A positive mental attitude can make the difference between an average and a great life.
Your attitude shapes how you feel every day. And when you often feel great about yourself, you experience a higher quality of life. Pretty straightforward.
Not only will you feel better about yourself, but you affect others with your attitude too. Having a positive mental attitude makes people want to be around you.
And that opens many new doors and possibilities for you too.
But I guess this isn’t new information. We all know that one person who always radiates positive energy. And we are all happier for it.
So why do so many get stuck with negativity?
Because developing a positive mental attitude is a habit. And like any habit, building it takes some conscious effort and a bit of time.
But worth the effort.
And once you develop a positive mental attitude, it’s much easier to maintain. It allows you to reap all the benefits and enjoy a higher quality of life.
In this article, we go over 7 tips that helped me to develop a more positive attitude towards life.
So let’s dive in!
Tip 1: Everyone Sucks
Some words of encouragement to kick-off this first tip. Everyone sucks at most stuff in life. Even the people you admire suck at most things.
How is this a positive message?
It allows you to make mistakes and be imperfect.
Most people get stuck in life because they’re too afraid to fail. And if you’re afraid to fail, it becomes terrifying to take action and move forward.
But you don’t have to do everything right in life. And if you think you should, you place a big unnecessary burden on yourself.
Because guess who are the most successful people in this world?
Those who make more mistakes than 99% of the population. Here are a few:
- Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb after a huge number of failures.
- Walt Disney faced many rejections with his now-famous characters, like Mickey Mouse. He then set out to create the biggest theme park you know today.
- Arianna Huffington was also rejected by more than 36 publishers before succeeding.
It takes courage but you can do it too.
Whatever you choose to do, do it the very best you can. And when mistakes happen, don’t let those get the better of you. Because mistakes are your greatest opportunities to learn.
This shift in perspective helps you to develop a positive mental attitude.
Tip 2: Live with Intent
Without a clear focus and direction, it’s challenging to keep a positive mental attitude. And the reason is simple.
Without a purposeful direction, noise and distraction can more easily get a hold of you. And unfortunately, the negative noises are often louder than the positive ones.
You notice this when you start to become irritated by the small stuff.
When you live your life with intent, you focus your energy on a specific goal. And with such focus, you no longer become frustrated by the small stuff. After all, you’re on a bigger mission.
Having a clear direction in your life helps you to stay positive.
A great start is doing everything the best way you can. Are you stocking the shelves at the supermarket? Become the best stock clerk you know. Working in a call center? Try to become the best worker over there and help people to the best of your abilities.
No matter what you do, bring your best self to the situation.
Then, also set out goals for yourself. Or better yet, develop a bigger purpose for yourself. One that you can take action upon for years.
This helps you to feel much better about yourself. And that can turn into more success. And both those things come with many other benefits too.
Tip 3: Love Yourself
The most important relationship is the one with yourself. If that relationship is poor, no other relationship will make it better.
Yet, so many people seek relationships with others as their primary source for love and happiness.
Worse, they then base their self-worth on that other person’s validation. It’s a recipe for disaster. Not even to mention the burden you place on the other person.
Relationships reflect and amplify your inner world.
And when you feel great about yourself, you radiate positive energy. Instead of seeking external validation, you allow yourself to give and receive the gift of true love. And this enlightens your relationship in many ways.
So how do you start loving yourself?
First, realize that life isn’t so serious. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Try the best you can and learn from your mistakes.
Do you want a very practical tip?
What do most people do when they feel great about themselves?
They laugh about their mistakes. They smile a lot.
So why not reverse this pattern?
Start smiling more often.
To yourself in the mirror, when you’re walking on the street, and to strangers when they walk by.
It sounds simple but it’s easy to forget. Yet, science shows that the act of smiling makes us happier.
Here’s another very simple and small, yet practical tip.
And that is to make up your bed in the morning. That small victory kick-starts your day, makes you feel great and motivates you to be your best self.
Tip 4: Positive Thinking
Thoughts are chaotic by nature. They come in various forms and often come and go as they please. And if you identify with the endless stream of thoughts, you’re guaranteed to experience a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
That’s because your thoughts generate your feelings. And how you feel most of the time determines how you view the quality of your life experience.
That’s why yogis meditate so much. They seek to go beyond the mind’s perspective and experience stillness. They seek to regain control over their mind through the stillness of meditation.
But let’s assume that you’re not a yogi, what should you do?
Well, meditation still benefits you even if you don’t practice it for hours every day. But I want to give you some other tools too.
