Reactions matter. It’s much better to be optimistic and disappointed than pessimistic and right. Being positive or being negative isn’t going to change the situation at hand, but it will change the way you feel about it, and even has the ability to affect future outcomes.

The way you talk and think about your experiences has a major influence on how you perceive them. Your thoughts are tightly linked to your emotions, so thinking subtle things like “that was too hard” or “I’ll never be good enough” can leave you in an anxious state of mind that hinders future performance. You probably think it just affects you in the short term, but your self-talk has the ability to sink deep into your subconscious. If you begin to internalize negative self-talk, if can become a huge roadblock on your path toward reaching the person you want to be. 

Think of our reactions as subconscious programming. Dr. Bruce Lipton, found that 95% of what we do every single day is controlled by our subconscious mind**. Your deepest, most unrecognizable, thoughts are driving your performance, and ultimately your life. How you choose to program it is up to you. And in the words of Viktor Frankl, it is “the last of human freedoms is man’s ability to choose his attitude in any given situation.”

Choose wisely.

Reference:
** Bruce Lipton, The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles (London, U.K.: Hay House, 2013)