Stop taking 'NO' as a negative!

The word 'no' is quite often given a bad rap, isn't it? A word for many seen as a measure of failure, and many other cases a word preventing them from moving forward. Well guess what? In life, you will hear it a lot.

No matter what you are striving to achieve, the word 'no' will come up a lot. What is key to hearing 'no' is how you recognise and respond to it. It is this, not the word itself, that makes the difference.

If we reframe the meaning of the word 'no' it can actually be broken down into two letters N and O. What else can you turn this into? The one I commonly use is 'Next Opportunity'. Whatever the situation may be, think 'next' and carry on. You will always learn something along the way and realise why things were meant to work out the way they did.

An example I commonly use is my journey through building an online business during the pandemic. Has it been a challenge? Of course it has! That being said, every obstacle presented or negative outcome has spurred me on further to find what IS right.

It's been a process and an incredibly character-building one at that! It's demanded more of my creativity and intuition to develop more in terms of HOW I run my business and HOW I develop products moving forward. Making things a lot more user-friendly and accessible has been a goal I have envisioned from the start and now I am striving to make it happen without burning myself out trying to manage everything at once. I'm always learning and looking into how I can improve, for myself and for those I serve. My view is if it doesn't work like that, change it.

This lesson can be applied to so many areas of life and keeping an open mind through periods of frustration is the key. Those times are sent to teach you what does and doesn't work for you. If the timing is right or not and whether things are meant to work out. If it's not now, it may be down the line. It may be it wasn't where you were meant to be at all. Keeping an open mind and being resilient to challenges is key.

If we delve into this further, we can explore the different types of thinking, or more specifically critical and divergent thinking.

Critical thinking skills give us the ability to analyse and evaluate information, knowledge and beliefs. Such as asking yourself 'That is a limiting belief I have, why do I believe that about myself?' and either finding a way to make it a success or question why you are doubting yourself in the first place. When you know you have the resources and knowledge you need, you can turn this belief around and even use it for growth.

Further critical thinking also helps us to problem solve and improve the opportunities we have to ones that are better suited to our skills, abilities and personal preferences over a period of time. Suddenly that limiting belief you were questioning isn't much of an issue anymore. You may have even come to realise it wasn't true.

What we need to do in order to reach these milestones is get to know ourselves better. We are transient beings with the ability and tendency to change how we look at things. Through age, experience and even our rhythms in life. It can be seen as going with the tide rather than fighting against it.

Important questions to ask ourselves when these things happens are ones such as: 'How can I develop greater knowledge to improve opportunities for myself?' For example, in the event of career changes, further studies and personal development. How can I create or learn from resources that are available? Read up more about it. Cultivate a mind of curiosity. If you're anything like me, I'm an avid learner. I enjoy broadening my understanding on topics. This mindset has served me incredibly well, both personally and professionally. I've learnt where my own strengths and limitations are and how to work with them. Let's move on.

Divergent thinking as mentioned previously refers to breaking a topic down into its formative parts and generating new solutions and ideas. Think of this process as looking at your skills and personal attributes that can easily be applied to other areas. Instead of looking at one route and believing that this was the only route you could go down, you will begin to realise other parts of yourself that you haven't yet explored or other routes you could go down with what you already know you are capable of. If you were to sit down with yourself and write a list of all of the skills and talents you have, you may find they suit an area you hadn't already considered.

Suddenly that word 'no' doesn't seem so bad now, does it? In fact it's almost exciting! You may never know where life was taking you when you were busy concerning yourself over the NO's! Next Opportunity!

The most important thing to remember is that broadening your mind will help you to broaden your horizons and move forward into what is meant to be. Instead of looking at all of the obstacles, consider where you are supposed to be. This is what life is trying to tell you so keep an open mind. Be receptive to the signs that life might be trying to steer you in a different direction to what you had previously imagined. Live with curiosity! Just remember to keep learning, keep growing and keep being receptive to the signs life is giving you.