TV’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here isn’t the most obvious place to pick up business advice, but in a recent episode I saw an inspiring demonstration of the power of positive thinking – a great technique to apply in business.

Maybe she picked up tips on Neuro Linguistic Programming when she was exposing ‘cons’ on The Real Hustle, but contestant Jessica-Jane Clement showed real flair for overcoming extreme difficulties by thinking positively in the reality show.

A grim bush tucker trial saw Jess suspended horizontally in a sling and lowered into a succession of five trucks containing eels, snakes, fish guts, rats and finally foul-smelling, bug-ridden slime.

Rather than shrieking and shuddering like many contestants, she greeted every truck like a welcome gift, smiling and repeating what it contained in a happy and warm voice.

“Oh! I love snakes!” she said enthusiastically as that truck rolled up.

“Are you mad?” asked Ant McPartlin by way of reply.

A couple of minutes later, faced with another truck, she cooed: “I love rats! They’re just like lovely, cuddly hamsters!”

Now maybe – unusually – she does like these creatures that slithered and scampered over her, but I think she was actually re-programming her mind to make the ordeal less scarey and more bearable.

I tried a similar thing, thanks to advice from an NLP coach, when I had to fly for business earlier this year. To ME, flying was a prospect as bad as ANY bush tucker trial.

I am terrified of flying and had not boarded a plane since well before 9/11. I couldn’t imagine how I was going to get through the 90-minute flight. He advised me to imagine I was playing the part of someone who loved flying. So I slapped a huge smile on my face and constantly repeated in my mind “I LOVE flying. I can’t wait to get on this plane I’m going to love every second of it”.

And it was OK. Really. The fear factor left me.

It’s like the song from The King and I, says: “Make believe you’re brave, and the trick will take you far. You may be as brave as you make believe you are”.

Your next business day might not involve being submerged in trucks of rats and slime – but there’s always some sort of obstacle, or an unwanted task to be tackled.

Next time, try tackling it with a smile on you face  and fill you mind with POSITIVE phrases about it. Don’t ever even THINK negative statements beginning: “I don’t…”, “I can’t…” or “I hate….” and see what a difference it makes.

Elaine Pritchard is a freelance writer and also acts with Burton’s Little Theatre Company