‘The longer I live, the more I realise the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, then what other people think, say or do.

The remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.

I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes!’

Charles Swindoll

Attitude matters more than facts, circumstances and what others say or do, and it’s something we choose for ourselves every day.

Once you get into the habit, being positive becomes a way of life. It shows in the way you talk, walk (have you ever seen a positive person walk staring at the ground with hunched shoulders?), what you say, the way you say it, how you feel, the way you are and the way others see you. It helps you to be happier and more successful at everything you do.

It not only improves your life in the short-term, it could even enable you to live a healthier, longer life. Thoughts of hopelessness and helplessness actually weaken the body’s natural defences, the nervous and immune systems.

People with positive attitudes also seek out the good in others, have the courage to try out new ideas, and settle only for the best. For them, anything is possible, and ‘I can’, ‘I choose’, ‘I decide’ and ‘I will’ are their watchwords.

So from now on, make it your motto never to say anything, either to yourself or out loud, that you don’t genuinely want to be true!

Never say you can’t do something – instead say you could if you wanted, or you haven’t learned yet, or haven’t practised enough, or are still working on it. Transform, ‘There’s nothing I can do’ into ‘Let’s look at the alternatives’.

But remember, positive attitudes are not always acquired naturally, especially if you grew up surrounded by negative people; they have to be carefully nurtured until they take root in your unconscious. Then they blossom – and so does your life.

Real positive thinking

There are many misconceptions about positive thinking. Positive thinkers are often regarded as idealistic, naïve and even out of touch with reality. But that’s not what it’s about. Obviously, you don’t solve problems by pretending they don’t exist. If water is pouring through the ceiling, it is pointless to tell yourself ‘There is no leak, everything is dry ‘ and do nothing about it. You’d probably be swept away in the flood.

Real positive thinking is different. You stay calm and tell yourself you can handle it.’ Then you take action. You find out where the water is coming from, turn off the supply and place a bucket under the leak. Then you mop up and call a plumber.

Your aim is not to hide from reality, nor trying to run away from problems by denying their existence. Even if you don’t have all the skills you need at present, you can learn. Very little is beyond your capabilities: there are just some things you haven’t yet learned.

Positive thinking leads to good feelings, self-belief and positive action. And that’s the point.

©David Lawrence Preston, 6.4.2016

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