Tips to Change Your Attitude

You want to change your attitude, but you're not sure where to start. The good news is, you can begin to change your attitude by making small shifts in daily thinking that together, contribute to greater overall change.

Objectify the Situation
Try to imagine someone else is in your troubling situation. What could that person do to better the situation? Is it really as awful as it feels? Have you exaggerated your problems in your mind?

Try to put the situation into perspective. For example, if you recently lost your job, you may feel incredibly depressed. You may fear you will not find a new job quickly or that you will be financially destitute. However, if you take yourself out of the picture and think of it as someone else's problem, you may see a silver lining in the cloud. Maybe you hated that job anyway, and perhaps your next job will be better. Maybe this is an opportunity for you to switch careers or start your own business. If you figure out how much severance and unemployment insurance you will collect, you may realize you can survive longer than you thought on your income and savings.

Bounce It Off a Friend
Sometimes it takes the sage advice and comforting shoulder of a friend for us to change our attitudes. Ask a trusted friend for time one on one and tell them about your situation. Ask for advice or comfort, whichever you need most and are comfortable receiving. Be sure to choose someone who will not gloat or make you feel worse in the end.

Take a Break
Sometimes a negative situation is so intense that you just need to get out of the situation for a while. For example, if you are in a trying marriage or are overwhelmed by small children and demanding job, you may find a vacation with a friend a much-needed break from the stress of the day-to-day challenges. While on your break, look for solutions to your trying situations. If you can't find solutions, look for coping strategies. Try to identify a end-time-a point when things should be easier-and look for ways to hang on until that time arrives. As you strive to change your attitude about the situation, focus on the coping strategies instead of on the problem.

Write Out the Positive
If you've been feeling cup-half-empty-ish lately, take the time to write out all the things that are going well in your life. Post this list on your bathroom mirror so you can see your list of blessings as you get ready each morning. Place one positive attitude post it note on the steering wheel of your car so you can even drive to work with a positive thought in mind, even if it's as simple as a note that says, "Enjoy your morning coffee while listening to NPR". In this manner, you will train yourself to think about more positive things, leaving less room for negative thoughts.