As humans, it seems that we are programmed to want and want. Regardless of what it is, we want; every individual is constantly striving towards something. This could be financial gain in the form of a high-paying job or establishing a successful business. This could be educational achievements in the form of a degree from University or just exceptional grades in whatever you are studying. It could also be something more personal such as a healthy relationship with your partner. Additionally, a person normally wants more than one thing at a time and is working towards achieving all these goals. However, doing so can be extremely difficult and sometimes people give up.
This can happen when you are putting in the effort, but your dreams are still not culminating. A common saying goes, ‘If at first, you don’t succeed, try again.” Is this always effective though? The answer is no. Research has been done regarding this topic and the key to getting what you want has been identified as being your attitude.
Normally, people don’t really focus much on their attitude and just follow what their brain is telling them. What they don’t understand is that often, our brains are conditioned to think in a certain manner. This is due to societal norms and the things which we have been told as children, both of which have a lasting impact on how our thought pattern is. Many times, the conditioned thoughts in our brain are negative, acting as a major hurdle towards success. This is because, if you subconsciously believe that you cannot achieve a certain goal, or you feel as if you are at a disadvantage compared to a competitor, you may never fully strive to reach your full capacity, thus leading to an inability to get what you want.
The impact of a positive and encouraging attitude has now been strongly established and with this knowledge, people have started working on cultivating a better attitude-one which can help them attain success. Here are some common techniques and methods which everyone can incorporate in their lives to change their attitudes.
Notice what you are doing wrong
The first step towards changing is realizing what you are doing wrong. As already mentioned, our brains are conditioned to think in a certain manner. Whenever you voice or think a negative thought, you should try and understand where this negativity is coming from and how you can change it. Let us explain this further in the form of an example.
Imagine that you have a colleague who is on good terms with the CEO of your company and has managed to secure a senior position in the company. You may think, every time you see him, that he probably reached this degree of success through his connections with the CEO. When this thought does come into your head, try to catch yourself and think instead that maybe you can look inward and try to understand which things are holding you back. This sort of attitude doesn’t just go till your workplace but, try and reign in the negative thoughts you have daily.
Another negative thought which people tend to cultivate is that they don’t deserve success, or they aren’t intelligent enough to get what they want. Every time you think this, stop yourself and try to think of the times you have succeeded, instead of the times you haven’t.
Set your goals and imagine achieving them
To have the correct attitude needed to achieve something, the first thing is to know what you want. If you aren’t exactly sure or if you think something like,’ once I have it, I’ll be happy’, chances are, you will not be happy even when you get what you want. Try to understand what your motivation is for desiring that particular thing-once you know this, you will start moving in the right direction.
Another technique which has become quite popular these days is imagining or visualizing what you want. For example, if you are training to run in a marathon, imagine what it would be like to win the marathon. This way, you have a visual in your head which makes you work harder and encourages you to have the attitude needed to reach your goal.
Adopt ways which encourage positivity
An important thing to know when working on your attitude is that you must work on even the minutest of details. If you send out a hostile or unfriendly vibe, those around you also treat you the same way and positive energy works the same way. If you aren’t adopting positive mannerisms yourself, positive things will probably not happen to you.
There are several ways of doing this. Using affirmations daily play a vital role. Positive affirmations, which are repeated as much as they can, tend to remove the negative conditioned thoughts of our brain and replace them with the positive affirmations. Even by telling yourself small things such as “I can do this!” your brain starts responding to this statement and eventually, you will actually believe you can which will ultimately reach your goals. Surround yourself with positive people as negative people bring those around them down as well. When the latter voice their negative thoughts, those around them also start thinking like them.
Another technique which is also used to cultivate positivity is exercising. Not only is the practice good for the body, but it is also good for the mind and is often used medically as well, as a treatment modality. Furthermore, try and see the funnier side of things instead of the negative side. Again, this works well to alter a person’s attitude.
Achieving our goals is definitely extremely difficult and it is true that sometimes, things just aren’t meant to be. However, mostly the main thing which is bringing us down is our own self and how we perceive things. Our attitude is what shapes how we work and react in situations, so keeping a positive one is pivotal towards getting what you want.