Staying Positive in a Freaked-out World

Are You Feeling Overwhelmed?
Greetings! If you'll grant me a few minutes, I'd like to share a brief story about myself that I'm betting you can relate to – because you're probably going through similar and stressful experiences right now, too. The good part is, this story turns out positively, and it can for you, as well. If you're reading this and you've never met me, I'll assure you that I'm usually a very upbeat, optimistic person. Generally, I am so positive that people say I look at life through the proverbial rose-colored glasses. But not long ago, a lot of my optimism seemed to vanish, which scared me, to tell you the truth. It vanished because life suddenly felt heavy, like it was pushing me down with far too many pressures and worries. It seemed the world was freaking out around me, e.g., watching my hard-earned money and retirement savings plummet with the spiraling economy. People were angry, belligerent, and just generally lacking in civility. I felt immersed in predictions of doom and gloom - and nothing that gave me much hope. Making it worse, fear and worry seemed to be all anyone wanted to talk about at home, at work, and even with friends. I felt like I just couldn't get a break from all of the negativity. At one point, I finally felt so overwhelmed by it all, I quit listening to the news altogether. What I wanted was to return to my happy place – my center – the place where my best energies are spent teaching and serving people instead of fighting off the stress and craziness around me. Chances are, you understand how I felt. Maybe you're usually a pretty positive person too, but lately, you've been battling more negativity around you. And some days...it's pretty tough to keep up the battle. Especially if you're not feeling too positive yourself. Maybe you find it difficult to stay focused on what's good in life when everything seems chaotic at work or at home. Maybe you feel overwhelmed with commitments, worries and stress. And you just want to know...
"How do I stay positive in a freaked out world?"
Back in 2008, I asked myself the same question. So I did what a lifelong educator finds natural: I started researching for answers. I learned, experimented, and then created "staying positive" strategies to integrate into my daily life. As I began feeling positive and centered again, I wondered: "If I – Ms. Optimistic – need this, then how's this crazy world affecting others?" So I recorded a teleseminar over the Thanksgiving holiday to share some of my staying positive strategies. I figured if one or two tips could help others to find some peace and calm, then I'd be happy and thankful. To my surprise...
Hundreds of people came back asking for more!
I was blown away by the response. Hundreds contacted me saying, "You won't believe how much I needed this!"... "This is perfect" ... "How can I learn more?" "When's your next teleseminar on this?" People asked for regular sessions for helping them cope with the heaviness and compression overwhelming them. Folks sent me heartfelt emails asking for help to: Avoid getting lost in the negativity at work Better cope with personal and work stress Be a more positive leader Regain control of their life again Stay focused on their tasks Encourage others to be positive Feel like their "old self" and hopeful again Stop feeling so burdened and overwhelmed In a nutshell, they were screaming:
"Help! I just want to feel positive again, but I don't know how!"
Perhaps you know how they feel too. I sure did. That's why I want to help any way I can, but I can't possibly have one-on-one workshops with hundreds of people every week (even though, admittedly, I am pretty high energy!) So I created something that's pretty darn close. It's the Staying Positive Personal Workshop where you have time with me whenever you want, wherever you want. It is designed to weave easily into your busy schedule. I'll tell you more about that in a moment. But first, please let me explain a little more about how our time together...
Gives you practical and realistic practices for supporting what you need to BE positive and STAY positive.
We nicknamed the Staying Positive (in a Freaked-Out World) Personal Workshop "SPIAFOW" (rhymes with "now"). When you are part of SPIAFOW, you learn practices you can integrate at home or in the office the very day you learn them. The SPIAFOW practices create lasting change for you. They shift your mindset and your behavior toward feeling and acting more positively. They help you move gracefully into that positive place you want to be, but you just didn't know how to get there...until now. The practices and tools you learn will affect your very core, i.e., helping you stay focused, positive, and successful - even when everyone else around you seems to be going crazy. It's no exaggeration when I say that the Staying Positive Personal Workshop Program can transform your life. This is because as you begin viewing yourself and others differently, your perspectives change. The more open you are to seeing situations from different perspectives, the more heaviness and stress you release. As you move through your life, the Staying Positive Personal Workshop will help you Contain your struggles Sustain your positive energy Maintain your focus Retain your sanity (even if others are losing theirs!) Retrain your brain to keep a mental edge at all times Abstain from plunging into others' drama Obtain confident optimism, which some might call "professional optimism" Train those around you to shift their mental frames as needed, too Refrain from getting freaked-out, no matter what. And to open your perspectives further, the SPIAFOW lessons are designed to remove some of your mental and emotional restrictions. These restrictions may be binding you up so tightly right now that they prevent you from seeing new viewpoints. If you have previously taken any of my classes or workshops, you know I'm a very practical and realistic person. Your Staying Positive Personal Workshop lessons are equally practical and realistic, so it's easy to use them. Before long, you'll find yourself integrating SPIAFOW practices into daily life. This is when the magic happens. It's magical because you will see your day-to-day experience transform from feeling stressed and overwhelmed to feeling positive and in control again. That's why everyone who takes advantage of the Staying Positive in a Freaked- Out World Personal Workshop is called a member. With these practices, you naturally feel, think, and act positively. Positivity becomes so second nature, you automatically become a lifetime member of what I call the Staying Positive Society.

