The Benefits of a Positive Attitude

“We can not change our past.  We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way.  We can not change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude.”  -- Charles Swindoll

We have all heard of the praises of a positive attitude.  The concept has been around for centuries but it became a popular part of the American culture in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s by people like Napoleon Hill, and Dr. Norman Vincent Peal.  It has become so widely known that, like so many power truths, we take if for granted.  Many will talk about a positive attitude but few really work at having one.

A positive attitude is far more than just being happy all the time and seeing the world through rose colored glasses.  In fact, you can face great trials and suffering and still maintain a positive attitude.  A positive attitude does not make bad things good, it only helps you get through the bad things.  You will survive while those without a proper attitude will be crushed and destroyed.

Let’s look at the benefits of a positive attitude.  I will talk of four but there are countless benefits.  Emerson said, “So of cheerfulness, or a good temper, the more it is spent, the more of it remains.”  You will not run out of a positive attitude if you cultivate it and make it strong.

“Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body.”  -- Joseph Addison

1)     It Will Help You Feel Better.

It is a proven fact that those who are always negative and down suffer from many health problems, both physical and mental.  It is not that they are negative because they feel bad, but they feel bad because they are negative. 

The same is true for a positive attitude.  People who are positive and face life with joy are healthier and have less mental problems.  Even if they become sick, they suffer less and heal faster.  Don’t believe me?  Try it and prove me wrong.

 “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness.”  -- Psalm 30:11

2)     It Helps You Face Challenges.

Have you ever heard someone say, “My life is a mess. Everything is going wrong and turning from bad to worse.”?  Chances are they are right.  When you have a bad attitude about life, it just gets worse.  You make it that way.  Oh you can find millions of excuses as to why things are bad and how unfair life is, but they are just excuses.  As Benjamin Franklin said, “He who is good at making excuses is good at very little else.”

A positive attitude gives you and upper hand.  It gives you hope.  With hope you can face any challenge and know you will come out okay.  Read the work of Vickor Frankel. He discovered when he had to live in a Nazi concentration camp that the difference between those who survived and those who did not had a great deal to do with their attitude.  If hope lived in them so did they.

 “Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.”  -- W.C. Fields

3)     It Will Help You Think More Creatively.

For a week, keep a note book and pen with you all the time.  When you are feeling good, write down any ideas that pop into your head.  When you are not feeling so good do the same.  Compare the lists for the number of thoughts and the kind.

Most will find that when they feel good they are flooded with creative ideas. They feel they can do almost anything and solve any problem.  This is always true, you just had not paid attention to it before so the ideas came and went.  When you are not feeling good, chances are you had no ideas at all.  If you did they may tend to be destructive and defeating.

“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon

4)     It Will Make You More Productive.

If there is a project that has to be done, give me a positive person to do it.  The negative person may have more education or experience, but I know that the project will take twice as long and not be done properly.

Positive people are productive and creative in their work.  What they may lack in some areas the more than made up for in time and energy.  You will find that keeping a positive attitude is often the best way to keep your job.

“People want to be around happy people – not whiners, moaners, and groaners.  Happy people get more opportunities because opportunities come from people, and people are attracted by happy people” – Andy Andrews

© Jack Hickey 2010