Top 7 Things to Do to Improve Your Attitude


  1. Read something inspiring every day. When you get up in the morning, before you do anything else, spend 15 minutes reading something motivational, something enlightening. Do the same thing at night for 15 minutes before you go to bed.

  2. Find a quote that really means something to you (maybe one in this book). Copy it or cut it out and hang it on your wall where you can see it every day. A short quote can take you a million miles.

  3. Take an honest look at the people around you. What kinds of attitude do they bring to the table? Do they pump you up or bring you down? Everyone is entitled to a bad attitude now and again—but if the people you know are constantly angry, bitter, or scared—it might be time to find yourself a new crowd. Here's an idea I heard from one of my seminar attendees. Every 30 days he makes a list of the people with whom he's spent the most time over the past month. Next to each name he puts a plus (+) if the person has been a mentor, role model, or has uplifted him in any way. Others on the list may not have much of an influence, either positive or negative, and beside those names he puts a 0. Then there are people who have negative attitudes, people he feels pull him down. He puts a minus (-) sign beside those names. After the list is made, he stops spending time with anyone who is in the "negative" category. Think about the people in your life, and make a positive, neutral, or negative list for yourself. It may be difficult to stop spending time with some of the negative people on your list, especially if they're family members. However, the less time you spend with them, the better off you'll be.

  4. When you're going through a bad time, think about others who have gone through adversity and made it out the other side. Count your blessings, and think about others who have turned bad attitudes around. I love to watch inspiring movies about people who did not give up even though they had to fight against heavy odds. Those people claimed their right to own a positive attitude no matter what the circumstance, and in the end were able to reap their rewards.

  5. Be selective about the books and magazines you read, the shows and movies you watch, and the tapes you listen to. We live in a world of high content; information comes at us from every possible medium. Remember, though, that just as inspiring movies can improve your attitude, too much negative content can have the opposite impact. Nothing determines your attitude—for good or bad—more than the environment with which you choose to surround yourself.

  6. Find attitude mentors, people you can call for an infusion of excitement and enthusiasm. One of my attitude mentors is Don Fink, the Iron Man competitor. He is now eight minutes away from the world record Iron Man in his age group. He trains eight hours a day. He energizes me. He definitely teaches me what having a positive attitude can do for you. Find people you know who also exhibit that kind of attitude and catch it from them.

  7. Change your focus. Stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about those around you. Mark Twain once said, "If you want to cheer yourself up, cheer up everyone around you." Be of service to others. Help somebody else with no expectations of getting anything back. Help move someone else's achievements forward and your attitude will lift itself.

    We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of his freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

    —Victor E. Frankl,
    Man's Search for Meaning

I Dare You...

When you're feeling that your attitude can use some pumping up, take action using these five strategies:

  1. Say hello to the next 10 people you see, whether you know them or not. Give them a cheery, "Hey, how're you doing?" and see what happens. Some people may look at you oddly or not respond at all. But most people will smile and greet you just as cheerfully. Try this with 10 people and use it as proof that your world is a mirror: What you send out, you get back. As Ghandi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

  2. Be yourself. Whether you're going for a job interview or a blind date, to a business meeting or dinner with friends, forget about what others "might" think, how you "should" act or what you "should" say. If you are intimidated by the person or people you're going to meet, remember that they are people just like everyone else. They have their own faults and deficiencies. The better your attitude, the more comfortable you are with yourself, the greater your chances of making a good impression. Have faith that being yourself is enough.

  3. Turn other people's attitudes around—or turn and walk away. If someone you know is exhibiting a negative attitude, see what you can do to change it. Try using humor. Tell a joke or a funny story. Recommend a tape or CD of a comedian you like. It might be enough just to listen to what the other person has to say without being critical or judgmental. If none of these strategies work, it may be time for you to walk away. Some people enjoy the drama they create for themselves by being constantly negative. If that's the case, hang on to your own positive attitude and don't let the other person drag you down. Keep in mind these words of George Washington, the founding father of the United States, "Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for 'tis better to be alone than to be in bad company."

    Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure.

    —Norman Vincent Peale,
    clergyman and writer

  4. Approach each day creatively. Try something new at least once a day. It doesn't have to be anything major. Last Memorial Day I was invited to my cousin's house for a barbecue. The last thing I wanted to do was spend hours in traffic. So I decided to take a different route; I traveled the back roads instead of the highway. My family and I enjoyed the scenery, and there was hardly any traffic. A simple change in route changed our whole day. When we do the same old thing the same old way for too long, we stagnate, and stagnation fosters bad attitudes. Even a small disruption in the routine can create a fresh approach and a new way of looking at things.

  5. Reverse your expectations. Often our expectations determine the outcome of events before they happen. We think that people will not be friendly, no one will talk to us, or it will be boring. If that's what you think, you will likely close yourself off to the good things that may be happening. So reverse your expectations; tell yourself that you will be the first to make conversation, and that you will find something interesting to talk about with at least two people. All you have to do is ask people about themselves. Everyone loves to talk about things that interest them, and we all love people who will listen to us.




Diamond Power. Gems of Wisdom From America's Greatest Marketer
Diamond Power: Gems of Wisdom from Americas Greatest Marketer
ISBN: 1564146987
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 207
Authors: Barry Farber

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net