I recently attended a conference in Nashville and had the privilege to listen to an exceptional speaker, Christine Cashen. One of the things she spoke about was having a positive attitude, not only at work, but everywhere – even on bad days. It got me thinking about how often our attitudes determine the outcome of our days. Think about it – if you’re already in a bad mood, chances are, anything else that doesn’t work in your favor will make your mood even worse.
To help you start out each day on a positive note, try following some of these tips.
Pretend you’re happy. According to Abraham Lincoln, “most people are about as happy as they decide to be.” So if you wake up in the morning and you know it’s going to be one of those days – choose not to let that ruin your attitude. Tell yourself that you’re in a great mood and thankful to be alive. Look yourself in the mirror and say, “This is going to be a great day.” Say it all day until you actually believe it. Be enthusiastic about it – after all, every day you wake up is a gift! Eventually, all that enthusiasm – even if it starts out forced – will turn your negative attitude into a positive one.
Add humor to your day. Laughter is truly the best medicine, and people who can find humor in any situation are usually pretty positive individuals. If someone cuts you off on your drive into work, imagine them driving the Oscar Mayer Wiener mobile and wearing one of those funny hats instead. Trying to find humor in things will help relieve stress and turn your frown into a smile.
Prioritize your worries. Many people spend hours worrying about things that can’t be changed or aren’t really that important. If a mistake has been made that can’t be reversed, accept it, and move on. Make sure you spend your time and energy on things you can control. This will not only help eliminate unnecessary stress in your life, but it will also make you feel better about the things you can accomplish.
Take a break. If you find yourself spiraling downwards into despair, take a break. Whether it’s 10 minutes or an hour, do whatever you need to do to remove yourself from the situation that’s causing you to have a bad attitude. Once you take a step back from the situation, you might just find the solution to the problem that was causing you such turmoil in the first place.
Remind yourself of positive things. Everyone should have a little box on their desk with nice thoughts or sweet comments written by friends or family. When you start feeling low, simply pull out a piece of paper and read its contents. A nice comment or a happy thought will put a smile on your face and remind you what really matters.
Remember, you’re the only person that can control your attitude; you can’t depend on someone else to make things better. So stay positive, and when you feel yourself getting down, try using these tips.
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Posted by: lily | February 26, 2008 at 12:22 AM
I loved this site it made me believe in myself before i went to work the next day so Thank you Express it really helped
Posted by: Rusty Rowland | February 28, 2008 at 03:51 AM
Rusty - Thank you for reading our blog. We are really glad you enjoy our posts. Hopefully it encourages, motivates and inspires all of us to improve our lives.
Jennifer
Posted by: Jennifer | February 28, 2008 at 08:22 AM
This is so true. I think a lot of people start their day off on a bad start which ruins their whole day. This also can put everyone around them in a bad mood.
Posted by: mischelle | March 11, 2008 at 06:44 PM
after reading these points i feel like im better equipd for those stressful days
Posted by: robert recio | April 22, 2010 at 09:15 PM