Are you an affirmer or a denier?

Affirmations are things that way say to ourselves that effectively either destroy or build our self-esteem. When it comes to building one’s success in life, then self-esteem is of vital importance.

But then there is another voice in our head that we must confront. This is the voice of denial. It is this voice that attempts to negate every positive affirmation we make. Earlier, we talked of mood polluters. But there is such a thing as mind polluters as well. Mind polluters are in all of us – it is just that some of us know how to combat them.

One way of combating the pollution of denial is to write down each and every one of your negative thoughts throughout the day. After writing it down, think deeply about it for a moment. You should be able to come up with a positive component to that negative thought. Once this process has occurred, you can strike out the negative thought and write down the positive thought that replaces it. This is the ultimate thought that will count, and the only one you want to pay attention to – unless, of course, you do not want to be a success in life.

Do you learn from your mistakes?

No one in life is perfect. We all do things we later regret. The key is learning how to transform these negative experiences in to positive ones. And the key to this transformation is knowledge.

Keeping a journal can be an excellent way of keeping track of your mistakes and postulating ways of avoiding such mistakes in the future. Since most people tend to repeat the same mistakes their entire lives, by writing them down – and thus becoming more introspective – we avoid the chances that we will fall in to this “repeat offender” category.

If you do find yourself repeating your mistakes over and over again, try to ask yourself what the root of your “repeat offending” might be. It is obvious that you have not yet figured it out, so think long and hard before continuing to move forward. This type of introspection provides the ultimate barrier to failure in all its ugly forms.

First Page: Adjusting Your Attitude for Success