You might THINK you have a positive attitude but if you are stressed, overwhelmed or feeling a bit burned out for more than a couple of days, then your head is most likely spending a little too much time with your gremlins.
Your attitude determines your altitude in life and business.
Plain and simple if your attitude sucks then you will always have a difficult time putting your energy into the right activities. Your performance will suffer. And your revenues will quickly take a nose dive.
A winning attitude is more than being a “glass half full” kind of person. It’s about being able to stop the spinning of negative thoughts that cloud your judgment. Every entrepreneur I know will tell you their greatest enemy can be found right between their ears – their brain.
Here’s how to tell if your attitude is in the gutter:
- When you have a win you focus on all the things you still have not accomplished.
- You can’t sleep well at night (or you wake up very early) because you can’t stop thinking about all the things on your to-do list.
- When someone gives you negative feedback you take it to heart and get depressed. It takes days to climb out of your bad mood.
- When you get together with friends you spend a fair amount of time talking about what’s NOT working, who you don’t like and why there are so many problems in the world.
- You’ve raised your voice, sent an “angry email” or tried to blame someone else for a problem within the last 2 weeks.
- You have started to feel desperate or hopeless about your business or a situation.
- When you hire someone or invest in your own personal development, you get very attached to things going your way. You often leave these situations feeling taken advantage or as if it was a waste of time.
So if your attitude is down in the dumps, how can you turn it around if things still feel challenging?
First off, life is full of challenges and one of the greatest gifts we have is the ability to CHOOSE our attitude regardless of the situation. Viktor Frankl, a holocaust survivor, wrote in his book Man’s Search for Meaning, “the greatest gift man has is to choose one’s attitude despite his circumstances.” If choosing a positive attitude can help a man survive a concentration camp I think it’s an important key to anyone’s success.
- Stop being a problem solver. Many people wrap their identity around solving problems. Watch for signs that you “need” a problem to fix to feel good about yourself. Focus instead on aligning with the right opportunities so your mind can shift into a positive gear.
- Focus on the little wins. It’s easy to slip into the negative thought patterns if you focus on the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Remember the little things that you’ve accomplished. Little wins add up to big shifts forward.
- Choose a better meaning. Our attitude often reflects the meaning WE give a situation. If you are being honest, isn’t there usually a 100 different meanings we can make up about life? So why not give ourselves an altitude adjustment by making a situation mean something good for a change. Even if the situation sucks – find at least one positive thing that could possibly come out of it and you’ll notice a shift in your feelings too.
- Meditate or listen to a positive audio program. Start your day with the right thinking by getting your mind into a positive space. By taking charge of your thoughts early in the day you’ll notice your attitude is on a good roll.
- Reflect on an affirmation or success mantra to move your thoughts pack to possibility thinking. When situations challenge you, have a saying or affirmation that helps you remember the way you want to handle life – grace, ease, positive mindset!
- Get a positive support system. When you are having one of those days, you’ll be able to turn your attitude around faster if you have someone who can remind you about a positive focus. Hire a coach or turn to a friend who has the attitude you desire.
Your attitude is your responsibility. It’s always a choice – do I choose to focus on the problem or do I choose to stay positive so that I can achieve my goals faster? Choose to focus on the thoughts, opportunities and ideas that will help you soar!