I talk a lot about the power of attitude. That’s because our attitude at any one time influences how we perceive situations and people. When we sink into a negative way of thinking we tend to view people as disagreeable, or situations as being hard, or our work as being unpleasant or overwhelming. From this place of negativity, our attitude becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. People tend to easily annoy us, life seems to present us with lots of difficulties and frustrations, and we tend to hate our work and view it only as a paycheck so we can pay our bills. This negative attitude can make life a drudge. Not fun at all!
Case in point: I had two friends. Both were laid off from their prospective employers with a generous severance. Both went back to school to re-invent themselves. One thought everything would be easy. When it got challenging, she became discouraged, felt sorry for herself, blamed everyone else but herself, and sank into negativity and depression. She finally gave up, never amounting to anything.
The second person followed a passion and gave it her all. When things got tough, she kept at it and held to her larger vision. She stayed positive. When negative thoughts and fears started to get her down, she reached out for help, sought encouragement from her friends and found mentors. Every step of the way she kept improving her skills and finding ways to overcome the challenges. Did it ever get super easy and effortless? No! But because she stayed positive and believed in herself, she was able to not only achieve her goal, but she excelled in general, achieving more than she had ever dreamed of.
Both of these people had the same advantages, opportunities, and motivation. They even had similar support systems. The difference is that the first person folded when faced with the inevitable challenges of doing something new. Instead of staying positive and seeking solutions, she became discouraged and fell into negative thinking, thus realizing her worst fears.
The second believed in herself and was passionate about her goal. She didn’t let the challenges get her down, but kept focusing on solutions. In the end, her positive attitude and willingness to meet and overcome the challenges propelled her to success.
The take-away from the tale of my two friends is that your attitude can literally lead to your success or failure. It can color your perspective of life, making it seem like either hard work and struggle, or challenging but full of opportunities and fulfillment.
Here are five tips for maintaining a positive attitude.
- Make a list of 5 things that you feel proud about achieving in your life.
- Make a list of 5 things that make you smile, or make you feel good just thinking about them. (For me it’s my grandchildren.)
- When you start to have negative thoughts or feelings, review both lists and remember the feelings of pride you have in your achievements. Allow yourself to remember and smile about the things that make you feel good.
- Reach out to someone who will offer you words of support, reassurance, and encouragement.
- Reach out to someone who can give you the right advice about a particular challenge. People love to help. It makes them feel important.