Cowboys WIN : Improving your outlook on LIFE

As my fingernails gripped tightly to the edge I could feel all the blood draining from my face, I felt things slipping away into the darkness. With a little over 30 seconds left Michael Morgan unleashes a miraculous back-handed offload to Kyle Feldt to tie the game. A kick from the sideline would seal the deal. I struggled to watch as JT connected his golden boot with the ball. The whole of north Queensland was willing this ball through the post. Nothing more than a coat of lacquer signified a move to the dreaded golden point scenario.

A mistake from the kick-off would give the Cowboys the opportunity to seal their brilliance in history. AS JT slotted the field goal the entire North Queensland region erupted. My normally sedate neighbourhood erupted in cheers of ecstasy. People from all walks of life were united.

Now I know that there are many people who are not sport fans. However this was not just a game of football, this was something the region needed. Over the past few years the North Queensland region has been devastated by the impact of droughts, cyclones, the global financial crisis, the downturn in the mining industry and an Ice epidemic. The economy has been struggling with unemployment at some of its highest levels in history.

This was a shot in the arm for a community reeling with doom and gloom.

The effect of winning a national championship can have on a region is interesting. When the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009, it brought celebration and a feeling of accomplishment to a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The Super Bowl

championship helped the region realise its potential and was the mark of a city that had come so far and endured so much.

When we are constantly faced with doom and gloom, we find it really difficult to see the good stuff that is happening around us. Our brain, through our Reticular Activation System (RAS), filter only what our brain wants us to see. If we are surrounded by negativity then it’s highly likely that we will have a strong negativity bias. But if we can reset our RAS, if we can reprogram it so that we can start seeing the opportunities around us, our confidence and general outlook on life improves. Our RAS will focus on the positives of life.

Every day we are faced with choices about whether we want to look at situations and events as positive or the negative. If you find yourself saying things like; I could never do this, nothing good ever happens to me or this will never work, then t

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re is a good chance you need to reset you RAS. Through modern research in neuroscience and psychology we know that if you just write down three things you are grateful for over a seven day period your will be more optimistic, feel better and have a more positive outlook on life.

The 2015 NRL championship was more than a game of football. It was the reset button for the region. We feel like winners, the community is feeling positive, we have something to aspire to. Most of all, it gives each and every one of us the belief that if we work together as a team, a collective group and community, there is nothing we can’t achieve.

If you want to know how Scott can help you learn more about positivity and the impact it has on individuals, teams and businesses contact him today.