Inspiration and Life

Change That Attitude!

12 ways to improve your attitude

If you had to choose one of two ways to live your life, would you want to live it with a positive, good attitude or a negative, poor attitude? If you are one of the former, this article is for you. If you are in the latter group, read on to discover what you may be missing!

What is attitude?

Attitude is everything!

Attitude plays a significant role in what you accomplish in your job and life. But what exactly is a positive, good attitude, what can it do for you, and how does it contrast with a negative attitude?

The benefits of a positive attitude on the physiological, psychological, sociological, and emotional fronts are well known. A quick search on google will bring up more information than you could digest in a lifetime.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Winston Churchill (1874–1965)

The definition of attitude is:

attitude (noun) — a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person’s behavior. Oxford Languages

The word itself comes from Latin:

Origin — from Italian attitudine’ fitness, posture’, from late Latin aptitudo, from aptus ‘fit’. Oxford Languages

It is easy to discern a person’s attitude by the words they speak, how they carry themselves, and their behaviors. Would you rather work with someone who has a positive or negative attitude? Most prefer to work with positive people, not those who pull them down.

As a pragmatist, I take this one step further and prefer being around those with a positive attitude grounded in reality. Thankfully, people with an over-the-top pie-in-the-sky, everything’s perfect, over-optimistic attitude are in the minority!

A quick attitude check

Doing a quick attitude check any time of the day is easy. While the measurement is entirely subjective, that is okay. It’s you measuring yourself, after all! It is helpful to stop occasionally and take a spot measurement. Think of it as taking your temperature or blood pressure.

Using a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 = negative and 10 = positive, where are you now? I’m around eight now and feeling good about publishing this article!

Where do you think you are most often on an average day? Thinking about the past week, I have hoovered around five to six, occasionally peaking in the high eights.

Whenever the thought of your attitude comes up, write down your number. If you want to take it a step further, write a few words about why you feel where you are.

For example, I currently feel around an eight because I hope this article will resonate with many people, helping them in their lives, which is part of my dream to help others.

Why do spot checks? To get to know yourself better. Self-awareness is a critical requirement for shifting your attitude.

Stop again at the end of this article and do an attitude check to measure where you are. Repeat this spot-checking as long as it takes to make it a habit.

“It is your attitude, more than your aptitude, that will determine your altitude.” Zig Ziglar (1926–2012)

How you can benefit

There are a significant number of benefits to maintaining a positive attitude. Its documented effects on health and well-being are many, as is the considerable influence on a person’s success.

“Know that your success is based entirely on your attitude, your commitment and self-discipline. You are the only person who can generate a new mindset.” Ellen Mensap (1965-present)

Did you know a positive attitude will reduce cardiovascular disease and is known to increase resistance to the common cold? It is also undoubtedly influential in the success of high-performing individuals. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by improving your attitude.

Following are a few benefits of gaining and maintaining a positive attitude:

• Improved health and well-being
• Higher productivity
• Greater ability to overcome obstacles
• Increased resilience
• Better relationships
• Improved social dynamics
• Greater achievement in life
• More joy and happiness
• Reduced stress
• Increased lifespan

While this list has some great benefits, I bet you can add others. Think about it. Imagine what a much-improved outlook on life can do for you! There is no limit to how good your life can be other than the limits you place on it.

Almost every benefit will show up as an improvement in behavior. After all, at the heart of practically every business and relationship problem is a behavioral issue.

“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior … [which] become your destiny.” Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948)

You can shift your attitude

What is your natural inclination when it comes to your attitude? Mine is slightly negative and can wind up at a four or less if I am not careful. Fortunately, Jane, my wife, appears to remain at a seven or more most of the time. She positively impacts my life because her great attitude keeps my negativity in check.

Most often, simply stopping, refocusing, and shifting is all I need to do to turn toward the positive. I have had many years of practice and continue to do this as often as needed. Doing so requires self-awareness, a foundational part of emotional intelligence. Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can!

“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” Oprah Winfrey (1954-present)

You will undoubtedly have far more joy and happiness with a positive attitude.

12 ways to make a shift

Let’s look at a few ideas you can work on to shift your attitude to the positive.

1. Measure — The first thing to shift your attitude is to become more self-aware. Knowing where you are at a given time is critical to making changes. Measuring your attitude on the 1 to 10 system mentioned earlier is an invaluable tool for increasing your awareness. Practice it often.
2. Journal — Many positive people I know keep a gratitude journal. Journal something you are thankful for each day. Do it for a year, and the results will amaze you. For the next 365 days, you will develop an extensive list of things for which you are grateful! Share each day with someone you care about and spread the thankfulness. Always remember, what you appreciate, appreciates!
3. Laugh — Find humor wherever you can, especially in difficult situations. Humor has a way of changing attitudes quickly. Crack an appropriate joke when the opportunity arises. It will lighten the mood and attitude of you and everyone else.
4. Celebrate — Treat yourself to something special and include a loved one. Buy flowers or a small gift, and take your spouse to dinner. Show them you care and appreciate them being in your life. You will not only improve your attitude, but you will enhance theirs as well!
5. Music — For an immediate shift, listen to uplifting music. Music that calms you. Music that brings back fond memories. Music that makes you happy.
6. Messages — Listen to positive podcasts or messages from others. Feed your mind with some of the many outstanding recordings available to build you up.
7. Mindfulness — Practice mindfulness to calm yourself. Focusing on the present moment, controlling your breathing, and acknowledging and accepting your thoughts, feelings, and sensations in your body will shift your attitude completely.
8. Failure — Change the way you view failure in your life. Look at failures as opportunities for growth. Find a valuable lesson anytime you fail, and be grateful for the learning experience.
9. Avoid — Stay away from negative people as much as you reasonably can. I have one family member who is exceptionally negative about life and everything else. Since she is family, I cannot completely avoid her, but I control how often I speak to and see her. As our conversations start to go negative, which is almost always, I let her know I just wanted to check on her and will call back later. She gets the hint but seems to be very forgetful. As a result, our conversations get shorter all the time.
10. Gossip — Gossip is an area filled with negativity. Do not participate in gossip. No good comes from talking about others behind their back. It eases the mind greatly and improves your attitude when you avoid gossip. The basic rule is never to say something behind someone’s back that you wouldn’t say to their face.
11. News — Unless you want to fill your head with the news’s negative droning, turn it off and stop buying the newspaper! Did you know as much as 90% of media reporting is negative? Why allow anything like that near your ears, eyes, or thoughts?
12. Thoughts — Don’t allow anything, even your thoughts, to take you to the negative. Let go of and rid yourself of self-defeating thinking and negative self-talk. Where there is a will, there is a way to do this. Seek a coach, therapist, or psychologist if needed.

“Virtually nothing on earth can stop a person with a positive attitude who has his goal clearly in sight.” Denis Waitley (1933-present)

Final thoughts

The bottom line of shifting your attitude to become more positive is you will achieve more, be happier, and significantly improve your life. A positive attitude will impact your behaviors for good. Imagine shifting the way you carry yourself and act when with others. When done with positivity, it will benefit everyone with whom you interact.

You owe it to yourself to shift to a more positive attitude. You also owe it to everyone you care about and the future you create!

“Attitude is a way of life. We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day.” Puneet Sharma (1987-present)

I challenge you to choose a good attitude every day. You can do it if you want!

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Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION

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