Be your own voice of reason. The meaning you give events in your life influences your life. You have the choice… positive or negative… stops action or fires up action… derails or keeps you motivated. On the site Daily OM, Madisyn Taylor shared her thoughts in, Being Your Own Voice of Reason.

The meaning we assign to our experiences–whether pleasant or distressing, is a very powerful factor in determining the quality of our lives. What we imagine events to mean will color the way we feel about ourselves, about the people in our lives, and about the world at large. If we want to encourage a positive outlook, well-being, and a sense of self-confidence and even trust in the universe, we can begin by assigning more peaceful, loving meanings to what we experience.

Imagine, for example, that a friend fails to show up to a lunch date. You have choices as to what you will make this experience mean for you. You could allow being “stood up” to reinforce your feelings of unworthiness, you could begin to mentally attack your friend’s character, or you could assume that something big must have happened to cause them to miss the date—then, you might open yourself up to enjoying some relaxing time alone.

Taylor points out an event that happens EVERY day in the process of business development. You send an email… no response! You make it mean they didn’t like your idea or don’t want to have lunch and so on and so on. Let’s be honest here… how many times have YOU missed an email or been up to your neck in alligators and couldn’t get to your email… it had nothing to do with the people that sent you the emails or the content of those emails… right? It is not rejection!

When we begin to bring consciousness to what we are making things mean, we may be shocked at the messages we have been feeding ourselves all these years. Try taking the reigns and begin assigning a kinder meaning to the events in your life and you will likely find yourself on a much more pleasant ride.

Business development is not easy… but it can be fun. Don’t take things personally. My philosophy on this topic; people that don’t know you well cannot have an opinion that is personal… they don’t know you well enough for it to be personal! Give the events in your business development initiatives meaning that will further your goals. NOT hinder them. Keep moving and enjoy the process.