Attitude Check: Where It All Begins
I first learned about the power of attitude as an Air Force Academy cadet. An upperclassman would yell, “Short attitude check.” As obedient doolies (freshmen), we would respond, “This place [the Academy] sucks.” The upperclassman would continue with additional checks.
| Upperclassman | Doolies Response |
| Positive attitude check | This place positively sucks. |
| Hindu attitude check | Holy cow this place sucks. |
| Jewish attitude check | Oy vey this place sucks. |
| Pessimistic attitude check | No place sucks as bad as this place. |
Our attitude is one of the few things we have total control of in life, yet many of us pick a negative one. If we truly understood the power of our attitude, most of us would change it without hesitation.
What Is An Attitude?
How Thoughts Become Actions
Your attitude is created by your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Your mind processes your emotions and decides whether the feelings will be positive or negative through your thoughts. Your body then reflects these feelings through actions and behaviors which produce the results in our lives.
Why Attitude Directly Impacts Results
You get what you put out. A positive attitude will produce positive results, and a negative attitude will produce adverse effects. Makes sense? By changing your thoughts, you can change your attitude and, in turn, change your results. Considering the unique challenges stepparents face in their blended families, a positive attitude is essential.
Benefits Of A Positive Attitude
Relational Benefits of a Positive Attitude
- Better relationships and friendships
- Receive more respect and love from people
- Improved health
- More energy
- Increased productivity
- Failures and problems become opportunities
Growth and Success Benefits
- Enjoy more success
- You run into less daily obstacles and difficulties
- Helps you achieve goals
- You recognize opportunities easier
- Increases confidence and faith in your abilities
- Ability to inspire and motivate yourself and others
- Gives you the strength to press on when challenged
With all these benefits, do you want to know how to develop a positive attitude???
How to Develop A Positive Attitude
To begin with, whether it’s negative or positive, your attitude is created by repetition over time. In fact, the same process applies to both. Yes, even for a negative attitude. As you maintain a positive attitude regularly, it will get more comfortable for you. Over time, your subconscious will learn and internalize from the repetition, and eventually, you’ll be thinking positively without any more effort.
Training Your Subconscious Mind
For example, think of when you were first learning to type. At first, if you’re like me, I was always looking at my keys because I didn’t trust I was hitting the right ones. However, with continuing practice eventually mastered the keyboard. Eventually, if you’ve been typing for a while, you can type subconsciously with confidence, not paying attention to the keyboard.
In the same way, developing a positive attitude requires intentional practice. Although it may feel awkward or forced initially, repetition creates familiarity. Before long, what once felt unnatural begins to feel authentic.
Why Repetition Matters
More importantly, repetition is what turns intentional actions into lasting habits. Because of this, choosing positive responses—even when they don’t feel genuine at first—lays the groundwork for long-term change.
Eventually, your thoughts align with your actions, and your actions begin to reflect your character. In the end, consistency—not perfection—is what produces a healthy, positive mindset.
Daily Practices That Strengthen a Positive Attitude
Things You Can Do To Begin Developing A Positive Attitude
Mental Practices
- Use positive affirmations. Affirmations should be personal, positive, present tense statements that will override the negative belief or negative thoughts already registered. For example, “I am successful.”
- Keep a gratitude journal; use it to record your daily achievements as well.
- Visualize positive outcomes.
- Meditate.
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Don’t allow negative thoughts and emotions to build a nest, release them, and replace them with positive ones as soon as you recognize them.
Physical and Environmental Adjustments
- Take care of yourself – rest, play, exercise, eat clean, and engage in self-improvement.
- Adjust your posture: sit up straight, smile, walk erect, and breathe deeply. Do this for a minute, and you’ll start to feel the difference.
- Minimize your exposure to negative media like TV, newspapers, and the radio.
Social Influences That Shape Attitude
- Associate with positive people, they’ll rub off on you.
Pick as many of the above actions you’re comfortable with and commit to doing them daily for the next 21 days. It takes that amount of time to establish a new habit.
A Simple Habit That Can Change Your Day
You can jump-start your reprogramming immediately by responding with a warm smile and a firm, “Excellent” whenever anyone asks, “How are you doing?” It may not feel genuine at first, but as you continue repeating it, it will feel authentic, and those around you will pick up on your new attitude as well.
Final Attitude Check: Choosing Positivity Daily
Remember, your attitude determines the majority of what you experience each day. Don’t neglect it. Be someone others want to be with because you lift their attitude, energy, and enthusiasm. It’s your choice to make it a positive one. Geological attitude check – you positively rock!
What things do you do to have a positive attitude?
