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How to Use the Power of Positivity to Find Lifelong Happiness and Success These insights will help you to live with greater joy, success and fulfillment. Pack your optimism, and prepare to enter another world.

By Brian H. Robb Edited by Micah Zimmerman

Key Takeaways

  • In this guide, you'll discover how to apply a dynamic range of practical insights regarding positivity.
  • Today, entrepreneurs can set things in motion to create a legacy that goes far beyond their own lives.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Optimism is a must in the tumultuous business world, where difficulties and opportunities go hand in hand. Achieving our business goals needs to be balanced by our desire to be happy to make our lives most rewarding.

In our often-pressure-cooker world, optimism isn't a nice-to-have; it's a must-have. Stacks of research demonstrate that positive thinking helps ensure good mental health. What's more, it improves physical health, resiliency and creativity. Harnessing a sense of optimism and believing in the possibilities can be a powerful force — for our startups and everything.

Related: Adopt These 9 Habits and You'll Be Unrecognizable By the End of 2024

The power of positivity

Life becomes your story with every thought, action and decision. The art is in the narrative. If we're going to tell the story of our life, then one of the ways we can influence the perception of how it's going is through consciously deciding what words we use to describe it and which perspectives we choose in the face of adversity. We can construct a story of overcoming, making the most of setbacks, and using difficulties as stepping stones towards triumph.

The science of happiness

Diving into the science of happiness can reveal how neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and endorphin contribute to this sense of wellness. While achieving life promises certainly makes us happier overall, finding a sense of inner joy might be a more sustainable way to engage in gratitude, mindfulness and acts of kindness that have been proven to increase our dramatic life satisfaction. Viewed through the lenses of intrinsic and extrinsic elements of happiness, the two perspectives can provide an all-rounded blueprint for a sustained, enjoyable entrepreneurial experience.

Related: Why Can't I Be Happy? These 5 Strategies Can Help in Your Pursuit of Happiness

Embracing change as a catalyst

Nothing remains the same forever. So, we should welcome change as an opportunity for reinvention and, in doing so, put ourselves in a better position to fully exploit the fluid and unpredictable nature of dynamic environments. You become more resilient if change is not seen as a tune-out but rather as a tune-up. It's a powerful strategy. It turns what would have been a hit into a miss. And a misstep into a minor setback on the road to achieving your goals.

Cultivating resilience in the face of adversity

Resilience is the secret sauce of entrepreneurial success. Because the risk of failure is always present, feeling a continuous spring of resilience in the face of challenges can create opportunities to bounce back from inevitable setbacks in a more robust, more powerful, and engaged way. By looking at other resilient individuals who have succeeded in the face of unrelenting adversity, we can gain insight into practical strategies that can be leveraged to build resilience and use adversity as a launching pad for future possibilities.

Nurturing authentic connections

As you pursue success, genuine connections and meaningful relationships are paramount. Entrepreneurship is not a solo sport; relationships form a community of encouragers who help you weather the storms and rejoice in the victories. Discover ways to foster healthy connections that bolster your personal and professional life.

The impact of purpose and passion

Beyond business profits, linking passion and purpose in entrepreneurship can make you feel significantly better. When you have the chance to build your entrepreneurial enterprise around values you hold dear to your heart, then you'll find a passionate purpose that can drive you to higher levels of accomplishment. Discover how passion and purpose can transform your entrepreneurial reality.

Related: Finding Your Full "Yes" Opens Up the Gateway to Passion and Purpose

Sustainable success through self-care

Having total focus on the goal through entrepreneurial pursuits is excellent. However, if you let that focus be at the expense of your overall well-being, it can come at a great cost in the long term. What's the point of getting there if you're not there to enjoy it? Maybe there are some devices that can show us what a drop in overall well-being looks like, but generally, entrepreneurs just know.

So, what tools can you use to keep a healthy perspective on engaging with your peak performance? Here are a few: mindfulness is a large toolbox that should be explored by anyone interested in increasing their overall well-being, and rest is non-negotiable.

Igniting the spark within to leave a positive legacy

Suppose you believe that your ability to improve is limitless. In that case, instilling and nurturing a sense of drive in your entrepreneurial journey continuously becomes a self-discovery process: a way to grow. It's a process of staying open to information and paying attention to your intuition. Research shows that having a growth mindset has positive consequences, helping you to achieve more and become more highly developed. Discover how an entrepreneurial mindset can help you embrace everything the world offers.

Leaving behind a legacy may happen only after we're gone from this world, but today, entrepreneurs can set things in motion to create a legacy that goes far beyond their own lives. This article outlines how entrepreneurs can use their power and resources socially so that we all gain when they thrive.

Brian H. Robb

Entrepreneur Leadership Network® Contributor

Transforming Big Brands for Massive Impact | Former CMO to the #1 Marketing Influencer (Forbes) | Entrepreneur & Forbes contributor | Imperial Alumni

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

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