Your attitude towards life and yourself plays a tremendous role in your overall happiness.
There are multiple options in life. You have the option to be negative about yourself, the world and the people around you. You have the option to take things for granted and not appreciate the people in your life. There are always options to desire more, find flaws within the things and people in your own life or to be the victim in situations that aren’t working for you. Alternatively, you have the option to be appreciative of the people and things in your life. You can see the positives in your job, family, loved ones, friendships and other things happening in your life. You could realize that there are things you can change right now to make your situation better, because ultimately you are the one who has control of your attitude.
Why exactly is attitude important in your daily life? What is the difference between approaching life with a bitter and negative attitude, or being positive even when life is challenging and tough?
- Your contentment with work increases. A positive attitude doesn’t mean living in denial. You might not be happy with many things about your job that could include low pay, not getting along well with your coworkers, feeling stuck, not being rewarded for your hard work and so forth. A positive attitude doesn’t mean that you deny that these things are happening or tell yourself that you are happy about something that isn’t working for you. A positive attitude allows you to be appreciative that you have a job right now and a consistent paycheck. A good attitude allows you to realize that this job isn’t permanent and things can and will change one day in your career, but right now, you need to make the best of the situation and not allow your attitude about work to create dissatisfaction within your own life or worse, result in you performing badly in your job which can have a negative impact when searching for other jobs.
- Your personal relationships improve. A negative attitude can have a negative impact on the relationships in your life. Take a moment to think about your relationships. Do you struggle to maintain friendships? Are you always finding flaws within the people you are dating or your partner? Do you generally not get along with others such as your coworkers, peers or family members? You may not get along with everyone, but if you find that most of your relationships are negative then this can signal a change in your attitude and your approach to handling relationships.
- The relationship you have with yourself improves. Negative self-talk does nothing but sabotage your happiness. You are guaranteed to feel unhappy about life if you treat yourself with disrespect, hatred and anger.
Changing your attitude doesn’t happen overnight and will take time and patience. Below are some tips to help you form a better attitude towards life
Be appreciative of the many good things in your life. A negative attitude chooses to not focus on the good things in life. There are probably good things happening for you right now such as the love and support from your family or friends, being able to enjoy the nature around you or the fact that you are alive today. Taking note of the things that are going great in your life, no matter how small, will help you form a good attitude about life.
Be patient. Give yourself time. Forming a positive attitude about life doesn’t happen immediately and may not always be easy. There will be times where it feels like too much of a challenge to be positive, and that’s okay. Be patient with the process and give yourself time to establish a positive attitude about life.
Don’t base your happiness from external factors. There will be road bumps in almost all areas of your life. You will find struggles in your career, personal relationships, social life and with your family. And you know what? That’s okay! It’s okay because you will be okay and happy despite whatever is happening around you. Keeping a positive attitude about life is much easier when you realize that you play a huge role in your happiness. Think of it this way. You could be rich and surrounded by people who love you and still find reasons to be unhappy with a negative attitude. A positive attitude, however, can leave you feeling satisfied and at peace with life despite whatever is happening in your personal or work life.
Don’t take things personally. There will be people who respond to you negatively and others who treat you with kindness and respect. Changing the attitude of other people isn’t something you should try doing and is a futile effort. People can only change when they want to change. From working with clients, I’ve learned that people may have a bad attitude to things completely unrelated to me and might be taking out a stressful day or their anger out on me. Instead of letting someone’s negative attitude ruin my day, I do my best to respond in kindness and do the best I can right now. Surprisingly, most people tend to respond in kindness or even apologize for their curt responses when you treat them with a positive attitude. It’s best for everyone, including yourself, to not take things personally and keep a positive attitude.
Realize that even in the worst of times, things will get better. Life will always have balance. There will be good times and bad times. It’s normal for things to not be working out well in some areas of your life, and then one day everything comes together and works out great. One way to develop a positive attitude about life is to realize that if things aren’t going great right now, then eventually life will balance itself out and there will be wonderful experiences coming your way.
Ensure your actions align with your values. Just because there’s a problem in your life, doesn’t mean you need to take a backseat in your life and allow this problem to get bigger and bigger while maintaining a negative attitude. Just because the past few months have been boring, doesn’t mean that everyday should be boring forever. Work to make sure you are taking action in your life. Get in the habit of dealing with your problems in your life. Do things that keep you moving forward so that your situation can improve for the better. I have a friend who dislikes her job and feels stuck. On top of this, she’s being underpaid for the work that she does. Instead of feeling bad for herself and being negative about her career, she’s now trying to learn a completely new skill in a career that she had always found interesting for years. She’s taking an hour each day after work to learn programming, revise her resume and work on independent projects that she can showcase on her portfolio. She knows that she has a long way to go before switching careers, but because of her positive attitude she knows that she’s not stuck and things will get better.
Be kind to others and give back when you can. Working to make someone’s life better is a great way to realize how much you can offer in your life and a wonderful way to realize how powerful your attitude on life influences the people around you. Find ways to make someone’s life better such as a friend, your partner, a stranger or volunteer at a local charity. You can contribute to the community by joining a club, teaching a skill or supporting a fundraiser. Work to improve the lives of the people around you and make the world a little better. You will find it much more difficult to maintain a negative attitude when you see all the ways you can make the world a better place.