What Does It Take To Have a Positive Mental Attitude?

I wanted to expand some more on the article I wrote recently “Mental Attitude Is Everything” as there is so much to say about this topic of Positive Attitude. And, don’t be surprised if later on I will want to cover this topic again as I truly believe that Mental Attitude IS Everything.

So, what does it take to have a positive mental attitude? As I ponder on the response to this question it occurs to me that there is no easy way to answer this. It would seem that some people are born with the ability, if you will, to be eternally positive about everything that happens to them while others see nothing but hardships and failure. Although, these people are often perceived as “Nothing bad ever happens to him/her”, that they were born with a “lucky star”. As I mentioned in my previous article “Mental Attitude is Everything”, these “hardships or failures” should really be seen as opportunities, stepping stones toward the goal that you want to achieve. But, how you might ask do we achieve this positive mental attitude? It was not easy for me to answer this question but this is how I believe you can change your attitude and become a more positive person.

The first step that comes to my mind is Attention. Pay attention to your thought pattern. What is the first thought that comes to your mind when something does not go as you wanted it or expected it? Is it “Now what?” or “I just knew this was going to happen!” or any other negative thought pattern. This may be one of the most difficult steps because you probably have been so deeply conditioned to follow this kind of thinking for so long, probably most of your life, that it happens automatically. Not only that, but it is likely that this conditioning began from your parents or whoever was involved in your emotional development, even society! Now, I said “difficult” NOT IMPOSSIBLE. Every time this negative thinking comes to you, replace it with something positive such as “I wonder where this turn of events will take me” or “Well, it seems I’m going to be learning something new”, you catch my drift.

The second step that occurs to me that you need to do is to be Disciplined and Patient (Is that steps A and B within step 2?). This is going to take time! Be patient with yourself. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was your thinking pattern. You are going to find yourself going back to that negative mental attitude over and over again. Be easy on yourself, forgive yourself and try again and again. Have a list of responses ready so that you don’t have to think of what to substitute your negative thought pattern with. Be prepared!

I left the best for last, you must have FAITH! You have to believe that it is possible to change your habit of thinking negatively in response to your life’s events. This is a learned behavior and it is possible to change it. You can change anything about yourself if you put your mind to it. No excuses. You might find yourself saying “Oh, this is the way I am” or “I’ve always been this way”. This is nonsense, excuses that people make to not go through the effort of changing, of improving themselves. These negative thoughts are NOT who you are. You were not born this way! They are your thoughts and therefore you have the power to change them if that is truly what you want. If you believe or have faith that you can change your negative thought pattern into a positive one, then you will put the effort necessary to accomplish your goal.

Try these steps and you will find yourself living a happier life, filled with new opportunities. You will ask yourself, where did these opportunities come from? Well, they were always there, you were just blinded by your own negative thoughts.

Texas Allied Petroleum