Increasingly, it seems that we are being inundated with computer viruses, spyware and spam. Just this week, I was reading about a computer virus that was making its way around the Internet, wreaking havoc on millions of computers. For this reason, most of us have been forced to install programs on our PCs to protect us from this menace. We have anti-virus software, firewalls, spam filters and the list goes on and on.

Yet, I find it interesting that while we go to great lengths to secure the CPUs in our computers, we often failed to protect the CPUs between our ears - our brains. Just as there are people out there who would love to infect your PC with a virus that will slow down its processing, there are an equal number of people out there looking to infect your mind with a negative attitude that will bring your dash to a crawl. These are the naysayers, the critics and the "realistic people" that we often encounter at our jobs, in our communities, and sadly, sometimes even in our own families. For this reason, I think it's equally important that you take precautions to protect the world's greatest supercomputer - your mind.

Just as you wouldn't leave your PC unprotected from the hackers and spammers, you shouldn't leave your mind unprotected. So how do you protect yourself from the negative people in this world? Interestingly, in much the same way that you would protect your home computer or the computer network in your office.

The first step is to avoid those sites where you are most likely to be infected. We've all been to places were the negativity was almost palpable. It was like you could see it and touch it. If you hang around in such an environment long enough, you will get infected. It's inevitable.

Also, I strongly suggest that you avoid the "carriers" like the plague. And sadly, they're everywhere. At your job, there is a carrier of the bad attitude virus. You know who I'm referring to. Within two minutes of talking to this person, they're telling you what's wrong with the company, its management, its products, its suppliers and everything else. The same thing applies to your church or social organization. There's always someone who will be more than happy to tell you what's wrong with the pastor, the committee, the council, the board or whatever.

Dashware for Your Life (Part II)

Too often, we tempt our luck in dealing with these people. We figure that we can engage them in a quick conversation and then retreat before any real damage is done. Don't count on it! These people are experts at negativity. Very often, they've had decades of practice in detecting just what is wrong with everything and everybody. You're no match for them. Besides, why risk it? Would you go to a web site called "virus.com"? Well, why willingly walk into a situation where your positive attitude will be under direct attack?

Of course, in some cases, you may not have a choice. You may have a close family member who suffers from chronic negativity. In that case, while you may not be able to avoid them directly, you can certainly minimize your exposure to the threat by keeping your cards close to your vest.

After all, one of the best ways to reduce spam is to avoid giving your e-mail address out to everyone and anyone. If you volunteer your e-mail address at every web site you visit, you're just asking for trouble. Well, the same principle applies if you volunteer your goals and dreams to the negative people in your life. They will use every opportunity to send you unsolicited criticism. Therefore, if you must be around negative people, don't volunteer any unnecessary information. Remember, people can't rain on your parade if they don't know what street it's on.

Of course, you can't always see the threats coming your way. You just don't know all of the negative people out there. And besides, even some of your usually positive friends may become infected with a bad attitude from time to time. This is also the case on the Internet. You can receive an e-mail from your very best friend that contains a crippling virus. They certainly didn't send it to you on purpose but it's damaging nonetheless.

This is one of the primary reasons that most of us install so much protective software on our PCs - just in case. And this is the same reason that you should install an even greater amount of positive programming in your brain. You can't possibly catch all of the negative influences on a conscious level. They are too numerous. For that reason, you need to imbed some positive countermeasures in your subconscious through repetitive exposure to positive thinkers. Listen to motivational messages while driving in your car. Read inspirational stories in books and magazines. Do whatever you can to install a layer of "dashware" between your mind and the negative thoughts will come to bombard it from time to time.

Unfortunately, none of us has the power to stop the carriers of mental spam, viruses and spyware. Yet, we can somewhat insulate ourselves from their effects by taking sensible precautions. And let's face it. If it's worth it to take these precautions to ensure a $2,000 computer, then it's certainly worth it to protect the most valuable possession you have - your positive attitude.