Shape the Future

January has been devoted to creating a plan, setting goals, knowing who you are and forging ahead.  There is one more element to shaping your future, getting what you want and achieving all you set out to achieve – ATTITUDE.

Your attitude is what ultimately determines if you achieve your goals or if you fall short.  You can’t fake it.  You can’t pretend everything is okay.  Your attitude colors the world around you.  It makes you believe what you want to believe.

If you believe that your best days are ahead of you, then you’ll find a creative solution to even the worst circumstance.  If you believe that people aren’t intentionally trying to hurt you, then you’ll tend to give more second chances and receive them. If you believe that you are worth fighting for then you’ll find a way to keep going — no matter the effort required.

Here are some tips about adjusting your attitude – if you need to:

Tip 1:  People.  Surround yourself with positive people.  Those that are always finding the good in others and in situations.  You’ll know those people when you are hearing how things are going well, right and better than before with them.  If you’ve got some folks that use you to vent about their woes, ask them to share with someone else.  You’re not being a “good person” listening to this, you’re incorporating their negative attitudes into your way of thinking – it’s very hard to avoid.  Let them bring down others.

Tip 2:  Messages.  Surround yourself with positive messages.  Think about the television programs and movies that you watch.  What books do you pick up?  What websites do you visit?  Take an objective review of these to ensure the messages that you’re hearing are ones of success, hope, inspiration and motivation – you become what you surround yourself with.

Tip 3:  Perfect present.  Live in the present and appreciate what you have – ignore what you don’t have.  If you’ve got your health – hurrah; a great relationship – yahoo; a decent place to live – way to go; something to laugh about – good for you.  Appreciating the present will help you ground in the here and now without worrying about the past or what may or may not happen in the future.

Tip 4:  Future.  Look forward to something every day.  It may be as simple as calling a friend and catching up, taking a hot bath or sampling a favorite snack.  You may have dinner planned with friends, the opportunity to give a presentation in front of others or hand in an assignment that you have been working on.  Whatever you choose is up to you.  Don’t go to sleep without picking what you’ll look forward to the next day.

Tip 5:  It’s all good, even when it’s bad.  Actively seek out the good in every situation.  When something doesn’t turn out the way you thought, think about why and make adjustments for the next time.  Solutions – not dead-ends.  Challenges – not problems.  Temporary set-backs – no road blocks.  How you view what you’re facing has a profound effect on your attitude.

What do you do to adjust your attitude?  Any tips that you can share?  Leave your comments below.

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