Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great.”Mark Twain.

Being in the company of negative people is never fun. They will suck the positive energy right out of you, if you let them. If you let them is the operative phrase. They’ll drag you down and can bring your best laid plans to a screeching halt.

Don’t let them.

Many people spend their whole day looking for what’s wrong. Naturally, of course, they can easily find sufficient reason to reinforce their point of view. Goodness knows, there’s more than enough to go around.

To protect your well being, you need to construct very high walls to keep them out. Whenever you are in the company of what I call a “black cloud,” immediately open your umbrella. Here are a few suggestions to fend off the negative vibes:

1. Focus on managing your negative thoughts and behavior. Stay positive.
2. Make a point to hang out with positive people.
3. Occasionally write your “morning pages.” Refer to your affirmations.
4. Check your list of goals and objectives
5. Take care of your soul side, too. Listen to uplifting music. Read inspiring material. Exercise and eat right.

It isn’t easy, but in this day and age you have to do whatever you can to remain upbeat.

Fly with the eagles… and not with the ducks. Your success and personal happiness depends upon it.

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It is practically impossible to escape the daily onslaught of bad news – whether you’re hearing it the radio, reading a tablet or watching the latest disaster unfold online.

The constant drum beat of the media, the never ending litany of fear, uncertainty and negativity seems relentless.

The naysayers and doubters would have us believe we’re doomed. It’s only a matter of time they say… (who are ‘they,’ anyway?)

It’s all too easy to think, why bother? Don’t let them get to you. As ominous as the sky may look it is not falling in. That is not to deny the many serious issues facing us. The list is long but so is the list of good people, just like you, quietly going about their business, doing good things, moving ahead, trying to make a difference, hoping for the best and believing in a better tomorrow.

Life isn’t about waiting for the storms to pass but rather learning how to dance between the raindrops.

And being nimble on your feet.

100% present emotion makes you real. Gloria Steinem.

We live out our lives in three blocks of time – the past, the present and the future.

The majority of us tend to live with our eye on the future (that isn’t here yet) that is built on how we did things in the past (that has already gone) when, in reality, what we’ve got is the present. This is a recipe for constant stress and anxiety.

Whether we call it being in the moment, or living in the present, doing that, being real is a deliberate act of defining the way we use the time we have been given, because when it’s gone, it’s gone.

Many, if not the majority would have us believe that we are all separate, different from each other, as individuals and as nations; that there is a pecking order, that somehow some are better or more worthy than others.

It’s this belief of separateness along with the notions of scarcity and want that leads to conflicts between individuals and countries. It is only when we step outside our comfort zone and begin to know others, interact with them that we come to understand that we are all part of the same collective consciousness.

Regardless of our religions, ages, genders, ethnicities or personal histories, we need to cultivate an awareness of the other person, because they exist as much as we do. They, too, have goals, dreams and desires just as we do and the same right to life and happiness.

It’s not easy, most would say impossible, but that isn’t a reason not to try. It’s better than the alternative – to disconnect from others and add to the strife, violence and negativity that is so pervasive in today’s world. In a win-lose situation, there is a winner at somebody else’s expense. In win-win nobody loses.

We all need to grow. Growing is as necessary as breathing, it’s part of humankind’s DNA. We’re hard-wired to be curious and to always be hungry for more.

But it isn’t only your aspirations or goals that count. It’s the action of striving to reach them that lies at the heart of the process of growing. This is where the excitement lies – the juice of life. That’s because the action of striving is a creative, challenging activity.

When you’re growing you’re full of energy. Ideas flow effortlessly. You glide effortlessly from one accomplishment to the next, but when you stop growing your life begins to diminish. You become stale and dull. Worse, you begin to lose your courage and fail to see the new possibilities.

How do you know if you’ve stopped growing?

• Are you unable to make allowances for ideas and opinions that are not yours?

• Are you always being judgmental, critical, intolerant and suspicious of others?

• Are you simply going through the motions?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, you’ve stopped.

Many of us, at one time or another grapple with issues relating to personal growth. The fact that you’re reading this now suggests that you might be in the midst of a growing period, seeking answers, looking for insight – trying to figure out what to do next.

On the road to change, the real question isn’t what to do next, it’s whom do you want to be – and if you’ve stopped, how to get growing again.