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How do you build a positive attitude? First off, you have to remember, attitude happens on two different levels. There's your big attitude, and then there's your little attitude.
The big attitude happens over a period of a lifetime. If you're 15 or 20 or 50 or 80 years old, it's taken that long to build your big attitude. All of your experiences, everything you've thought about, all the things you've done through your life, build that big perspective.
You've heard people talk about the glass being half full or half empty, whether someone is a pessimist or an optimist. Well, that's the big attitude, and it's developed through your whole life experience. You can change it. but it's a major piece of work on your life.
We're not going to focus too much on that part of you for the moment. The one we can do something about relatively easily is your little attitude. The small aspect of your attitude is something that happens moment to moment, hour to hour, day to day.
Now you can get some control over this one quite quickly. Because the little attitude results from your thinking patterns. It's the result of your focus. It's from what you are telling yourself (your self-talk) and the mental images you envision in your mind. What you are dwelling on and is habitually running through your mind, makes that little attitude get better or get worse.
You have many triggers to this smaller attitude, but it's primarily because of your self-talk. Medicine and psychological research show that emotions only occur in four ways-chemical or hormonal change in the body, damage to the brain or central nervous system, self-talk and the mental pictures you see in your head, or something happening to your physiology. Those are the four ways emotions are created.
You can choose to do something about your self-talk. 65% to 75% of all of your emotions result from your internal dialogue and mental images. In effect, your little attitude is primarily the result of your primary focus and thinking patterns.
Your choice of focus absolutely makes the difference. Your brain can only think one direction at a time. I can be thinking about good stuff, or I can be thinking about bad stuff. It's a choice. You can be thinking about how things have not worked out for you, and all that's wrong, and the problems you've had, and how everything always sucks!
Or, you can focus on possibilities and the things that go well for you. There are things you can do to bring life changes. You can learn new things to improve your life. You can take on your work and experiences in a new way. You can build better, happier, healthier, more vibrant relationships. You can make you life go an entirely new direction. Again, it's your choice of focus.
Your mind can only focus one direction at any time. So you can choose to focus on the stuff you can't do anything about and upsetting things, or you can focus on things you can do something about and things that will make you feel better. That is a choice, every moment, every day. Your focus is absolutely crucial.
There's a saying I have clients I coach tell themselves dozens of times a day, Focus on the positive, and detach from the negative! or Focus on the positive, and delete the negative! Truly, your choice of focus builds (and then reinforces) your attitude, whether it's a good one or bad.
If you'll allow your mind to get stuck in the whirlpool of negativity, going around and around, I guarantee that you will feel lousy. It is a choice. Quit choosing to focus on the garbage in life!
You move in whatever direction your mind is concentrated on. Make a point of focusing your mind in the positive direction you want it to go, so that you feel better, gain more in control and are moving toward solutions instead of moving toward problems.
Do you want to have more friends? Do you want to have better relationships? Would you like to learn faster? How about using your brain more effectively? Would you like to have a larger income or perhaps a different lifestyle than you have? That's all a choice and it all begins in your mind.
You can do something about it. If you keep focusing on the negative and what hasn't worked, you're going to have more of that. Why? Because your mind is like a magnet, whatever you focus on most, you will have more of--good or bad.
So stop focusing on the negatives--focus on the opportunities and good in life. Focus on things you can do something about. You can make that happen. That is your choice. You can begin this very day to delete the negative and focus on the positive. You can do that.
You can make your life work better. To build a positive attitude, to build positive thinking patterns, to increase your brain power and move yourself into a better tomorrow, you choose to shift your focus beginning right now.
About this Author
To have more positive in your life while overcoming negative patterns, all you have to do is go to http://www.DrLarryIverson.com/video1 and I'll will send you videos to help you easily begin this change process, and my book "Energize Your Life--Using Your Brain for a Change". Go check it out now while you're thinking about it.
Make today and everyday a great day! The Best of Success to You, Dr Larry Iverson.
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