Attitude

Attitude. We have all seen the pictures on the wall in school saying, "Attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference". How much of us actually understand what that means?

About 3 months ago, I became aware that my general attitude was more negative than positive. I realized I was focusing more on negative things rather than positive things. "Math sucks, this English paper is stupid, this Botany assignment is worthless, work sucks, I hate getting up early....". Once I became aware of this, over the past 3 months I have changed it now to a generally more positive attitude.

My life has been a whole lot better. For example, I just recently completed a 3 week accelerated English course. I could have went in there with a sucky attitude, dreading the worst, making myself miserable before it even started, as I am not particularly fond of writing. But, I went in there with a positive attitude, knowing I probably wasn't going to like it, but I didn't have to like it, I was going to make the best out of it. And what happened? I actually didn't mind the class and actually enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing about whatever I wanted to, that fit the particular assignment.

Now, this girl that sat next to me repeatedly said, "This sucks, this paper is stupid, this is pointless...." etc. etc. And for her, I'm sure, the class was a huge drag, she probably dreaded waking up to go to it, and all around had a bad experience simply because of her attitude. I mean, c'mon, it wasn't THAT bad. We got to sit in a comfortable chair, in an air conditioned room, listen to music if we wanted, take breaks whenever we needed...With a negative attitude, that could easily be: I hate writing, I hate typing, why does this paper have to be so long, 4 hours for a class is too long...

The whole "creating your reality" thing, in my opinion, is simply a change in attitude, which is a change in your perspective on how you see things. This doesn't mean you have to like everything you do and it doesn't mean you just focus on the positive and ignore the negative, but what it does mean is those bad things you have to do, don't drag you down, they don't piss you off, they don't bring a flood of negative emotions.

Whenever you have to do something you don't want to do or something bad happens, you do not have to let it effect you in a bad way. As I was driving down the Interstate the other day, trying to make the 4 hour trip for a 30 minute eye doctor appointment, half way my tire blows. I could have gotten all flustered, pissed off, cursing, mad, angry, because I knew now I wasn't going to make it on time and today was the only day for the next month my schedule allowed me to make the trip. I knew I just wasted over a half a tank a gas for nothing plus the money to purchase a new tire (money is real tight right now) and half a day wasted.

On paper this looks like a bad experience, but it only would have been if I had let it. Instead it went something like this: (1) My tire blows - (my response): Ah, whatever, the tire was bad anyways, I didn't get hurt, good thing I have a spare in the trunk, a "Vehicle Help" van came and gave me a better jack, awesome! (2) 1.5 hour wait while they put on a new tire - (my response): No biggy, I brought a book, I'll just chillax for a while. (3) $230 later for gas and a couple new tires - (my response considering I only had $600 to my name): Yeah that's about a third of my bank account, but I still got enough for food and it's just money, I'll make it back, now I've got two new tires that I needed anyways and I got to read my book for an hour and a half.

I have been reading about Buddhism lately and it teaches about controlling your thoughts. A thought only holds as much power over you as you let it and a potentially bad experience only effects you in a bad way if you let it, just like money only holds as much value as you give it.

Learn to develop control of your thoughts, your attitude, and you gain control over your emotions. You will find yourself in a good mood more and more. No longer will you be prone to the roller coasters of emotions and mood swings.

Change your thoughts, change your attitude, change your life. You do not need to let bad thing effect you in a bad way. When you find yourself with a crummy attitude, change it right away, and soon that positive attitude becomes a habit.

Edit: I wanted to share my experience and in no way do I profess I am a master of my thoughts and attitude yet. But I have come a very long ways and I keep striving to improve.





[edit on 6-6-2010 by doped00]

[edit on 6-6-2010 by doped00]

So much truth in your post although sometimes it is very hard to put it into practise.

I catch myself having negative thoughts , not very often because I know that being negative can drag you down. When times are difficult,you can turn it around just by thinking positive!

The power of thought is under-estimated, it can change your life!

Good thread.

Bravo!!!

Excellent. I struggle with my attitude almost daily, and when the "positive" wins out, I have such a better day.

A part of it also, is remembering to stay in the "now". Something that happened an hour ago, is in the past. Something you plan to do in 30 minutes is the future.

It's amazing when we are doing something...whether it's showering or driving the car, our minds are usually in the past or in the future. Think about it....it's true.

Staying in the "now" helps to maintain a positive attitude. Each minute is what we choose to make it, or how we choose to experience it.

You mention that you became "aware" which is a vital point, because only when you become aware can you then change your train of thought - which will in turn enhance your life.

reply to post by doped00

Nice presentation, thanks for your expressions!