Why others value Staying Positive in a Freaked Out World: "[SPIAFOW] helps me see a different perspective from which to approach a difficult, mundane, or stale activity or process. It allows me to stop approaching the same things the same way and expect to get different results. It allowed me to stay positive while in a poor environment so that I could have enough control over the situation to be drawn to a more worthy and positive environment." - Karen Martin "We need this type of encouragement and the tools to meet the challenges of today." - Janeen Kelly "You are amazing at gathering information that is pertinent to what we should be working on to make life better. I appreciate your insight and your suggestions." - Marita Wright "Your presentations really kept me sane and grounded through all of our changes. You keep it real and have a way about you that makes everything okay." - Molly Hum "You give great advice. You're very positive yourself and your help is always useful and/or inspiring. I joined because I trust you. The other things I've taken from you have always been well thought out, and important to my business. I know I can depend on your products.." - Linda Evans
"But Meggin, how can I feel positive when I'm surrounded by such negative people?"
It is easier to feel more positive – and stay more positive – when you open your perspectives. What I mean by that is instead of seeing a situation as it appears, you see it from multiple angles. You look at a situation and think, "What about this...?" or "What if we did that...?" or "Hmm, how about this as an option...?" By opening your perspectives, you naturally see multiple ways of solving issues and strategically reaching your goals – personally and professionally. Then you won't feel so overwhelmed. And you'll begin moving towards feeling positive and centered again. When you open your perspectives, you also see where other people are coming from. This helps you respond with greater compassion and understanding. In turn, you naturally change how you respond to the world around you. "[SPIAFOW gives] Great advice on how to engineer change and create a positive space...It has honestly calmed me down a bit and helped me think more generously about others who are obviously freaking out. I know better now that they are in a bad state and not really trying to torture me." - Rosemary McCarthy By opening your perspectives, you take control of your life because you start responding to the world, instead of reacting to it. This is a HUGE shift. In fact, members often tell me how much they appreciate this expansion. They share stories of how co-worker relationships improve, how their energy shifts at work, and how they better manage daily demands. They feel calmer at home and their personal relationships strengthen. I am humbled and honored by such responses. At this point, you may be thinking, "This sounds too good to be true?" Then try this: The next time someone comes to you complaining about a problem, cut them off and (gently)...
Tell them to put a SOCK in it!
SOCK is an acronym for Solutions - Options - Choices - Knowledge. Members love using this strategy to resolve what's troubling them. The acronym helps guide you out of the negative frenzy we create by focusing on what's wrong. Instead, it helps you think things through for reasonable resolutions to the problems, issues, or dilemmas you're dealing with. Here's how it works: Let's say an employee or family member comes to you complaining about how something isn't working. Before this person gets too far down the well-traveled road of "why everything sucks," you say, "Hey, put a SOCK in it!" Then you two can step back and: Explore all possible Solutions Examine further Options Exemplify good Choices Expand your own and others' Knowledge Did you see what just happened there? You deftly side-stepped a potentially negative situation by accessing your combined creativity. By being more creative, you encourage your brain to generate new ideas (which is what your brain is designed to do). Whereas complaining leads to destructive stances, ideas lead to constructive conclusions. Members love the many SOCK strategies so much, that they often pin socks on their computers, in conference rooms, or on their refrigerators at home. This simple reminder is all they need to guide themselves and others out of negativity and back into a positive, productive mindset. If you like SOCK, then you'll love the many other practical and effective staying positive tools you learn through SPIAFOW.
