change “B,” which will, in turn, change “C.”
7
Personal Action Plan—
When Bad Things Happen
Scenario: Your company just laid off two people in your department, and you’ll be
responsible for their work. Using the five steps to master your thoughts and feelings,
how would you deal with this?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Think of a difficult time you’re having right now or have had in the past. Apply the
A + B = C formula. Now, how can you adjust your thinking to make it optimistic instead
of pessimistic?
In this audio conference you’ve learned 10 specific methods to use to turn a negative
attitude around. You studied how to establish a positive work culture to encourage
optimism, and you learned to recognize self-defeating activities.
8
Bonus Material
What Negativity Does to You
Negativity affects your spirit:
1. It is self-defeating
2. It causes stress that affects you both mentally and physically
3. It drains you of motivation and energy
4. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy
5. It makes you live in a negative state
6. It places you in the role of the victim
How a Negative Attitude Influences
Achievement—Personally and Professionally

Personal life is out of balance. Goals aren’t set because they don’t seem obtainable. Or if they
are set, a negativist will sabotage his or her ability to meet them.

Career progress or advancement is delayed or simply never materializes because of strained
relationships or poor performance (due to lack of goals or failure to meet them)
9
How to Distinguish a Truly Negative
Attitude From Thoughtful, Productive,
“What-Might-Go-Wrong” Contingency Thinking
“Let our advance worrying become advanced thinking and planning.”
– Sir Winston Churchill
True negative attitude: The attitude or belief that things will go wrong and that nothing can be done
to solve a problem or meet a challenge.
Cautious planning: Carefully weighing the possible pitfalls and creating a plan to deal with them if
they occur.
Coping Strategies for Dealing
With Chronically Negative People

Counter with a positive perspective

Do research before presenting a proposal

Propose alternatives

Seek out support for your idea from others before meeting with the negativist

Ask the negative person to describe a worst-case scenario
Understanding the Negative Personality
People who are constantly negative may:

Feel inferior

Have crucial life experiences others don’t know about

Have legitimate problems others don’t know about

Come from a negative family

Be depressed
10
Breaking Bad Habits—Such as Negativity
Here are the steps to break a bad habit:
1. Awareness: You must identify a specific habit you want to change
2. Want to Change: You must accept that breaking a bad habit requires a conscious
effort and that doing so is a worthy goal
3. Commitment: The hardest of them all. Refocus on your commitment every day
4. Consistent Action: Be consistent in the tools and methods you use to break the habit
5. Perseverance: No one said it would be easy. But just imagine how good you’ll feel
once you have replaced the bad habit with a good one.
11
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Staying Positive and Optimistic Even When Bad Things Happen
V597 Audio Conference 5/09