James Laughlin argues that the opposite of negativity is not mere positivity but action and resourcefulness. Through a personal anecdote about growing up in Northern Ireland, struggling in school, and a turning point after reading Think and Grow Rich, he illustrates taking ownership and moving from blame to action. He ends with three reflective questions (what you avoid, what you complain about, what action you could take) and a call-to-action to engage with his community.
Chapters
The opposite of negativity isn't positivity.
It'S action. It's getting up, making the moves, moving forward and keeping that momentum up. Too many of us get caught in the negativity spiral. And fair enough, we were all born with a negativity bias. And that bias is actually in a subconscious part of our mind to protect us. We're on the outlook for predators, we're on the outlook for failure, disaster, catastrophe. We're always looking out for those things. But it doesn't serve us when we're trying to live our best lives. It doesn't serve us when we're trying to push through some of the tough stuff that gets thrown our way. How many times do you catch yourself going, one day I'll be happy, one day I'll have my dream job, one day I'll pay the mortgage off. How many times do you catch yourself saying those things? Right? They're all legit. I get it. I say those things too. But those things and those little isms, those incantations, affirmations, whatever you want to call them, they are borderline delusional. If we don't do the work right, if you don't get up off your butt and do the work, then saying those things over and over won't make any difference. So I want you to think about some things in your life where you want to move forward, but you're stuck, right? And sometimes maybe you're caught in a negative spiral thinking about the situation that you're stuck in and why you're stuck there. 2020 is one of those years that many people might look back upon and go, well, that was a terrible year. Well, that sucked. Look what happened to me. Look what happened to them. Wasn't it horrible? Or there might be someone else who goes, hey, look at 2020. Look at how it shifted our perspective on what it is to be human. Look at how it shifted how we relate to each other. Look how it shifted how grateful we are for the simple things in life and the freedoms that were afforded in our world. I think back when I was young, living in the north of Ireland. I grew up in Ireland and towards the end of high school, I. I became really disconnected with school. I really disliked it and I wasn't putting the work in, I was scraping by. Mum and dad had recently parted ways and it was me against the world. I blamed everything that happened around me on my actions. It helped me justify my actions of not turning up to school, of not doing the work, of drinking too much alcohol, making Poor decisions. I blamed it on everything and everybody else around me, right? That was me being negative. And I hung out with other people and surrounded myself with those people who would share and wallow in that. And that for me was a comfort zone. Hey, we all get in comfort zones, right? But it took a shift. It took something for me to realize I've got to take responsibility, take ownership and move forward. And there might be something in your life where you're thinking, hey, that's exactly like me. Whether it's you're not getting to the gym, you're still eating poorly, you're making poor financial decisions, you're stuck in a rut, you're stuck in a relationship you're not happy in. There might be these decisions also that you guys are thinking, I'm not moving forward. Well, one thing that changed it for me was a great book called Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Absolutely brilliant. Now, this book is all about mindset. Sounds like it's a book about making money. Money will come with it, that's for sure. But if you get your mindset sorted and you start to think abundantly and you start to understand how your mind literally attracts what you want when you program it correctly, that's a life changing moment. And before I read that book and I remember sitting in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a little cafe, reading that book and ripping through it and taking notes and thinking, whoa, my life could be radically different every, if I got out of my own way. I just remember that moment when I read it and I was taking notes. I thought, this is my opportunity to change. I was splashing around in the muddy waters of despair, the muddy waters of discouragement and resentfulness. Everything was everyone else's fault. No responsibility was coming from me whatsoever. So that book was a game changer. Within a couple years, I found myself in Canada performing with a band. I was a drummer back then, performing with a band that I always wanted to perform with. I won another five world championship titles. Over the next five years. I traveled to New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, all over Southeast Asia, all over Europe. I was very fortunate to do those things. But the catalyst, the pivot point, the turning point was reading the book and realizing that I. I'm the only person that can stand in my way. Not the government, not my parents, not my school, not anything around me, not the weather, not any pandemics or natural disasters. Me, I was the only person. So it took me from this negative state to this resourceful state. I want to think about that and get you to really challenge yourself. Positivity is one thing, but resourcefulness, wow, that's a whole other thing, but being resourceful. And I know some people have had the feedback that say, James, you're super positive about things. James, you always, even when life is a bit tough, you're pretty damn positive. I like to think of it as resourcefulness. When life throws a spanner in the works, get resourceful. When the world throws a pandemic at you, get resourceful. And a lot of people did that beautifully. They got online, they learned how to pivot with their businesses. They started communicating with family through Zoom and Skype and FaceTime. It was quite amazing. So I want to challenge you to think about that and take your thinking from negativity to resourcefulness. I'm not asking you to be, you know, positive, Peter. I'm asking you to think about being super resourceful. Here's three questions that are going to help you to take your quality of life to a whole new level. First, one, what do you avoid? What are the things, the conversations, the habits that you avoid? Write those down. Write down three habits that you avoid, or three conversations or three things that you're avoiding. Going to the gym, talking to your boss about a pay rise you want, whatever it might be, write it down. Secondly, take a moment and write down what do I complain about most often. Is it the weather? Is it the government? Is it your salary? Is it your body image? Is it your partner? Is it the people that you work with? What do you complain about most? Take a moment and just write those things down. And lastly, the last question is, what action could I take? What is that action I could take to move forward? Be more resourceful? Stop avoiding the things I'm avoiding and stop criticizing those things that I have no control over. You want to focus on your sphere of influence. When you're within your sphere of influence, that's where you truly get the greatest results. Hey, guys, if you enjoyed the content today, please smash that subscribe button below. And if you want to become part of my community, I've got an amazing free Facebook group. Please come and join us. The link is in the description below. And also, if you've got any questions about today's session, I'd love to know. Just comment below and I'll be sure to get back to you guys. Have the most amazing day.