Staying Positive Society Members Feel the Difference: "I think the aspect of staying positive in our lives affects all the other aspects. We need all the strategies available to us in generating the greatest benefits from it." - E Carolyn Tucker "What I like most are the various ideas on how to look at situations differently. It is helpful to me to have these ideas sent on a regular basis, versus just maybe reading a "self-help" book every few months or so. My membership has helped me to be a more critical thinker. I am finding myself looking at a situation first to be proactive rather than reactive. Although I am not a leader per se, my position requires a certain amount of decorum and calmness. Being a member has helped me improve myself to fulfill that role." - Jackie Csehi "My membership has kept me on a more positive track. I know there will always be opportunities for me out there, I just have to reach out and claim them." - Lorna McCarty "Meggin has great ideas and I always learn from her. Timely, humorous, and quality topics. [I listen] Whenever I need motivation." - Sherry Hecht "[SPIAFOW] gives me a focal point for positive energy just before the start of the work week...You provide honesty, as opposed to 'voice in the box' piety or 'know-it-all' status. You admit your own struggles and lead by example, as well as offering your ideas." - Beverly Delidow
Take back control of your life
During your Personal Workshop, one of your happiest "A-ha!" moments may come when you realize you are in control of more aspects of your life than you probably believe. It may not be a hundred percent, but it's mighty close. The lessons in SPIAFOW help you recognize which aspects they are and help you gain greater control of them. You have control because you always have choices. Over and over again, life presents you with questions, problems, and challenges. SPIAFOW teaches you how to positively gather the creative energy within and around you to analyze, prioritize, and then create an array of possible solutions – from which you can then choose. "[I joined SPIAFOW] because I was looking for a way to see things differently and because I wanted to shake the negativity emerging in me. I have been able to separate myself from the negativity at work to a great extent and I have been able to see myself and possibilities in new ways." - Janet
Why hang on to feeling overwhelmed?
Have you ever asked people how they're doing and they just respond, "Well, I'm hanging in there..."? That's such a lackluster attitude towards life. They sound almost defeated and powerless. Why would you want to go through life that way when you can feel optimistic and enthused? Why would you let stress and worry paralyze you from being the positive, creative, and more successful person that you are? Why would you allow other people's negativity to become your burden, too? The simple answer is you don't have to. Especially when you can learn practical techniques showing you...
How to Stay Positive in a Freaked Out World
You know when it is time to make a change. You know because something inside just doesn't feel right anymore. Or it feels so uncomfortable, you want relief. If that sounds like you, I can help. I never claim to have all of the answers, but I sure have a lot of answers that help me and many others. I truly believe these answers can help you too. If you want to feel less overwhelmed, less burdened, less stressed, less negative, then I encourage you to be part of the Staying Positive in a Freaked-Out World Personal Workshop. The Personal Workshop lasts as long as you feel it benefits you. You can sign up month-to-month, or continue for the full year course. If you are wondering, "What exactly will I receive?" let me detail that out for you: Weekly Staying Positive Personal Workshop lesson, offered in both written and recorded formats. The written format will be a PDF packet to be printed, read, and responded to just as if you were in a personal workshop with Dr. Meggin McIntosh, Founder and Chief Positivity Officer of the Staying Positive Society. The packets will be 10 – 15 (to 20+) pages each week. The recorded format will be sent as an MP3. The recordings will be 10 – 20+ minutes, which you can listen to from your computer, your iPad, or other MP3 device. You may access the recording each week as it arrives and/or later when you are ready for that particular concept. Do your lesson when convenient, as SPIAFOW member Janet S. of Tennessee does: “I listen to the sessions as soon as they arrive. Sometimes I wait until Sundays but usually I listen Saturday night (the day I get mine) as the last thing before I go to sleep. I don't fall asleep ruminating about problems. That really IS a compliment.” Weekly Activity Sheets, Exercises, and/or Mini-Posters. These will deepen your thinking, surprise you with what they reveal about you, and remind you of the practices you are ready to implement. Quarterly Special Events, exclusively for members of the Staying Positive Personal Workshop Program. These may include specially-invited speakers for teleseminars, book discussions, call-ins about timely topics of interest to Staying Positive Society members, and other offerings. Bonus Recordings and Materials. These will be sent to you periodically to further spark and enhance your quest for positivity - maybe at just the time you really need it! A Responsive Emphasis on Excellence, Inc. Team. The team members at Emphasis on Excellence, Inc. will take care of technical questions that you have in a timely, professional, and helpful manner. Oh, and we'll work with you positively, of course! Every week, I email your lesson in a downloadable PDF and MP3 format. I narrate each lesson as if I'm sitting right next to you, guiding you through the practices and analyzing your discoveries. I promise not to waste your time with fluff and to keep the lessons very engaging. The weekly lessons are designed to give you a boost, some redirection, a strategy for focus. The lessons provide tools to help you feel positive and naturally stay that way. They also give you something to focus on for the rest of the week.
