To be clear, I’m speaking specifically about positive delusions!
You could look at a positive delusion as merely being a very positive attitude. And you might think that’s just being inaccurate and lying to yourself. And you might be right.
But the science is clear on this matter. It’s been shown that people who overestimate their skills, abilities, and talents for a new endeavor ultimately perform at a higher level than those that are more realistic or pessimistic about succeeding at that endeavor.
Those who overestimate their abilities, learn skills better, achieve more goals and are more successful. This isn’t too surprising. If you don’t think you’re good at something and that you can’t learn to do it well, you’re going to be less motivated and engaged in learning that activity.
On the other hand, if you expect the best, you’re going to jump in and get busy mastering that new skill or going after that new goal. With high expectations – even unjustly high expectations – you’re greatly enhancing your ability to succeed.
It’s really Law of Attraction 101.
Here are 7 tips to use positive delusions for your benefit:
1) Positive delusions give hope. When you tell yourself, “A lot can happen between now and tomorrow (or next week or next month)” or “Things will improve if I just hang in there. They always work out for me in the end,” you give yourself the hope you require to keep trying and to persevere. When you believe they will, you give yourself a greater chance of success.
Think about what you would do instead if you were very pessimistic. You’d be without hope. Do you think that would make you more likely to succeed or less likely?
2) Assuming the best can inspire you to take action. When you have high expectations, you put yourself in the position to take positive action. Whether you’re interested in learning to play the piano or start a new business, you move forward when you believe in a positive outcome.
If you had low expectations, would you be willing to take action? Probably not.
3) Keep in mind that most of your beliefs are at least partially delusional. Your knowledge and interpretations of your past experiences are far from perfect. There’s little that you believe to be true that’s actually true! We’re all operating under various delusions!
4) Limit your negative self-talk. Negativity kills. It kills your spirit, motivation, and future. Put a damper on negative self-talk before it has a chance to gain momentum. Once it begins, immediately turn your attention to something more positive.
5) Think about the kind of person you want to become. Consider the goals you have in your life and think about who you need to be in order to attain those goals. What qualities and characteristics do you need to possess? See yourself as already having those qualities. They are already within you!
6) Visualize success. One of the easiest ways to create a positive delusion is to visualize yourself succeeding. Imagine yourself easily overcoming any obstacle. Imagine yourself confidently achieving success. This is one of the best ways to use positive delusions to your advantage.
7) Believe that having positive delusions is in your best interest. Remind yourself that being practical and realistic can be very limiting. Being optimistic and overestimating your abilities can be very effective in the long term.
Sure, there’s a time to be practical and realistic. But that time is not as often as you think!
Overestimating your abilities and the likelihood of your success can be a powerful way to improve your results. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt on a regular basis and see how it affects your life.
You can always go back to more pessimistic ways if you want, although I don’t recommend it.Choose what works rather than what makes sense!
I challenge you to spend the next five days performing an optimism experiment on yourself and watch what happens.
Let me know how it goes!
Eva Gregory helps spiritual entrepreneurs go from chaos to clarity and from clarity to cash flow. She is a Law of Attraction expert, and author of “The Feel Good Guide To Prosperity” and “Life Lessons for Mastering the Law of Attraction”, co-authored with Jack Canfield. Her gift is teaching spiritual entrepreneurs how to integrate Inner Guidance with proven practical business strategies to create successful enlightened businesses from a place of purpose, passion and prosperity. Get your FREE Soul-Centered Conversations That Convert template here and learn how to ramp up your revenue fast with a proven step-by-step template for converting those interested in what you offer to investing in what you offer.
