Are you trying to create and sustain a positive culture at work? If you are, it’s important for you to demonstrate each day how to have a consistently positive point of view. It’s amazing how much a leader can influence others to stay positive when they’re an optimistic role model.

Unfortunately, you don’t have to do anything to create a negative culture in your organization or family. The world will gladly help you reach that goal without much effort on your part. However, if you decide to develop the daily discipline of planting positive seeds in your mind, you will strengthen your positivity muscles, build resilience and thrive no matter what happens during the day. You will also discover your positivity will influence your co-workers, clients, family and friends to follow your lead.

Increasing your self-talk awareness is a good place to start. We talk to ourselves all day long and these unspoken thoughts are often negative when we’re dealing with difficult problems. While there may be some situations where you can benefit from being negative, most of today’s challenges and opportunities require a leader with a positive point of view.

The moment you become aware of a negative thought, you can choose to change your focus. Everything you say to yourself matters, so start having more positive conversations with yourself and others.

I’m not denying there are times when pain, suffering and disappointment are part of a leader’s life. I know bad things happen to good people, but positive leaders get stronger as a result of their challenges. Positive leaders are creators—not critics. They make their world a better place for their co-workers, clients, family and friends.

All organizations have positive people who are doing great work. Listen to their stories. Don’t let the local and national television stations, news media and even some family and friends bombard you with a daily dose of negativity. The quality of your life and the lives of those you lead will dramatically improve when you break the habit of ruminating on negative news.

Yes it’s true that bad news sells, but you don’t have to buy it. Start collecting and sharing information that inspires positive emotions. Decide today that you are going to spend more time talking about what you and others are doing well.

When leaders learn to create positive cultures, more people start shining a light on their problems and life gets better and brighter for everyone.

Let’s Get Better. Together! Bill Durkin