You are in total control of how you learn and when you learn
You adjust each lesson to your needs. So you can spend 30 minutes, or several hours reviewing the material and analyzing your discoveries. It's all up to you. There's no right or wrong way...just your way. Unlike other workshops, in the Staying Positive Personal Workshop, YOU dictate the pace. Although your lessons arrive weekly throughout the year, some members wait and review two or three lessons at a time. Others review them each week as they arrive. You can do whatever fits best with your schedule. You are in complete control of how you learn and when you learn. You control the pace and how much time you invest in each lesson. This is truly your Personal Workshop.
You'll keep moving towards positivity and success, no matter what challenges you face
Within the first few weeks, you'll start seeing and feeling the changes happening in your daily life. You will catch yourself mindfully integrating a lesson into a situation. Then you'll see how effectively your new tools help you transform negative situations into positive ones.
Staying Positive Society Members Experience Changes! "I enjoy how you have this innate ability to create questions in my mind to think about in a deep manner. I like looking at different possibilities and analyzing those possibilities. It's invigorating!" - Lorna McCarty "I was grateful for the constant reminders each week that helped me strengthen relationships and encouraging others to be positive." - Marita Wright "Meggin, you give me lots of 'food for thought'. [SPIAFOW] Helps me realize that where we are is not always where we have to stay in life. You help me learn to 'lighten up' on myself and others. You help me focus on things that matter most and realize that sometimes we give lots of time and energy to those things that matter least." - Michelle "...I have managed to examine my life and my ability to impact the world around me in more positive ways as I participate in the weekly session." - Ellen Williams "You provide structure and give permission for me to think a little more deeply and to create ways to apply the important lessons that you share." - Patty Charles
How to get 4 different positivity workshops delivered right to your inbox
There are two ways to take advantage of the Staying Positive (in a Freaked-Out World) Personal Workshop. Know that whichever one you choose, I come right to you - each week - so it's convenient for you to learn and to fit your learning into your schedule! You can join from month-to-month, where each week I'll email a different lesson directly to you. You'll receive four lessons total in both PDF and MP3 format for only $28.95 per month. That's like attending four different Personal Workshops with me for about $7.00 each! What's more, I come to you, so it's extremely convenient and fits easily into your schedule. You can click here to start living positively now. Better yet, join Staying Positive in a Freaked Out World for the full year and...
Instantly save $97 and know you have me to personally guide you all year long!
If life feels very unpredictable right now, or you expect tremendous changes will happen at work or at home over the next few months, I suggest taking advantage of our full-year SPIAFOW Personal Workshop at the discounted rate of $249.95. That's an instant $97 savings from the monthly rate. With the one-year Personal Workshop, you'll receive 52 lessons (plus exclusive bonuses and additional features) with me personally guiding you through the staying positive transformation. That's a full year's worth of support and practical practices to help you shed the negativity and overwhelm burdening your life right now. With weekly guidance, you'll confidently continue moving forward no matter what challenges you face throughout the year. Click here to start living positively now. Whether you choose to take a few lessons or join me for a full year, there's absolutely no risk because of...
Your Pawsitivity Guarantee
What you will learn helps me and many others shake off the negativity and gracefully move through the overwhelmed portions of our lives. I'm so confident it'll do the same for you, Paws & I guarantee it. Try the Staying Positive in a Freaked Out World Personal Workshop Program for 21 days - that's 4 lessons in all because your first one is sent immediately! If you don't find the lessons relieving the heaviness from your life and shifting you towards positive control of your day-to-day, then simply call for a prompt refund. Who is Paws? "Paws," (short for 'Pawsitivity') is our mascot. PAWS is also an acronym: P - practical A - affirming W - words of S - support "I always learn valuable things from you, Meggin. I recommend you all the time to all kinds of people because I have learned so much from you, your guidance, and your teaching."* - Janna Whichever plan you choose, you receive my full 21-day, Pawsitivity Guarantee. By signing up, you become a member of the Staying Positive Society and I know you will make a shift so that positivity – once again – becomes your natural way of life. Together, let's finally get rid of the stress and heaviness weighing you down. Click the button below to start embracing life again by living positively! Pawsitively yours, Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D.