The Power of PMA

In the last few years, I've been hearing a whole lot about PMA, or "positive mental attitude."  I've seen it mentioned in numerous blog posts and social networking statuses, seen the letters tattooed on many lovely gentlemen I know and have seen the abbreviation tattooed on many clients of my tattooing friends.  While PMA has been taking the spotlight recently, at least in my world, it's a concept that has been around for over 70 years!

If you scour the internet for information on PMA, you'll see Napoleon Hill's name pop up an awful lot.  An American author, he published Think and Grow Rich in 1937.  This work is credited with introducing the idea of PMA to the world.  According to Wikipedia (not the most reliable of sources, I know):

Positive mental attitude is a psychological term which describes a mental phenomenon in which the central idea is that one can increase achievement through optimistic thought processes. PMA implies that one has a vision of good natured change in one's mind; it employs a state of mind that continues to seek, find and execute ways to win, or find a desirable outcome, regardless of the circumstances. It rejects negativity, defeatism and hopelessness. Part of the process of achieving PMA employs motivating "self talk" and deliberate goal-directed thinking.

Some people might reject that notion and, had you thrown it at me a few years ago, I might have done the same.  I probably would have called it nonsense.  Or hogwash.  Or a few other less than polite terms.  When I entered the working world after college, I slowly but surely found myself becoming more cynical and jaded.  My tolerance was at an all-time low.  My fuse was shorter than ever before.  And I took every opportunity I could to harp on the negative and dwell on the past.  I had always been one to dwell on things and wish for a do-over but I had never let it overwhelm me.  These days, I was a full on pessimist.

After a particularly rough summer that involved my boyfriend moving 8 hours away (and our relationship ultimately dissolving) and my grandmother (my only remaining grandparent) passing away, the negativity took control almost 100%.  To me, there was no silver lining.  I didn't want anything to do with the world.  I didn't want to face my problems; I just wanted to ignore them, along with everyone and everything around me.  I wanted to be a negative Nancy and, if I couldn't be happy, I was going to pull everyone down with me.

After a year passed, I was able to sit down and reflect on all that had happened since that horrible summer.  I realized that, while it had seemed like my world was ending at the time, numerous good things had happened since those darkest moments.  I had met a handful of amazing people, been on some of the best adventures of my life, was doing well at work and had even taken on a bartending position which was beefing up my bank account.  I had little to be negative about.  I got the logo from The Hold Steady's "Stay Positive" album tattooed on my forearm as a constant reminder to not let the world drag me down.  I needed to remind myself that, even in the most awful of times, your mindset makes all the difference in the world.  You can't just wish away your problems but harping on them and refusing to see the potential that the world has to offer doesn't do you any good either.

This arm has since grown into nearly a full sleeve of reminders.

In the time that has passed since getting that tattoo, I've become a full-blown believer of PMA.  Yes, you can't make your problems and shortcomings go away by imagining where you want to be, but it certainly helps to put on blinders and just see the carrot dangling from the string ahead of you.  I've spent more than a year working on focusing on the positive side of things, pushing myself to attain my goals instead of second guessing my chances of achieving them, and it has been paying off to an extent to which I cannot describe.

As of right now, 2012 promises to be a great year (if not one of the best) for me.  Several of my goals appear to be within my reach and, even if I face a few setbacks, I plan on seeing the positive in all of those experiences.  I will not belittle myself over "failures" because failure at least means I'm trying.  The world isn't going to hand me (or you!) anything; you have to go out and grab it for yourself.  As Napoleon Hill wrote, "Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit,"  and those are words that I truly believe.