Negative noise can be loud, but it kills your dreams quietly and subtly. It is easy to become unphased by negative noise. The more normal it becomes in your life, the more influence it will have. Negative noise can infiltrate your thoughts and freeze your actions. Here are five common ways that negative noise invades your life and hampers your success.
1) Negative friends. Do your friends seek solutions and strive to be their best, or do they whine and wallow in anything that goes wrong? The problem with negative noise is that it is contagious. Listening to friends complain without trying to fix what they are complaining about will continually rub off on you. Eventually, you will default to complaining as well instead of being active in overcoming issues. It is so important to surround yourself with upbeat, positive people who will keep you optimistic and goal-driven.
2) Negative family. You are in a wonderful situation if every member of your family supports you and your goals, constantly building you up with positive talk. Some of us however, have naysayers in our family. These are the people who constantly doubt you, downplay your dreams, and tell you to settle for something because you are not good enough for something else. The two main reactions are to either succumb to the negative talk or develop a chip on your shoulder and be more motivated to reach your goals. While a chip on your shoulder can be great fuel for success, you work best when you are self-motivated. Make sure your dreams are written down and constantly work to prove to yourself that you can reach them. The more you reinforce it in your own head, the less need you will have to create a chip on your shoulder, and the less power family will have to downplay your dreams.
3) Negative music. Music is often subconscious. In other words, we don’t think about the lyrics or the messages being sent. Instead, we bob to the beat and enjoy the experience of listening to music. Think about your playlists and the go-to songs that you use to get excited or inspired. What kind of messages are you receiving in those crucial moments? Are the lyrics full of positive talk and statements of what can be done, or are they full of negative talk and statements of what can’t or won’t be done? A change in music can change your outlook as well, and for any genre, there are positive and negative messages to be found. Take care to craft your playlist with your best interest at heart, keeping only the songs that make you mentally stronger.
4) Negative entertainment. Not many of us think about our entertainment as a source of strength. However, our hobbies that we use to relax attribute to strengthening us or bringing us down. There is no neutral entertainment. Many shows exist to inspire you and see the wonders of hard work and effort, while other shows prey off of the negative actions and the consequences of manipulative, lazy people for ratings. Video games can build you up to be a hero through effort and consistency, or reward you for sabotaging, giving up, and doing things the easy way. Entertainment should not rule your life, but when you do take a moment to relax, your relaxation should be intentional. Only allow yourself time to do things that make you better, happier, and more inspired.
5) Negative self-talk. The most dangerous of all… The way you talk about yourself becomes the way that you will act. It is especially important to check your language when describing yourself to other people. Watch for compliments that build others up by tearing you down, like “I wish I could do that… I would never be that brave/smart/strong to accomplish what you did.” Compliment others for their achievements but don’t use that as a way to break yourself down.
Similarly, it’s important to not get in the habit of defeating yourself before you start something. Instead of saying “I don’t think it will work,” try “I’ll give it my best effort.” There is no need to be overconfident and claim that you will be perfect at everything, but at the same time, you do want to give yourself a chance to succeed at anything you attempt. The more you limit yourself in words, the more difficult your actions will be to gain success.
Watch out for negative noise. It can come from anywhere and will enter your mind like a thief in the night, quickly stealing your dreams by making you believe they cannot come true. Surround yourself with positive talk and see what happens when you truly go for it!