Tips for keeping a Positive Attitude

A positive attitude doesn't just make you feel better. It can also strengthen your relationships with friends, family, and co-workers as well as make it easier to deal with everything from a bad day at work to a major life change. Below are tips for creating and keeping a positive attitude.

Turn negative thoughts into positive ones. Instead of thinking, "I'll never make it to the end of my shift," say, "At the end of the day, I'm going to go for a long walk to reward myself for getting through this crunch." When you have a problem, instead of saying, "This is terrible and there's nothing I can do about it," tell yourself, "Things are going to get better."

Try to be around other positive people as much as possible. Negative thinking spreads quickly, especially at work. But if you make an effort to spend time with people who have a positive outlook, you might find that you'll start thinking more positively, too.

Remember that you can choose to be positive or you can choose to be negative. A positive outlook isn't just something that you're born with -- it's a skill that you can learn with practice.

Keep learning and growing. Learning new things -- whether it's how to fish or how to use a new software program at work -- gives you confidence. Make it a point to try something new whenever you can, and avoid thoughts that begin with, "I'm too old to..." or "I don't have enough time to..."

Make time for the things that make you happy. Whether it's spending time with friends, going to the movies, or just playing with your kids, make the activities you love to do a priority.

Maintain your sense of humor. A sense of humor can help you get through tough situations and it's a great stress-buster. Spend time with funny people, share jokes or funny stories at work, or watch funny movies at home.

Have things to look forward to, whether it's a weekend get-together with family, going to the gym at the end of a tough day at work, or calling a friend you haven't talked to in a long time.