The Designer's Coach

Positive Thinking and Common Sense
A Powerful Combination


I believe that a good amount of our success depends on what goes on in between our two ears. This is: to understand how to remain a positive thinker, and how to have the uncommon ability of common sense. We can all say that we are positive thinkers, until there is something negative in our lives. Then all of a sudden, we become negative thinkers. This is where we need to learn how to manage these thoughts, which is done, most times with common sense.

As a child I was taught by my father to “think positive”. This was told to me over and over. A good lesson, but just being told to think positively is not enough. We must learn how to manage our negative thoughts, so that they do not inhibit our productivity. I can recall many instances when an upset client ruined my day. I became upset and unproductive and probably I might have acted poorly to an unsuspecting client.

We need to practice “self-awareness”. This is a key element of what The Leadership Coach addresses. How do we become aware of our thoughts and actions? How can we manage our own behavior? We become upset, we go into a funk, and we can’t get out of it.

At this point it is time to bring out our best defense: Common Sense. According to The Miriam Webster Dictionary, the definition of common sense is: “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts”.

Write down your negative thoughts, one by one and challenge each one with a dose of common sense. Most times you can successfully neutralize these emotions and handle them without exhausting yourself. This is an effective way to manage your goal to thinking positive.

Being a positive thinker is critical to many aspects of running a growing and successful business. Learning how to battle your demons by looking within to our basic instincts sounds easy, but it takes work, and no one is immune to showing some unflattering emotions. But who said running a business was easy. Managing our minds and the minds of our employees, suppliers and clients is a daunting task. We must be searching for tools to assist us in this task. Becoming self aware is the first step.