Attitude – It’s All In How You Look At It
Good days can be hard to come by. At times, it can seem like all we get are, at best, sub par days. There isn’t always a lot we can do to avoid bad days. Things happen that are out of our control ALL THE TIME. We can keep having rough days or we can choose to look at things differently.
When I wake up in the morning, I can think about how much I don’t want to get out of bed or I can think of it as a chance to do better than the day before. I can complain about every little thing that goes wrong in my day or I can choose to focus on the good things that often go unnoticed. It really is a choice and we make it every day without thinking about it.
I encourage you to try some of the ideas below to help you change the way you see your day. And hopefully, most of your days will turn into good ones.
- Think Good Thoughts. Wake up an stop any negative thought that pops into your head and swap it with a good thought. Maybe it’s that you get another chance at something that didn’t go well the day before. Or just tell yourself, “today is going to be a good day”!
- Focus on the good things and let the bad slide. Often we are quick to complain about anything that goes wrong during the day. Then we dwell on them and collect the bad all day long. Not only does this bring us down but it will also bring down the people around you. Instead, spend your time thinking about the good things that happen throughout your day. These are things we usually take for granted and don’t get a second thought. CHANGE THIS! Focus on the beautiful day, a good hair day, that someone held the door for you, or that it is one day closer to the weekend. Whatever little thing make you happy, think about that.
- Go outside. Exercise. Spend time with positive people. All of these things will help you to have a better attitude. The fresh air and sun (if you are lucky) will instantly make you feel a little better. Exercise releases happy chemicals (and makes our clothes fit better which makes me happy). And people who already look on the bright side of things are contagious. Do all three of these things often!
- Change your perspective of a situation. Every year there is a job on my family’s farm that nobody likes. NOBODY. We used to dread it. Complain about it. There were even tears shed at times. The thing is, us doing this job was why people came to our farm. There was no getting out of it. One year, I decided to meet this job head on and embrace it. Instead of dreading it, I prepared for it. Instead of complaining I started off welcoming everyone to day 1, reminding them that it was one day closer to the end. Every minute was one minute closer to quitting time. Instead of focusing on the undesirable task, I talked to the people around me or listened to podcasts/music. I actually asked for a harder job so the time would go faster! The job was still the same job it had been for years but that year, I wasn’t miserable. That year I was proud of what we had done. Every year since I have approach that job and every other job the same way. If there is something you don’t enjoy but still have to do, don’t drag it out and complain. Attack it head on and figure out how to make the best of it. I promise, the time will go faster and you will be proud of the way you handled the situation.
- Plan things to look forward to. When you have something that makes you happy to look forward to then you will have something to replace your negative thoughts. When you mind starts to head in a negative direction, stop and think about what you are looking forward to. The point is to stop the habit of negative thinking and replace it with positive thinking. It will literally change your brain chemistry. And after awhile thinking positively will become a habit.
