My birthday was this past week and I must admit that it was a tough week for me. I had been in a funk all week. This is way out of character for me and everyone that knows me well could immediately tell something was not right. This is not a landmark birthday for me, but I think I was expecting to be doing something more. All I could do was think about what I had not accomplished.

Thankfully, my guest expert for the Entrepreneur Club this month said something that really resonated with me and set me straight again. To help him stay in his success mindset Mark Rhodes starts his days by first giving gratitude for what he has and then he envisions successfully reaching his goals, visualizing the details of living the actual success, whatever that might be.

I often end my days by writing in my gratitude journal and visualizing my future successes. I also keep an accomplishment journal that I write in each day. What I had been doing that week was waking up and immediately start thinking about what I had not accomplished, when I could get it done, what it  would take, and what it meant not to have accomplished it. But not what it meant to me, what it meant to everyone else. These were useless self-loathing thoughts. There was no positive energy in these – not for me and certainly not for others around me.

How to Escape the Funk

We can all slip into these emotional quagmires, but what is important to note is that you don’t have to stay there. Acknowledge it, let it go, and then move on.

On my birthday I woke early and started with my gratitude. I could immediately feel the difference in my attitude and my energy. I knew I was going to be much more productive today. Before I rose I envisioned one goal I wanted to accomplish and visualized me actually achieving it. The path to that goal is not difficult; I just needed to be focused on it.

I then decided to give myself a gift. I would make a list of 100 accomplishments I had done over the year. I did about 50 in less than 15 minutes. I was surprised to remember so many amazing accomplishments over this year, including being a contributing author in an Amazon #1 best seller, being asked to chair the Advisory Board of the International Business Program at Georgian College, creating a new business while running another, meeting one of my mentors, Fabienne Fredrickson, several times, and helping more than 40 people find more success and self confidence in their businesses! It has been an incredible year.

Use the Past, Present and Future

Past – Give gratitude for the things you have

Present – Acknowledge the things you are doing now

Future – Visualize achieving your future goals

Follow these 5 points to stay positive

1.       Start your day with Gratitude

2.       Visualize your goals

3.       Write down you accomplishments daily

4.       Keep a living list of life time accomplishments and revisit it regularly

5.       Don’t go to bed in a negative mood. Use Gratitude to find your positive emotions.