Have you ever wondered where the expression, knock on wood comes from? There are several theories dating back to the Pagans, Christians and ancient Celtics. The most common is that knocking on a tree woke the good spirits who would protect people from evil. Todays version includes knocking on any wood-like surface, but the premise remains the samepreventing bad luck. To me, its a form of negative thinkingfocusing on the bad (that terrible thing that could happen) instead of the good.

You bring into your life that which you focus upon. If youre one of those women who thrives on gloom and doom, yanking others into your web of despair, and then gloating about your foresight when life becomes as miserable as you fearedguess what? That behavior creates your own self-fulfilling prophecy! You will always live in victim mode, shunning happiness while you anticipate your next inevitable misfortune.

Amid these forces of negativity, notice that there are other Goddesses who always seem cheerful, and are able to find the good in any situation or person. The words, Murphys Law, never touch their lips! You may think that they have all the good luck. And they do! Because they focus on how great things are or can be, versus what can ruin it. And, if something does go wrong, they find the lesson in the experiencemaybe even the silver liningand move on positively. These are the people who choose optimism and think positively.

When I woke up one day to find my car tire flat in my driveway, I didnt think, These things always happen to me. Instead I chose to think, Wasnt I lucky to have this happen here, instead of while I was driving 60MPH on the freeway? OKyou say, Big deal! Its just a flat tire. What about the really bad stuff that happens to us?

Martha Washington said, The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances. Katie Couric (the very cutest girl next door with the ear to ear smile on her face on network TV news) lost her husband and the father of her two children to colon cancer in 1998. While she admits to going through a very angry period, shes an optimist by nature. After her loss, she decided to help educate the public about colon cancerfirst by having her own colonoscopy in front of millions of people on live TV, and then by continuing her commitment as a spokesperson for the disease. Colonoscopy test rates have increased by twenty percent since then. In a Readers Digest interview, when asked whether she feels that shes had more than her share of hardship, she replies, No. There are plenty of people who have had more sadness in their lives than I have. Katie made a conscious choice to turn a personal tragedy into something positive for herself and others.

While Katie Couric may have just been born optimistic, a positive attitude can be learned at any age. If no one in your life was a role model on how to be positive, then it becomes your duty to learn. You create the reality around you with your thoughts, words and actions. Its the law of the universewhat you put out, you get back. Simple. Negativity zaps so much energy from you and ends up coming back ten times stronger. Its cold, dark and heavy on your soul. Being cheerful and optimistic, however, feels like a cool summer breezelight, sweet and airy. Try it sometime; you may never go back.

5 Ways to Think Positively:

Hang around positive people even if it seems uncomfortable at first.

If you work or live with negative people, dont get pulled into their fear or impose your opinion upon them.

Try to change every negative thought and word to a positive one.

Always assume the best from people and situations.

Make positive affirmationsif you say it enough, youll start believing it.

Excerpted from the book: The Goddess of Happiness, A Down-to-Earth Guide for Heavenly Balance and Bliss