Day #62 & #63: It's all about the 'tude, baby

Someone may be the most physically beautiful man or woman on the planet, but if he or she has a bad attitude, well then he or she is just down right ugly. A bad attitude really enhances the ugly, while a positive attitude amplifies the pretty. It really is all about the attitude. William James wrote, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind."

Webster's dictionary defines attitude as a mental position with regard to fact or state. Unlike personality which scientists considered fixed, attitudes change and develop with certain circumstances and experiences. Attitudes can be positive, negative, neutral, or a cocktail of all three. Psychologists believe attitudes are rooted in the ABC approach: affect, behavioral change, and cognition.The kicker with attitude....it's all about choice. One can choose to put on a sour face and pout and have the ugliest worst possible attitude, or one can smile, exhale, and find that lovely positive attitude. Each morning you wake up, you have the choice to be in a good mood or bad mood, happy or sad, defeated or hopeful.

There are multiple benefits to a positive attitude. Those with a positive attitude achieve more, are happier, have more energy, inspire and motivate themselves and others, and cope better with the difficulties of life. The other thing, having a bad attitude just takes so much energy. It really is draining. I know many people with bad attitudes, and I am entirely convinced that they are exhausted inside because of all of the energy they are expending to maintain that constant negative state of mind. It might be a beautiful warm sunny day, but they might find one small negativity, and then the beautiful day is just destroyed.

So, to those suffering a bad attitude, I plead with you, I implore you, cheer up cupcake! There's way too much beauty in this world to live it with a permanent frown on your face. To those with a positive attitude, hooray! You got it baby! Just as Winston Churchill said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." So smile more, laugh more, play more! Exercise that big great positive attitude muscle. Embrace how all of this positive energy changes your well-being. You have the power and the choice to have a good attitude. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, " Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your permission."