It’s difficult to stay positive when we’re constantly bombarded with bad news in the papers and on television.

Years ago, I met a therapist at an event who was explaining the power of positive thinking. It was a sales seminar I planned on tuning her “motivational” speech out until I heard her describe a practice called “pivoting”. Pivoting is when you feel completely depressed and down and instead of letting your bad mood rule the day, you consciously decide to turn it around and look at everything in a positive light. For example, I was selling watches at the time and if I didn’t sell the first customer of the day, I always felt the rest of my appointments would fall flat as well. Of course, I always blamed my customers for why they didn’t buy until I heard this therapist say that our attitudes directly affect every person we come in contact with. This therapist said that when we “pivot” our bad moods into good ones, we change not only our negative feelings but those of others around us.

From that time on, I began playing a game with myself to consciously “flip” my outlook on life whenever I started feeling negative. With this attitude, I have been able to start and keep my company running, overcome some health issues and even help my daughters see the power of positive thought in their daily routines. My hope is that this “pivoting” therapy will catch on and the media will begin to look at the positives a bleak economy or any negative situation brings. I know it sounds corny but people come together in rough times and support each other. People want to thrive, not just survive, and if we could just get the media to report from a positive angle, maybe we could all pivot on those days when that feeling of impending doom looms over us.

– Germaine Caprio, MAJAMAS EARTH Company Owner & Designer