It sounds so simple doesn't it, just change the way you think about things! It is easy for me because I'm a "glass half full" kinda guy, but for whatever reasons, so many have a knee jerk reaction to everything they encounter, as just more crap in the world. I am not judging these folks, just observing that without a conscious effort, we all become stained with life's more negative attributes.

I took a few Religious classes at College out of curiosity, and one thing I took away from it was an the importance of applying equal effort to see what we have "in common" with others as well as our differences. A light went on and from there I started seeing more similarities between people and as a result I felt more oneness and compassion.

I am reminded of a Wayne Dyer quote:
"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
— Wayne W. Dyer

I know it is impractical to expect/hope everyone could replace their current attitude for a new and improved one. But I believe within each of us, there is room for more positive reflections. I think there are both good and bad vibrations amongst us and we have to strive sometimes for a better attitude, because even passiveness on it's own can succumb to negativity because there is so much of it around us. We have to actively cultivate a better outlook on things, to add to the good vibrations....sometimes at least. Not to mention attitude and health.....

Peace

We can actually change our attitude on a dime.

I am becoming pretty good at it. In a stressful situation, I just remove myself, my consciousness, from the stress and replace the stress with the feeling of being in nature or bodysurfing or sliding down a waterfall. With practice you can perfect this instant 'attitude adjustment.'

So it becomes more as if you are merely observing your self having the unpleasant experience ... while maintaining a peaceful balance on the inside.

The unpleasant situations will still happen, but you become the calm observer. This has helped me tremendously at work, with some quite difficult people! Now they are just people to me, instead of raging lunatics.

Becoming the calm in the middle of the storm could be beneficial to us in the years to come ... with all we've got on our collective plates!

reply to post by blujay


Excellent to change it on a dime, but it does take practice and effort before getting there. I think of these negative thoughts as a mosquito buzzing around my head. Quickly, shoo it away, and replace it before it stings. I do the same thing with feelings of anger. It helps.

But I'm not on "automatic" yet. I still have to work at it.

THis is such a simple, simple thing. But so important.

reply to post by ladyinwaiting


It is such a simple idea, but such a difficult task!

It takes constant vigilance of how you are feeling. And having the guts to jump in and stop the anger. Sometimes my ego still wins, especially in traffic!

But I believe it is attainable. I've been challenged to the hilt lately, and I have managed to pull off a B+ on my personal 'attitude test.'

But, the amazing thing is the results!

I totally agree and appreciate your post.
Positivity is just around the corner.

I'have been in a crappy mood all day but all it took was a couple of birds to turn it around. Thanks speculativeoptimis

Your OP is like the sugar coating finishing touch.

I've got two questions .

How old are you and why didn't you change the tier yourself. You would have taken you only 15 minutes.

"A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E, adjust my attitude and live happy" Lol thats a song our music teacher in elementary school taught us because he was worried our poor attitudes would mess us up later in life. I didn't even understand what it was all about until recent tho, lol, so true. So true.

Thanks for reminding me about that, he was/is a great man. Check it out I just found he still doing it, different song but it reminds me of a little me lol!

www.youtube.com...





[edit on 6-6-2010 by LifeIsEnergy]

Great job, OP, and others who have found this amazing choice and put it into practice in life.



For some, it's whatever helps them to find and maintain this positivity that they cling to, and for very good reason.

Prayer, altruism, even simple self-interest (I prefer to have a good day, hour, class, shift, meal, moment, etc.) can motivate one to seize this power and bask in its simplicity.

And to regain it jealously when it is disturbed or lost, lol. Music helps me, I will think of the most moving or positive song I know, and remember the words in my head. This kind of reaffirms my choice to live a positive life, without apology or hangups for it.

Way to go, positive people. This can definitely be learned, and very quickly put into practice, so I hope others will take it on and get better times NOW.


Now is all one ever really has, after all.

I wholeheartedly agree with you here. I am finally making my way through reading about the Holographic Universe theory and the whole creating the outer from the inner debate and I can tell you, I have been increasingly focused on this point of view of late.

I believe that perspective is the key to so much in life. I find that whenever I read about these self-empowering topics, I have a newfound confidence in myself and my abilities, like a fresh perspective on everything. Then I think, well why shouldn't I feel like this all of the time, rather than when I become reminded of it every so often ? As a result I am working on keeping this mindset constant. I think it's worthy in the long run. I also believe that simply having a strong belief in something is quite sufficient to manifest it into tangible reality.

S&F

reply to post by ladyinwaiting


Yes! Stay in the now! I have been focusing on this too.

Pay attention, when showering I bet most people aren't actually "showering". The mind is in a million different places other than showering, enjoying the warm water, the sweet scent of the soap, your hair and shampoo as it courses through your fingers.

So rich is life when living in the moment, it makes the most mundane things enjoyable.

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Nice sig, Tool rocks.

