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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Dianne Bourne

Paul McKenna on how to be positive - in even the bleakest situation

With all the worries of the human race in the world right now, it couldn't really be a better time for Paul McKenna to be heading out spreading a bit of positivity could it?

The hypnotist and self-help master is out on a national tour with his new show Positivity - with what he says are "life-transforming" tips to adjust even the most negative situation with the right mindset.

Paul will be performing "transformational life change techniques" for hundreds of people at Manchester's Royal Northern College of Music tonight before continuing to venues across the UK, with the aim of helping people become more confident, resilient and motivated.

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He says that for anyone feeling overwhelmed right now with such distressing events across the world, we must "learn to develop mental strength and adapt to a new way of life".

He believes anyone can tap into their own natural powerful resources for self-care, self-belief and for taking control of your life.

He says: "For 25 years I've been studying people and how they can have a better life. This event has been two years in the design, but I have it down to be really slick now.

"We're all right to be concerned with what's happening in the world right now, it's a mixture of anger and fear, people are angry about this situation but at the same time they have this concern of it escalating into war and no one wants that - it's an emotionally difficult place to be, you wouldn't be human if you watched the news and didn't feel fear.

Paul McKenna is all about the positivity right now (Neil Reading PR)

"The job of fear is to be prepared, guilt is where we've made a mistake, grief is loss. These emotions are all essential for our lived experience, but you don't want to live in them because they're exhausting!

"We need to understand the message of those emotions, but don't live in them and that's what this new show, Positivity, is all about."

Paul says it's about increasing resilience, and adapting your mindset to overcome fears, and the tour is based on his new book about the topic as well.

He said: "People need to get excited about the future, even people who are super-successful need this."

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For those heading to the live shows, Paul likens it to an "evangelist rally but without the religion" and says: "At the end of it people will feel different, it's very relaxed but very subtle."

Paul has had huge success across the world with his self-help techniques and self-help books, and it is helping others that he says motivates him to continue.

He said: "I'm fortunate that if I wanted to, I would never need work again, but I love it, they say find something you love and you'll never work again and that's what's true for me.

"I get to go to an auditorium, enjoy the atmosphere, get to meet real life people interact with them, and as you rightly say the feeling of helping someone get out of a problem, it is a really good feeling.

"There's a great Chinese saying if you want to be happy for an hour take a nap, a week take a vacation, if you want to be happy for the rest of your life help other people, it's a happy place to be."

As for visiting Manchester this week, Paul says it's always a joy - and his favourite spot is Rusholme's Curry Mile.

He beams: "Manchester is an extraordinary place, I love the Curry Mile I shall have a curry while I'm there, but more than that I just love the energy, it's getting back out in the world, seeing people, it's phenomenal."

And as to how he has coped himself in the past two years of pandemic and all the anxiety that that brought with him, Paul said he taps into his own self-help strategies.

He says: "Like everyone else through lockdown, I felt anxious, if you hadn't had a bit of that there's something wrong.

"But I do simple things, i write gratitude lists in my head when I walk the dog, I think of my physical health, all the things I love, that first cup of tea in the morning, that first glass of wine for dinner, I think about stuff I'm looking forward to, simple things like looking forward to lunch, seeing your mother, seeing friends. With a gratitude list you remind yourself of your abundance."

Paul McKenna's Positivity tour will head to the RNCM on March 14 and then across the UK, for tickets click here.

Read more about upcoming events :

Read more about Manchester's best restaurants : The 18 best restaurants in Greater Manchester according to the Michelin Guide

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