Being active and proactive is part of a positive mindset. There is not one medical practitioner out there that is going to tell you that being negative is good for your health. So let's get active!

Knowing where to start is the hard thing. Do you start big or small? Personal or global? Do you focus on the cause or the cure or the treatment or the care? Do you go out on your own or join a group?

The sections below offer information that will help you decide what is the best path for you. I don't know which way you will take, but I do know that when you do do something, anything, you will feel much better for it!

For most people the first step in getting active with issue they are passionate about is joining a group.

Groups can be found easily in the internet. Putting "Disease name group" into a search engine will more than likely bring up hundreds of hits. Being the proactive person you are, you will visit a few of them, maybe join up and add your input.

Remember that new people to the group will be feeling lost and alone, and will want to talk about feeling lost and alone. Make them feel welcome! Tell them about your own experiences if it seems OK (don't be pushing your own agenda on others!) and be "there" for those that need it.

Keep in mind though, you are always your first priority. Do not stretch yourself so thin that you cannot give what you need to yourself, because you gave it all to others.

And beware, some groups can become group pity pots. You are a positive person! If you feel that the tone of the group is too negative, then you can try posting positive information and support type messages.

Or you can start your own group. This is a great activity for those people that have a bit of time, a lot of energy, and really want to make a positive statement in their area of interest. It is also soemthing you can add to your resume!

Starting a group can be a bit tricky. Like anything on the internet, you might have the best looking group in the world, but if no one knows it exists then it won't reach its full potential. A bit further down we talk about promoting, and if you are starting a group that will be an invaluable section to read.

There are several options for starting your own group. You can use one of the large group providing types sites like Yahoo and MSN. You can create a website forum for your site. You can open an IRC chatroom.

The secret of a good group is participation. Post early, often and with encouragement to others. How you post will be the footprint for how others will post. Keeping it positive and encouraging will help others see that they can be just like you. And we need more people just like you!

If you start a group it doesn't mean you have to leave all your other groups, just make sure you are putting the most of your effort into your own. Especially in the early days when the membership momentum has not yet been established.

Already run a group? Add it to the Plexo list below so people get to hear about it!

Promotion of your cause can be a tricky one. No one likes an evangelist rubbing their cause/disease into their face ewwww. Most people though, do like good relevant information, intersting conversation and are curious about how others are living in the same or similar situations.

Promotion for your cause is best done on a personal level. People will want to know about YOU. If you don't want them to know about YOU then find someone who can be the model for your cause. But I wouldn't be selling yourself short, YOU are most intimately familiar with your cause, and YOU are the best to talk about it.

Promotion can be done in a gazillion ways and I will be periodically adding, and linking to, great promotional ideas. The internet has 1.08 BILLION users, and there is a percentage of those that want, and need, to know about your cause. Getting to them can be as simple as starting a group or a blog, to as complicated as starting a full blown publicity campaign with balloons and released doves!

So bookmark this lens and come back soon to check out the added promotional ideas!