You are very right about having to actively strive to change your attitude. Just as a garden will succumb to weeds if unattended, so will your mind. Each day I try to improve. Each day it gets a little easier to notice a shift in my attitude.

That quote is so true too. For example, you have a huge yard with a push mower and it takes you a long time to mow it. Each week you dread having to mow your yard. But, change the way you view it, shift your perspective, look at it from a different light, and it becomes something completely different. You get to be outside, get to make your place look nicer, get a tan, get a little workout in.

Bottom line is, have some fun with whatever it is your doing!

reply to post by blujay


It's quite surprising how fast you can change it, literally instantaneous.

Yes, you become the observer! Instead of being taken for a wild ride by your negativity, you merely observe it. You see the thought and the negative emotion rise up to the surface and then you let it go, get rid of it.

The calm in the storm, very nice. However stormy, hectic, or crazy it may get on the outside, you can still be completely calm on the inside.

reply to post by Sinter Klaas


I am 19 and I did change the tire myself. As soon as I popped open my trunk to grab the spare, the "Help Van" showed up and simply gave me a better jack.

Originally posted by doped00
reply to post by blujay

 

It's quite surprising how fast you can change it, literally instantaneous.

Yes, you become the observer! Instead of being taken for a wild ride by your negativity, you merely observe it. You see the thought and the negative emotion rise up to the surface and then you let it go, get rid of it.

The calm in the storm, very nice. However stormy, hectic, or crazy it may get on the outside, you can still be completely calm on the inside.

Yes ... and try not to judge the negativity in your self. Just observe it and let it go. The judgement of it will send you in cirlces and will disconnect you from your center, your source- YOU.

When I learned to stop judging my self for having those thoughts, the process became much smoother.

Being positive in my life really cost me my life, and future. The only time i was positive in life they wanted to wreck my life, with electronic mind control. So up yours i say.

So negative for me till i die i say. I will never have any positive attitudes till the day i die ever.

Trust me it absolutely destroyed my life and i will never again have that attitude of a few months back at school, a long time ago. My life has been shambles since, with this electronic mind control monitoring.

[edit on 6/7/2010 by andy1033]

S+F

Once in Anciant England, Or India, or America, Whatever your Local as an Universal Truth is within this worldwide teaching,

A very very wise old man, sat in the local Cafe/Pub/Market one Sunny Afternoon.

He was happyappreciating the Sun on his face, had gratitude for his health and all the hard work of the plants, farmers and makers of his Coffee before it came to his cup.

Contentment, a glow of happiness seemed to exude from his being.

A traveller looking for a new life, sat down on a table next to him and set up a conversation, noticing that the man had that air of wisdom about him.

The newbie in town asked of the man

What is this town like?

Are the People nice, Is happiness to be found here?

Are there any opportunities for riches and success and wealth?

The old man smiled, and greeted with love and a sense of genuine interest

What was the last place you stopped by like, the place you came from searching this?

The Traveller wrinkled his face and and went on an long ramble saying such things as

Oh you would never believe it, this town I had to leave, it was full of angry people, it was terrible everyone seemed to be out to get me, no matter what I did I could tell I was not welcome, awful place.

The old wise man showed genuine empathy, and asked if there was any good parts to his experienec there at all, anything good ever.

The Visitor replied that no everything about there was bad and brought him sadness and frustration.

The old Wise man, smiled and said

[Quote]
Well Im sorry son, but you will find the same here Im Afraid.
[Quote]

He smiled and made paid a small compliment about the traveller trying to raise his spirits and bade his farelwell.

The very next day the same old wise man was again at the cafe, and noticed differant visitor, and smiled and nodded to him.

As the visitor finished his drink and was about to leave, picked up his bags, he asked for some directions to a local place to stay.

He also asked the warm and happy man

[Quote]
How are things here? Is it a place to find my happiness and grow, become happy and content?
Is there much work about and opportunities for wealth?
[Quote]

Again the wise man asked him the question as the man the day before.

Where you just came from my friend, how was it there?
How were the people and opportunities, how did you find it?

The visitor said in an upbeat tone with a smile

Oh it was nice, the people were friendly, it was a nice place and I found enough work and business to allow me to travel further and explore more, I was sad to leave but I wanted to experience more of this area

The old wise loving man smiled and then chuckled reaching his hand out to shake his hand he said

Welcome then friend,
I am sure you will find the same or better here, than were you came from.

The travellers both the next week noticed an funeral procession and it was for the wise popular and happy old wise man.

In conversations they heard he had known for about 3 months he was ill with an terminal illness, but had died smiling and his wake was an celebration not any mourning.

Kind Regards,

Elf

[edit on 7-6-2010 by MischeviousElf]

reply to post by doped00


Ohh...

Then please excuse me for my presumption.