Have you ever wished you lived someone else’s life? Someone who looks happy all the time, nothing bothers them, and they always smile. Someone who weathers every storm, keeps their cool during stressful situation, and generally performs better. Well guess what? It is not about the person, or the life, or the circumstances, the key is your attitude about life.
This article will give you nine simple and actionable steps to improve your attitude about life starting today. You will not become that person overnight, but it will happen gradually.
Personal experience
I am a big believer in attitude and changing your attitude about life. I recently read a great book about this called “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff … and its all small stuff” (link to Goodreads). The main thesis of the book is that most of our problems are small stuff and sweating over them is what makes us overwhelmed and unhappy. I have logically divided the tips from the author in three categories: 1) Improve you attitude about life; 2) Positive habits and skills to learn; 3) Negative habits to substitute. In this article, I have concentrated on the first point, but I will cover the others in subsequent posts.
It all starts with your attitude about life
Life is not about getting everything done, but enjoying every step of it filled with love. It is not an emergency. You are usually creating the emergencies yourself. It is a classroom and patience is the curriculum. Use every opportunity to practice patience. Life is a test. It is the only a test. Had this been a real life you would have been instructed where to go and what to do.
Nine steps to improve your attitude about life
- The purpose of the to-do list is to contain items that need to be done, it will never be empty.
- Surrender to the fact that life is not fair. It is not life’s job to make everything perfect, it is your own challenge. When you recognize that you will feel more compassion for others.
- Do not live your life like it is a great rehearsal for a mythical “some day”. Your life is here and now, because tomorrow might never come. And yesterday does not matter any more.
- The need for perfection and the inner tranquility conflict with each other. Be content with what you have and don’t focus on what’s wrong. Still do your best, but lose your attachment to what’s wrong with your life. Remind yourself that life is ok and resist wishing it is any other way.
- Most times you can either be right or happy. Your choice. Needing to be right encourages others to become defensive. Being listened to and heard of is one of the great desires of the human heart.
- Imagine that everyone around you is enlightened, except you. Imagine that everyone in your life is here to teach you something. Your job is to determine what the people in your life are trying to teach you.
- Your position in an argument is not more important than your happiness. Be the first one to take action and mend the broken relationship. Even you are completely sure you were “right”. Whenever you hold on to your anger you turn small stuff into big stuff.
- Approach your days without expectations. Do not expect people to be friendly. Do not expect things to go your way. Don’t approach your days as fights but as dances instead. This way life will be a lot more fun.
- Relaxed and calm people can also be overachievers. When you have inner peace, you are less distracted by your wants, concerns, desires.
One action
The one action which I urge you to take in order to improve your attitude about life is to promise yourself to pause every time you get a negative thought or you feel a negative emotion. Ask yourself, “What can I change in my attitude so that I never get that feeling again?“