A simple story I heard helped me to change a bad day into a good one.
I was in a bad mood, and it was getting worse with every step I took closer to my office.
I had dealt with a difficult client the day before and I was having to meet them again today. Furthermore, there was a negative vibe in the office, and I was irritated that I was going to be surrounded by it.
I started thinking about all the things I hated about my job and the moodier and angrier I became.
Suddenly, I caught myself and I remembered a famous story told by Zig Ziglar.
Zig Ziglar tells a story of a woman who requested his help. She hated her job and everything about it. She didn’t know what to do.
After discussing the situation, he finally told her to make a list of all the things that she liked about her job.
She told him that she couldn’t; she hated everything.
He started working with her and they came up with a list of 22 things that she liked about her work. She liked getting paid, the benefits were good, the commuting time was short, etc.
He told her to read her list in front of a mirror every night and morning.
When he was in the area 6 weeks later, her entire attitude had changed. She was smiling and now enjoyed going to work.
I tried this myself.
As I got closer to the office, I decided to come up with a list of things that I liked about my job. I challenged myself to come up with as many things as I could before arriving.
“When you focus on problems, you get more problems. When you focus on possibilities, you have more opportunities. Zig Ziglar”
After forcing myself to come up with a long list, I discovered that my attitude had completely changed. I was in a positive mood and was smiling when I walked into the office.
By forcing myself to focus on the good things, it had completely shifted my attitude. Furthermore, my good mood put others in a good mood and the environment of the office was better.
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I found that this worked in other areas of my life.
Relationships, starting tasks, going further with uncomfortable things, etc.
When dealing with people around me, if I found myself being irritated with someone, I would work on coming up with a list of good things about them. This kept me from dwelling on the things they were doing to irritate me, and it made it easier to interact with them.
If I was finding it hard to start something like exercising, I would come up with a list of why I wanted to do it. I would focus on coming up with as many things as I could until I felt the shift to get started.
I also found that it would help distract me when I was doing something I felt like giving up on such as ending a cold shower or exercising.
I discovered that when I had to come up with 10 things for which I was grateful, it made me forget about the cold water or how tired I was. I ended up going much longer as I forced myself to come up with new things that I had not thought of before.
I started practicing this every time I found myself caught in moody thoughts or in an irritating situation.
It wasn’t always easy to adjust my attitude, but with practice, it became easier, and I found it better shaped my thoughts and kept me in a better mood throughout the day.
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Change your attitude, change your life.
I have seen people on both sides – those who focus on good things and those who focus on bad things. Those people who focus on good things have a higher quality of life.
You get to choose how you will react to life and everyday events.
If you really want to improve your life, learn to manage your attitude. Focusing on the good things will lead to less stress, higher productivity, and a happier life.
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