Training your brain to stay positive is a tall order for lawyers. You are trained to look at the dark side of an issue. But when you are developing business that trait doesn’t serve you well. It blocks progress and inhibits confidence. Entrepreneur magazine contributor Nadia Goodman writes… How to Train Your Brain to Stay Positive. Goodman encourages…

Try these three tips to help you train your brain to stay positive:

1. Express gratitude. Negative events loom large unless you consciously balance them out. ‘When you’re faced with challenges, it’s important to take stock of what’s going well,’ Della Porta, (a positive psychologist and organizational consultant) says. Thinking about the good in your life can help balance that bias, giving your brain the extra time it needs to register and remember a positive event.

 2. Repeat positive affirmations. As any politician or advertiser knows, the more often you hear a message, the more likely you are to believe it. The same goes for messages about who you are and what you are capable of doing. By repeating positive affirmations with conviction several times each morning, you are training your brain to believe them. ‘Over time, you’ll start to internalize them,’ Della Porta says. Repeat your affirmations silently if you feel self-conscious.

3. Challenge negative thoughts. Each time a negative thought arises, we choose how to respond. If left to our own devices, we tend to dwell. Our brains home in on negative events so they seem much bigger and more significant than they are. To combat that, start by imagining the thought as separate from yourself, as something you can observe and deconstruct. ‘Get in the habit of distancing yourself instead of dwelling,’ Della Porta says.

Three simple steps… but certainly easier said than done. Take inventory of the steps you’ve accomplished. Tell yourself that business development is a journey and enjoy it. And most of all don’t listen to the critic in your head.