- Make positivity part of your routine. A practice of gratitude can help with that. Every morning, write down 3 things that you’re grateful for.
- Achieve a quick win in the morning. What’s the smallest thing you can do to set yourself up for success? What about making up your bed?
- See yourself from a different point of view. This one needs some explanation:
When you’re first practicing to become a master of your inner psychology, it’s tough. And the moments that demand the most self-control, are also the most challenging times.
To achieve this goal of self-control, you should improve your self-awareness first. Start doing this by reflecting on challenging situations to review what happened.
Why did you react the way you did in that conversation? Why triggered your behavior? And how could you have reacted differently?
When you self-reflect, it’s easy to view the experience with a new perspective. After all, your emotions aren’t fired up when you self-reflect. And that helps you to become self-aware and eventually, master self-control.
If you want to practice this often, both meditation and journaling are great tools to do so. Yes, these tools take time, consistency, and patience. But it’s the most powerful way to develop a positive mental attitude.
Tip 5: Events Do Not Define Your Reality
Two people can go through the same experience and feel very different about it.
How is that possible?
What matters isn’t so much the experience but more so what you make of it. The meaning you give to what you’ve experienced with your senses determines how you feel.
And the meaning you give to events is with your control.
It’s an easy concept to understand but a tough one to master.
Even though you’re not in control over what happens to you, you’re in control over how you feel about it. And you’re in control over what happens next.
Knowing this doesn’t make you a master in it though.
It takes responsibility and courage to see things from a different perspective. But when you go through the effort, magic happens.
That magic is best described in the story of Victor Frankl.
Victor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist who got caught by the Nazis in the second world war. Separated from his wife and children, whom he would never see again, he spent three years in several concentration camps.
Despite Frankl’s situation, he was able to find meaning in it. Better yet, he was able to experience more freedom than his captors.
How is that possible?
Because your inner world reflects your outer world. Victor was able to transcend his suffering into a meaningful experience. And though his captors had more physical freedom, mentally they were suffering too.
If you want to learn more about that story, I recommend you read: Man’s Search for Meaning.
Tip 6: Be Kind to Others
The advice is simple: kindness to others helps you to develop a positive mental attitude.
Let’s illustrate this with an example.
Imagine that you’re a bit in a rush on the freeway. In front of you, a truck is overtaking another truck and you’ve to slow down because of it.
For some people, this is the most annoying thing. They become very agitated with the situation.
But what’s happening here?
You’re polluting your mind with frustration and negativity. You’re making yourself feel worse and what for?
Not even to mention what happens if you bring this attitude to people around you. How will others feel about you if you unleash your frustrations? And how will that affect you again in return?
Can we agree that this isn’t a great strategy for a better and more positive mental attitude?
Kindness always wins. Even if other people aren’t always as nice as they could. Because showing kindness to others isn’t only for them, it’s for yourself too.
Kindness is a key component of a positive mental attitude.
Tip 7: Focus on the Journey Ahead
Everyone experiences tough moments. Moments when people treat you in unfair ways. But why take this experience home with you and sit on it for days or weeks?
I see this around me too often.
They carry a specific moment they viewed as negative for much longer than they should. Even when they’re in bed making love, they still bring up that specific moment.
Why give it so much power over you?
Stop dwelling about the past. It has happened. Take appropriate action and move forward. Focus on the journey that lies ahead of you.
What do you want to achieve in your life?
This often relates to what we discussed in tip 2: intentional living.
Having a future focus helps you to focus your energy. It forces you to shift your focus and take action. And this helps you to stop being a victim of your past.
It’s one of the reasons why having a purpose in your life has become more popular over the past few years. A bigger purpose helps you to transform your past into meaningful experiences.
If you have no idea where to start, I recommend that you do two things:
- Set small daily goals. What could you achieve today that makes your day great?
- Take your time to explore yourself. And once you’re more self-aware, set a bigger purpose or mission for your life.
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude
I’ve to admit that most of these tips sound easy in theory. But there’s no magic button to switch to a positive mental attitude. It does take some time and practice to adopt a growth mindset.
Reading this article once won’t help you to achieve a positive mental attitude. That’s why I recommend you save this article to your bookmarks and come back to it sometimes.
If you do that and also practice the tips in this article, you’re guaranteed to think and feel more positive.
Developing a positive mental attitude is a journey worth pursuing.
If you’ve got a friend who struggles with a negative mental attitude, please share this article with them. Only together can we make this world a better place.