Some time ago, there was a man on the plane sitting next to me who looked rather down. So I greeted him with a cheerful “How are you?”
“OK,” he said. Then he asked, somewhat perfunctorily, “How are you?”
“Great!” I answered.
The man responded by saying, “You sound too cheerful for me. In fact, you make me tired just listening to you.”
I thought that was the end of the conversation and it was for a few minutes. Then he asked what I did for a living. I explained I was an author and motivational speaker. Then, right out of nowhere he said, “Tell me something. Why does everything go wrong for me?”
I certainly didn’t know. I had never seen the man before. So I replied, “Got me. Perhaps if you’ll talk for a few minutes, we can figure it out.”
For the next thirty minutes he went on and on about all his difficulties. And he repeated the same negative thoughts over and over. I was definitely getting tired listening to him.
Then all of a sudden the man exclaimed, “Hold it! Hold it! I know why everything goes wrong for me. It just came to me. Everything goes wrong for me because I’m wrong. I think wrong, speak wrong, and act wrong. I’m just too negative all the time.”
“That’s probably true,” I said. So we spent the next few minutes talking about how he could get rid of his negative attitude. He seemed extremely willing to give my advice a try.
I assume you’re the same way. You want to give my advice a try. That’s why you read my Tuesday Tips. And that’s why hundreds of companies have hired me to deliver my live in-person or virtual program on UP Your Attitude.
Quite honestly, there is nothing you can do to start off 2021 in better shape than to have a winning positive attitude. So here’s a little advice on what you can do to dramatically improve your attitude.
Quite honestly, there is nothing you can do to start off 2021 in better shape than to have a winning positive attitude. So here’s a little advice on what you can do to dramatically improve your attitude.
► 1. Recognize the critical importance of attitude.
Few things in life are more valuable than your attitude. Your emotional health, your relational stability, your professional achievements, in fact, just about everything is rooted in your attitude.
As motivational author James Allen wrote, “Man’s rise or fall, success or failure, happiness or unhappiness depends on his attitude.” And the latest psychological research confirms the truth of his observation.
I like to play a game with some of my audience members. I will ask someone, “How long have you been alive?”
The audience member will say something like “43 years.” I’ll say, “No. That’s how long your heart has been beating. How long have you been ALIVE? How long have you been on fire?”
Then the audience “gets” it. They begin to understand that it’s their attitude that’s pushing them forward or holding them back.
Of course, I know it’s fashionable or “cool” to joke about one’s attitude. Comedian W. C. Fields said, “Start every day with a smile and get it over with.” One negative person even carried a card in his wallet that read, “In case of accident, I’m not surprised.”
Sure, it can be fun to joke about a negative attitude, but in reality, nothing could be more serious. And nothing could be more important than getting rid of a negative attitude.
► 2. Remember you are responsible for your attitude.
No one “gave” you your attitude, and no one can “take” it away. Somehow or other, you chose to rise and whine rather than rise and shine. And you can choose to build a new, more positive attitude. It’s your responsibility.
In fact, it’s one of the characteristics of those people who have The Champion Edge working for them … a powerful, positive, unwavering attitude.
► 3. Identify your most common, most recurrent negative thoughts.
Just listen to yourself for a day or two. According to psychologist Dr. Terry Paulson, most people have an internal dialogue that is 80% negative. In fact if we said some of the same negative things to our employees that we say to ourselves, they could file a grievance and win.
So go ahead and observe the negative thoughts that come to mind. You may find yourself telling yourself things like, “I’m too old to do that anymore…I’m such a jerk…I’ll never get ahead…I just can’t lose any weight…or…I’m no good at selling.” You’ll probably end up with a list of five to ten phrases that you repeat over and over again.
► 4. Practice stopping your negative thoughts.
Every time one of those thoughts comes to mind, think “Stop! Stop you negative thought! Stop!” You may have to think this ten or twenty times before the thought goes away.
If thinking “Stop” doesn’t work at first, try saying “Stop” out loud. That’s right, shout it out. Say it firmly, authoritatively. Notice how well the technique works for you.
If you’re still struggling with a particular negative thought after a period of time, use the hand signals for “Stop.” Just like a traffic cop puts up his hand to signal “Stop,” put up your hand to “Stop” a negative thought. You can even say it and do it at the same time.
Try these three “stopping” exercises. You’ll probably find that one of them works better for you than another. That’s fine. Keep on using it. You will soon master the skill and eliminate the negative thought.
► 5. Stop speaking in negatives.
It’s a vicious cycle. If you think negatively, you’ll speak negatively. And if you speak the negative, you’ll also think the negative.
Instead of saying, “It’s going to rain. It’s going to be a bad day,” say “It’s going to be a wonderful day.” Instead of saying, “There’s no way I can pay these bills,” say “I’ll find a way to get through this.”
By speaking with positive conviction, you are, in a sense, conditioning your mind to be more positive. You are taking control of your thoughts rather than have them control you. You are affirming that great line in William Ernest Henley’s poem, “Invictus.” He wrote, “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”
Tomorrow morning brings another day. I challenge you to rise and shine. Once and for all throw out the “rise and whine.” You’ll be glad you did and your 2021 is guaranteed to be so much better, no matter what happens around you.