In this mini-speech, Shannon shares tips to help listeners overcome obstacles by choosing positive thoughts.
The Awakened & Aligned Podcast with Shannon Kaiser
The Power Of Positivity
Today I'm going to talk to you about the power of positivity. Let me ask you guys a question. What are you best in the world at? In the whole entire world. Got the sun up here. The sun is out for the power of positivity. Best in the whole entire world. And I don't mean your hobbies. I don't mean the things you do for fun, although that might bring you a lot of joy. I mean, the thing that is engraved in who you are. If you're having a hard time thinking about it, maybe ask yourself, what do people always tell you about yourself? Wow, Phyllis, you are such a good organizer. I can't believe you are so great with things and putting them into place. You might be the best organizer. Maybe you're the best dad in the whole entire world. I challenge you guys to think about what brings you joy and what makes you excited to live life. The first time I was asked this question, I was like a deer in the headlights. What best in the world at? Well, I like to dance. I love to dance. Maybe I'm best in the world at. Naturally, our mind goes to comparison. And I started to think about the world famous dancers. Well, I'm clearly not the best. But what it really is, it's about what is inherent to you on the inside. What makes you uniquely you? I may love to dance. I love art. In my quest to find out what I was best in the world at, I started to do research. My research led me to see a lot of concerts, a lot of movies. Think about your favorite actor, your favorite performer, and when you watch them, what happens? Perhaps it's like me and you're moved. I went to a concert, and the person on stage was strumming a guitar, and he was singing the lyrics that he wrote. And I had a moment where happiness flooded through me. Tears of, oh my god, it's the best song in the world. I was connected to him because he was living his purpose and doing what he was best in the world at. And through that, I started to realize, well, what has helped me through my life? I went through a depression, what helped me through that. I went through addictions, what helped me through that. Now I'm a self-help author. Why is that? Because I'm positive. And I am the most positive person that I know. No matter what you do, and no matter who you are, you cannot tell me that that little drop in the bottom of the glass means that it's half empty. That means you can make a lot of lemons out of that lemonade. Because there are so many opportunities. And in the effort of being the most positive person that I know, and truly, that is what I'm the best in the world at, I'm going to share some tips with you guys today. Because everyone can use a little bit more positivity in their life. And in my workshops, I get people asking me, well, Shannon, how do you be so positive? And a lot of times, when people are so-- it's natural to them, they don't think about it. And so I sat down and I made a list of the things that it takes, and why it is so awesome to be on this side of the world, and see happiness everywhere. The first step is to recognize that your thoughts create your reality. A lot of us have thought about this. It's kind of the law of attraction. But if you think about it, if you're focusing on what you don't want, you're going to get more of what you don't want. This happened to me. When you really focus on the good, you see more good. This happened to me during 9/11. I had just flown back from the New York airport, literally, a day after 9/11 happened. I had a lot of friends in New York, and the first thing I did was call them. This is one of the most tragic events that ever happened in our history of America. And I was there, just coming from that side of the country. And it was devastating. I saw the things on the news, and I was torn apart. But what I did see was a lot of love. I saw people coming together in New York. I saw people opening doors buying coffee. My friends were having dinner with their cousins that lived down the street that they never saw before. It brought people together. And this is an event that was tragic. But when we think about the opportunities, that's tip number two, that we can see the good and setbacks. Part of life is always going to bring us change. That's something we can't get around. Change is inevitable, whether it's a divorce, whether it's a health crisis, whether it's a move for a job. No matter what, change is going to happen to us. But when we can see the bigger picture, I've gone through three layoffs in less than a year and a half. Each layoff led me to my true self. Each layoff led me to see the bigger picture because I was able to focus on the good. One of my best friends, she's an editor of a magazine, and she was just laid off this week. I was doing some travel writing assignments for her, so that means that my travel assignments aren't going to go into that magazine and she no longer works there as a travel writer now. And I started to think it wasn't about me at all. It's about where she is in her life. And the bigger picture is that she is made for something great. Every time a layoff happens, and it's happening a lot, especially right now here in Oregon, it can lead us to something even bigger and better. And our goal is to just focus on that nugget, that positive piece that can help us get to where we want to go. And the third part is to choose love over fear. In every situation of our life, we have two choices. We can go to anger, we can go to fear, we can go to desperation. The world is falling apart right now. There's wars going on, there's famine, there's so much going on. And we can choose to stay in that fear, and we can choose to be in a place of, oh my gosh, this is the most horrible place in the world, or we can choose to see the light, we can choose to come together, and we can choose to be in love. Because love is the only thing that conquers all. And so I thought, what am I supposed to do with this positivity? I am a person who can only see the good in situations, even if I try. And in the spirit of being connected and coming together with oneness, I'm writing a book, but also I do workshops. And in May, I'm offering my first four week group coaching workshop, and it's called fall in love with your life, the power of positivity. And these are just nuggets, but everyone can use some more positivity in their life. And I wanna share what I know with people. Thank you. (audience applauding) (applause) - Thank you.