Increase Personal Success With A Positive Mental Attitude
Having a positive mental attitude is one of the most potent tools you can possess in your life. It can propel you to greatness, joy and is a proven secret to success, and is a powerful asset to get you though struggles and disappointments. Without it, you are lost in an ocean of negativity and unhappiness and constantly struggling to wonder why.
There’s a great old song written by Johnny Mercer way back in the 1940s and made famous by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters called Accentuate the Positive whose lyrics say the following:
You’ve got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don’t mess with Mister In-Between
You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene
What is a Positive Mental Attitude?
The lyrics of the song are the epitome of having a positive mental attitude. Although positive thinking has been around forever, it was first developed as a real concept by Napoleon Hill in his 1937 book Think and Grow Rich, although he didn’t coin the phrase until later book with W. Clement Stone called Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. That’s when he defined it as “The right mental attitude… comprised of the ‘plus’ characteristics symbolized by such words as faith, integrity, hope, optimism, courage, initiative, generosity, tolerance, tact, kindliness and good common sense.”
Why Have a Positive Mental Attitude?
Some people will read the lyrics of the song and the definition of a positive mental attitude and roll their eyes. They may think it’s kind of corny and they’ll say it’s not very realistic. Maybe, but these are the same negative thinking people who doom themselves to constant failure because they get stuck in their so-called “realism,” which ends up being nothing more than a life-deadening pessimism.
But what if your reality is determined at least in part by how you think? What if there really are self-fulfilling prophecies? That may sound like a cliché, but the reason it’s a cliché is because there is some truth to it! If there is even a small chance that the way I think about things might affect the outcomes of my actions, you can sure bet that I would want to be on positive side of that thinking rather than the negative side. That’s why I think it’s better to have a positive mental attitude. I use it to align everything in my life to the positive goals I want to accomplish. I firmly believe that people would find more success in their lives if they embraced positive mental attitudes. Many studies have also shown that people with a positive mental attitude are healthier! Doesn’t that sound like a good thing to you? That alone is reason enough to give it a chance.
Where Can You Find a Positive Mental Attitude?
If you’re used to leaning towards the negative side of things, you have to make a real effort to consciously and actively oppose defeatism, negativity and hopelessness. A positive mental attitude can only be found within yourself. Positive thinkers don’t expect bags of money to fall into their laps just because they think about it. They understand that they still need to take action. That’s where courage and confidence comes in. Positive thinkers have fears and doubts just like anyone else, but the key is that they find the courage to act in spite of their fear. They draw on their positive mental attitude to dispel the fear and move forward because they believe they can accomplish their goals. If you look inside and can’t see it, don’t worry! There are things you can do to begin developing a positive mental attitude.
4 Tips on How to Develop a Positive Mental Attitude
1. Self-Talk. This is a simple technique often used by business people and athletes to maintain focus on their goals. You simply keep telling yourself positive things about yourself and your goals. “I feel terrific today,” “I am making great progress on my goals,” “I can do it,” and “I feel healthier every day,” are all examples of self-talk. Give it a try and see what it can do for you!
2. Positive Language. Pay attention to the words you typically use. If you hear a lot of words like never, can’t, won’t or phrases like I need or I should, try to start consciously replacing those with I choose, I will and I want. You may be surprised at the difference it makes.
3. Spend Time with Positive People. We are all very much affected by the people with whom we spend our time. Surrounding yourself with positive people is one of the best things you can do to develop your own positive mental attitude. Think about it, we have all experienced what it’s like when a negative person brings everyone down around them. Why not try the opposite? Being around positive people is infectious.
4. Take disappointments in stride. We all have disappointments to contend with in life, but just because everything doesn’t all turn out the way we think it should, doesn’t mean you should just give up on your goals. The truth is, if you knew how many disappointments those who made great changes in the world had, you might be shocked. But they never gave up. They never allowed disappointments to keep them from their quest. They remained positive and so should you. Perseverance and a positive mental attitude is what get amazing results.
In the end, if you want to see positive results in your life, you must learn to actively pursue positive choices and expect positive outcomes. If accomplishing your goals depends a great deal on having a positive mental attitude, then start developing one for yourself today!
© 2012, Linda. All rights reserved.
It is the classic “I’m not getting this promotion or whatever” attitude that destroys chances. You should at least believe in yourself. You may not know, but employers have a sixth sense to know when an individual lakes confidence. So a positive attitude shows that you are confident in your abilities! Live positive!