A pessimist sees the glass as half empty and an optimist sees the glass as half full.  So which one are you?  Your thoughts are very powerful and whether you’re aware of it or not, they don’t just affect your attitude but they can also affect others around you.  I’d like to ask you to do me a favor.  I want you to listen to your thoughts and notice what thoughts fill your head? Are they positive, or negative?

Suppose you’re walking down the street with these thoughts. Do you think others would be able to tell you what’s on your mind?  Although people won’t be able to tell exactly what you’re thinking, there’s more than a good chance that they’ll know how you’re feeling.

Since your attitude is simply a reflection of your thoughts, your attitude can also affect your appearance, health and overall well being.  Others can notice this by your body language, your expressions, and even by the manner in which you dress.

The type of attitude you possess depends on you; it can be either positive or negative, the choice is yours.  To a large extent your attitude is shaped by where you focus your thoughts.  You have thousands of thoughts every day; some you dwell upon while others you immediately release.

Let’s say you’re driving along, you see an accident up ahead and traffic slows to a standstill.  Where does your focus go?  Are you annoyed because you just know some jerk driver probably caused the accident and now you’re going to be late getting home?

You could think about what a beautiful day it is and how you’ll have an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors a little longer or get caught up on your audio book.  You might also be thinking of how thankful you are that you weren’t involved in the accident.  Do you see the difference in where your focus lies?

When you go about your day, do you encounter inconsiderate idiots or do you meet thoughtful, interesting people?  If you are looking for idiots, then you will surely find them.  If you are expecting to meet wonderful people, you will surely find them.  It all depends on your focus.  Are you looking for the good or are you looking for the bad?

Much can be gained from a positive attitude. Studies have shown that a positive attitude promotes better health. Those with this kind of attitude also have more friends. If you have a positive outlook, you will attract positive people and positive attributes.  Likewise, negative attracts negative.

When you choose to focus on the positive you will project a positive self-image.  If you practice self-love and acceptance, this has a contagious effect on others.  On the other hand, focusing on the negative has the opposite effect. So, carrying a negative attitude has a twofold drawback. You feel bad about yourself, and you make others feel bad about themselves.

If you’re not already doing so, practice focusing on the positive and see what kind of results you attract.  See the glass as half full instead of half empty.  When you’re ready to kick it up a notch and really start thinking outside the box, begin visualizing the glass as completely full!  Obstacles that may have once seemed like mountains are now just bumps in the road.

The type of attitude you possess depends entirely on you.  It can be either positive or negative.  The great thing is – you get to choose.  No one can make you feel a particular way because you must remember that you are in control of how you choose to feel.  When someone does or says something that you feel was meant to hurt you, that may or may not have been their intent.  Oftentimes, hurt feelings are simply a matter of misunderstanding.  Even if the person’s intent was malicious, you can simply choose not to let this affect you.

As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent ."

One of my favorite movies is The Point of No Return starring Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, and Anne Bancroft.  The movie is a remake of La Femme Nikita and Bridget Fonda’s character, Maggie, is a lawbreaking criminal who chose to become a paid assassin in lieu of death by lethal injection.  She is very rough around the edges and as part of her training she receives etiquette lessons.  Her transformation is nothing short of remarkable.  In one scene, her coach for this endeavor, played by Anne Bancroft, gives her a tip on how to control her temper. She tells her that when something bad happens or a situation goes awry to simply smile and say something like, "I never did mind about the little things ".  This is one of my favorite movie quotes and I use it quite often.  It helps me to put things into perspective.

In the past, I used to let little things drive me crazy, and I must admit that sometimes I still do.  The difference is, now when I feel that happening, I try to make a conscious effort to choose a positive attitude.

There is much to be gained from having a positive attitude. Studies have shown that a positive attitude promotes better health. Projecting positivity helps with handling stress and we all know that our health is directly linked to how we cope with stress.

A positive attitude is a foundation you can build upon.  It would be quite difficult to be confident, outgoing, and enthusiastic without first having a positive attitude.  A positive attitude supports positive attributes; a negative attitude does not.  It’s pretty obvious why positive people have more friends than negative people.   If you first choose a positive attitude, other positives will follow.

In today’s fast paced, high tech society, we are bombarded with information.  Many of us are experiencing information overload. Between e-mails, snail mail, text mail, billboards, newspapers, and magazines, advertisers are all competing for our attention.  Then there’s the news, which is almost always negative.  Thousands of positive things occur every single day, but the media focuses on sharing mostly bad stuff.

So how do you stay positive amidst so much negativity?

1.  For starters, you can limit your news intake and consider your news sources very carefully.

2.  Do things that make you happy.  Watch funny movies, listen to your favorite music, spend time with people whose company you enjoy, or pursue a hobby.

3.  One of the easiest and best things you can do to keep a positive attitude is to think about everything in your life for which you are grateful.  Have an attitude of gratitude.

If you have a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and are wearing clothing, then you should be grateful.  If you are able to read this message then you have the gift of sight and you should be grateful.  If someone is reading this to you, then you have the gift of hearing and again, you should be grateful.  If you are reading this on a computer that you own, then by most of the world’s standards, you are quite wealthy and you should be grateful.

We take so many things for granted and in doing so we allow negativity to creep in to our lives.  If you start paying attention to the gifts you already have and begin each day by giving thanks, it’s easy to have a positive attitude.