7 Steps To Attitude Change

If you want to build and maintain a positive attitude, you need to consciously practice the following steps:

Step 1: CHANGE FOCUS, LOOK FOR THE POSITIVE: You need to become a seeker of good. You need to focus on the positive in your life. Start looking for what is right in a person or situation instead of looking for what is wrong. Because of our conditioning, most of us are so attuned to finding fault and looking for what is wrong that we often forget to see the positive picture.

    What is your focus? Search for the gold. If you are looking for what is wrong with people or with things, you will find many faults. What are we looking for? Gold or Dirt? Even in paradise, faults finders will find faults. Most people find what they are looking for.

Step 2: MAKE A HABIT OF DOING IT NOW: We have all procrastinated at some time in our lives. I know I have, only to have regretted it later. Procrastination leads to a negative attitude. The habit of procrastination fatigues you more than the effort it takes to do it.

    A completed task is fulfilling and energizing; an incomplete task drains energy. If you want to build and maintain a positive attitude, get into the habit of living in the present and doing it now.

   If you want to build a positive attitude, learn the phrase,"do it now" and stop the habit of procrastination.

   Never leave till tomorrow, which you can do today.

                                                                         - Benjamin Franklin

Step 3: DEVELOP AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE: Count your blessings, not your troubles. Take time to smell the roses. It is not uncommon to hear that someone, because of an accident, became blind or paralyzed, but won a million dollars in a settlement. How many of us would like to trade places with that person? Not many. We are so focused on complaining about things we do not have that we lose sight of the things we have. There is a lot to be thankful for.

   When I say count your blessings, not your troubles, I don't mean that you should become complacency. If complacence was the message you got, then I would be guilty of faulty communication and you of selective listening.

  

Step 4: BUILD A POSITIVE SELF-ESTEEM: Self-esteem is the way we feel about ourselves. When we feel  good within, our performance goes up and our relationships improve both at home and at work. The world looks nicer. What could be the reason? Because there is a direct correlation between our feelings and behavior.

Step 5: STAY AWAY FROM NEGATIVE INFLUENCES: Impressionable minds get influenced by adult behavior and the media. Peer pressure affects not only children and teenagers, it is also prevalent in adults. It shows a lack of self-esteem when people do not have the courage to say "No, thank you." and stay away from negative influences.

   Don't let negative people drag you down. Remember that a person's character is not only judged by the company they keep but also by the company they avoid.

Step 6: LEARN TO LIKE THE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE: 

      Start by doing what is necessary, then  what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

                                                                                                        -St. Francis of Assisi

Some things needs to be done whether we like them or not; for example, mothers caring for their young. This may not always be fun, and may even be painful. But if we learn to like the task, the impossible becomes possible.

Step 7: START YOUR DAY WITH SOMETHING POSITIVE: Read or listen to something positive first thing in the morning. After a good night's sleep we are relaxed and our subconscious is receptive. It sets the tone for the day, and puts us in the right frame of mind to make the day a positive day. in order to bring about change, we need to make a conscious effort and be committed to make positive thoughts and behavior  part of our lives. Practice having positive thoughts and behavior daily until they become a habit.