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Positive Attitudes

Written by Mitch McCrimmon

  • No one feels positive (or negative) all the time.
  • Blanket labels are unhelpful, i.e. I am a positive/negative person.
  • Recall those situations when you felt most positive about yourself.
  • What did you do, others do or happened to make you feel positive?
  • How can you apply that experience to your present situation?
  • What led you in the past to move from negative to positive?
  • How can you move yourself now to a more positive frame of mind?
  • What do you need to do to sustain positive momentum?
  • How can you avoid sinking into negative thinking and move forward again?
  • Make a list of all the things you feel positive about in your life.
  • What themes run through these situations?
  • How can you build on these strengths?
  • Think about what you especially enjoy doing and feel good about.
  • What strengths underlie these activities that you can apply elsewhere?
  • What sorts of things excite you?
  • How can you use this pattern to excite yourself now?
  • We commonly think that we have to feel better first before we can act.
  • Often it's the other way around - we have to force ourselves to do things when we don't feel like it because we know they could make us feel better.
  • Examples include exercise, getting outside, being with friends, spending time on your favourite hobby, whatever gives you a sense of achievement.
  • Constructive action can turn negative attitudes into positive ones.
  • If you are feeling negative about a situation, list all its positives.
  • Research has shown that negative attitudes towards the police, for example, can be turned around by listing benefits of police to society.
  • Thinking negatively makes us more negative - a vicious circle.
  • You can turn it around by listing positives of things you're negative about.
  • So, how can you use your positive attitudes as a resource and how can you cultivate further positive attitudes?

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