Hi Teens:
Have you ever heard of the glass-half-full/glass-half-empty metaphor? On average, do you think you view the glass as half-full or half-empty?
A positive view is to say it’s half-full. A negative view is to say it’s half-empty.
The more you change your attitude to see the optimistic side in your life, the more positives will come to you. Whatever is your focus is what you will attract.
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
-Winston Churchill
Ask yourself, “Am I thinking about what I’m thinking about?”
Your thinking comes from your beliefs, which make you feel a certain way. This concept leads to your actions, and your results are based on these actions.
Let’s go through that again!
Beliefs lead to thinking, which leads to feelings, which leads to actions, which leads to results.
Beliefs ——> Thinking ——> Feelings ——>Actions ——> Results
If you start out with negative beliefs, naturally you are going to end up with negative results.
What do you think happens when you have positive beliefs? What kind of results are you going to get?
You got it – positive results, because what you focus on expands.
One thought does not mean much, but thoughts that we have over and over are like drops of water – at first, there are just a few, and then after a while, you’ve created a pool, and then a lake, and then an ocean.
If our thinking is negative, we can drown in a sea of negativity. If it’s positive, we can float on the ocean of life.
It’s up to you to choose which way you see the world. That will give you a lot of responsibility, but it’s better than leaving your results up to chance.
I am not saying that you should never have or ignore feelings like anger, frustration, or sadness. All feelings are valid and a part of life. It’s what you do (your actions) when you feel that way that can get you into trouble. Also, being stuck with these feelings for a long time can bring you down.
Here are some of the qualities that you already have inside of you that can help you towards developing a more positive attitude:
Curiosity – Become more curious about things that are interesting to you. Keep reading, ask questions, surf the internet to do research, etc. Curiosity is a great feeling to have.
Creativity – Once you’re curious, you may want to get creative and use your imagination to explore possible ways to bring improvements to your life.
Start saying things like, “I have an idea.”
Try, “What if I….”
Ask, “There must be a better way, what is it?”
Asking yourself curious questions is a great way of coming up with creative answers.
Courage – It’s not easy to make changes and try new things. It will push you past your comfort zone, and most people find that threatening. If you can concentrate and envision the positive outcome you want, however, you will get an extra boost to help you break through your fear. If you allow your fears to overwhelm your desires, you will find yourself frozen and unable to move forward.
Another trap that people find is that they get started on something, they don’t experience the desired outcome right away, and they lose courage. It takes time to get to where you want to be.
Don’t lose heart. Keep trying!
Tip: The news mostly reports on the negative in the world, and listening to it can drag you down. It’s okay to watch or listen to the news so that you know what’s going on in the world, as long as you don’t make it your only source of information.
Life is 10% aptitude and 90% attitude!