I’m sure you have heard over and over again about the “power of positive thinking.”  

When you don’t get the part you wanted in the play, you get cut from the sports team, or you don’t get elected to be president of the club you’ve been in since freshman year, someone close to you tells you you’ll learn from the experience. She or he tells you to keep your chin up and to not give up just because of a little failure.  

But let’s be honest — that absolutely sucks to hear.  

Disappointment is hurtful and sometimes you just want to give up, slipping into a much more comfortable armor of apathy.

Sometimes you can’t get shut down over and over again without losing some of that vitality you had when you started big — when the sky seemed to be the limit.  

But there is also truth to this “positive thinking” thing everyone is raving about.  

Going into something with your head up and viewing it with an open mind truly can change your entire perspective.  

The failure that crippled you the week before can now become what drives you, what gives you the desperate hunger to succeed.  

With this momentum, you can turn any situation into something to grow and learn from.

Disappointment is a natural part of life and unfortunately, there’s nothing to do about that.  

Everyone gets her or his turn at having a rough time — it’s how you turn that around that redeems you.

This is not to say you aren’t allowed to be sad, disappointed, frustrated or even angry about these let downs — reacting in that way is expected.  But it is still important to get over them eventually. Whether it be small rejections or devastating ones, learning from these hard feelings is a way to make sure how you felt wasn’t in vain.  What’s the point of having these experiences if they don’t teach us humility and bring us strength? Even if the rejection seems small, letting each one leave a scar will eventually lead to a bigger issue than you can’t easily deal with.

Conquer these moments.  Use them to make yourself stronger.

When you get knocked down, keep getting back up no matter what. And if it is time to let go of a dream, if it is no longer bringing you happiness and you’re finding no success, set a new goal. Though that is a different kind of triumph, it still serves the same purpose. It does not matter how you overcome disappointment as long as you don’t let yourself shut yourself off to all new opportunities in fear of failing.

So, keep the positive attitude. It will make you stronger.  Use it to spin your regrets into your source of power to improve for the next time.

The power of positive attitude can truly be your secret weapon for success.