How to Develop A Positive Attitude

CHINESE philosopher Confucius profoundly stated that, “To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.” Many people want to do things that will impact significantly on the world. Confucius encourages us that such aspirations are not far-fetched but have a point of beginning. It starts with us; setting our hearts right, developing a positive attitude. A positive attitude will put us on the path that leads to the destination we desire. In this series, we shall consider five actions that can be taken to develop a positive attitude towards life. Before we dive into that, let’s form a common perspective on the subject under discussion; Attitude. There are three perspectives that I would like us to contemplate;

· Paradigm: When you pour water into a container, it assumes the shape of that object. Water has no shape of its own without a container. Your mind is the container that receives all your experiences and carves out your life. Your paradigm refers to how your mind has been set to respond to issues and interpret the realities of your life. Situations that confront us in life are neither adverse nor advantageous by themselves but settle in the patterns and systems by which we run our lives.

· Interpretation: When you wear a lens, every object within your scope of view takes on the colour of the lens. When you put on a blue-tinted lens, every object you observe through the lens may appear bluish. The realities of life cannot be changed but you can have your own interpretation. Before you form your conclusion about any issue, just ask yourself, “What is the colour of my lens?”

· Response: You don’t have so much control over what happens to you but you can certainly determine your response to what happens to you. Irrespective of what happens, it is always possible to choose your response. When you fall, you can choose to either remain down or rise up. How you choose your responses determines the impact situations have on you.

Here are five suggestions regarding how you can develop a positive attitude:

1. Fashion your mind for success: Former US President Abraham Lincoln advised a young man who aspired to study law to “always bear in mind that your own ambition to succeed is more important than any other one thing.” If your ambition is positive, it will drive you to a positive destination. You cannot succeed in anything if you don’t make your mind up to succeed.

2. Filter what goes into your heart. The state of your heart is a direct result of the nature of its content. What you feed your life with is very crucial to determining what your attitude is. What books do you read? Which programmes do you listen to on radio? What is your favourite programme on TV? Who preaches to you every Sunday? You can’t have a disposition that is inconsistent with what you’ve been ingesting. You must filter every bit of information that comes to your gate and allow only what is beneficial to you to settle in your heart. By so doing, you progressively create a sense of optimism within you. Your perspective brightens and your general outlook on life will be embodied in a positive frame work.

3. Find great company. Good company enhances great values. The people around you determine the attitudes you nurture. To develop a positive attitude, you must have positive people around you. If you want to maintain sexual purity for instance, your closest friends should be people who esteem premarital abstinence, faithfulness to one’s spouse and sexual discipline. If there is such company around you, it offers the platform to share challenges, discuss practical initiatives and encourage each other.

Having people who believe in your potential also help you to have a positive mindset. If your best friends are those who do not believe in your future and have a low estimation of your capabilities, then you would do yourself a lot of good by replacing them. You have to hang around those who help you realise the possibilities of your life and inspire you with hope and confidence.

4. Focus on the good in any situation. Just as every coin has two sides, so does every situation have two faces. I learnt from Robert Schuller’s Tough Times Never Last But Tough People Do that success is failure turned inside out. Sometimes, people lose out of lifetime opportunities because they do superficial assessment of situations. Thomas Alva Edison categorically pointed out that, “Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Just because something does not look good does not make it absolutely awful. You must look for a little good and give it your maximum attention.

5. Foster a daily attitude of positiveness: Developing a positive attitude is not an event but a process. It cannot be done in a day but must be done daily. To consolidate a new attitude, one positive action at a time, an encouraging book, a new friend...at one time or another would culminate in the kind of person you want to be; little by little, here a little, there a little. Start small and you’ll end big!

“You cannot be healthy; you cannot be happy; you cannot be prosperous; if you have a bad disposition,” remarks, Emmet Fox. I trust that you will keep navigating the path of positivity.