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Vol. 11 No. 1, January-February 2009 =================================================== =================================================== =================================================== =================================================== =================================================== Why attitude? From very personal and painful experiences I have found that for success in all areas of life, attitude is much more important than aptitude. People who cultivate consistently positive attitudes expect great things...work hard for those things...and are more likely to achieve them. In fact, research by psychologist Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania revealed that optimistic people--those who have developed what he calls a positive explanatory style--are happier, healthier and more successful than those with a negative outlook on life. And who could not benefit from that in these "stinking thinking" times? A relatively new branch of medicine--psychoneuroimmunology--studies the relationship between mental attitude and health. Physicians have found that a positive attitude can result in faster recovery from surgery and burns...more resistance to arthritis and cancer... improved immune function, and yes help you live a healthier, happier and even wealthier life! The reason is that our brain produces substances--neuropeptides--which transmit chemical messages that "manage" our immune system. When you think positively, these messages enhance your immune system and enable you to stay healthy. On the other hand when you are depressed, they tell your body, why bother? As a result you get even more depressed and it becomes a vicious downward cycle. Instead you can choose to build and maintain a positive attitude. Here is how: Develop an attitude of gratitude A positive attitude does not happen by itself. How you feel is a decision you can make every day. If you feel down, you must "force" yourself to look around and find something to feel good about. One way I have found very helpful, is to start out each day with an attitude of gratitude. Here is how: Start your day softly. Use a clock radio that wakes you up with soft and pleasant music. Don't wake up to a loud clanking alarm. Think about it: why start your day "alarmed"? Start slowly. Allow yourself enough time to prepare for the day's activities at a civilized pace. Instead of getting up at the last possible moment, get up at least 15 minutes earlier than you have to. Your body won't be able to tell that you got 15 minutes less sleep, however your day will unfold in a much more positive and unhurried way, and make you feel much better. Focus on the good stuff. Each day think of three specific things you can be grateful for while sitting on the "throne." Here is what I typically think of: First, I'm grateful to be in love with my "Superwoman"--the young lady I've been married to for 40 years. Second, I'm proud to be a parent of two wonderful daughters, and a grandparent to a wonderful almost 2 year old grand-daughter, and third, I'm grateful to be in a profession that enables me to help others improve the quality of their lives. (Come to think of it the last one applies to you as well.) Do this every day! Don't worry about how original you are. I'm not, and it works for me. Take advantage of the "throne." Keep a positive, motivational book in your bathroom near the throne. (A great one is "Make it a Winning Life: Success Strategies for Life, Love and Business," by yours truly available at http://wolfrinke.com/MIWL.html.) Or any of the "Chicken Soup" books by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen). Any time you feel down, turn to an inspirational part and give yourself an instant positive check-up-from-the neck-up. Start positively. Think about the positive things you expect to accomplish today. Don't listen to the local news of who killed whom or worry about your own problems while you are getting your day started. Instead focus on the good stuff--because whatever you focus on, you tend to find. (That's referred to as selective perception.) Eat a healthy and leisurely breakfast. If you feel you need to skip a meal, make sure it is not this one. (The name tells you why this is the most important meal of the day: "break a fast." And whatever you do don't start the day only with coffee or cigarettes. Your life is too short--every cigarette is estimated to cost you 13 minutes of your life. Exercise. Do it for about 30 minutes/day or until you sweat. In cool temperatures that means you are probably close to 80 percent maximum heart rate. I know it's tough. However, for every hour you exercise you will add about two hours to your life expectancy plus you improve the quality of your life in your later years. Make yourself laugh. If you read the paper while eating breakfast, skip the negative "stinking thinking" local news. Skim the headlines to keep yourself informed. Most importantly, read the comics before you put the paper away, and be sure to make yourself laugh. Yes, I said MAKE yourself laugh! Laughter is powerful way to stimulate endorphins which will help you feel better, faster. Make the most of your commute. Listen to motivational or educational CDs on your way to work. (You can get my powerful CD: "Positive Attitude: The Key to Peak Performance" at a discount at http://wolfrinke.com/MIWL.html.) It will make your commute appear much shorter and get you motivated for another great day. Give love. Find something positive to say to your spouse and children and be sure to tell them how much you love them before they or you leave home. Don't pick on them as the last thing you do before you see them off to work or school. The "recency effect" will cause them to remember it for a disproportionately long time. Once you get the day started be sure to: Use positive greetings. Take advantage of the "fact" that many people want to know how you are doing. They do, don't they? Why else would they say, "How are you?" (Are you chuckling, or are you taking me too seriously?) Right, that's merely a rhetorical question. How you respond to that greeting is very important. Do you answer on autopilot with "Fine"? Or worse, do you reply with: "Not too bad" or "It could be worse." Or do you describe how well you are surviving by saying "I'll make it," "I'm OK, its TGIF day", "I am alright because today is hump day." Or do you forget that it is a rhetorical question, and proceed to tell the other person everything she didn't really want to know? Instead, make it a habit to answer in a positive fashion with "Great", "Fantastic," "Excellent" or, on days when you don't feel quite as positive, with "Good, and I'm getting better!" This strategy will send a positive affirmation to your subconscious, which will reinforce the positive programming you started in the morning. Because your subconscious is unable to tell fact from fiction, and dreams from reality, it will accept everything you send it as if it were true. Therefore you are creating your own positive reality. Also be sure to say farewell in a positive fashion. Instead of using the worn out phrase "Have a good day," remind yourself and others that they are in charge of their lives, by saying. "MAKE it a great day!" Smile. Find something positive to say to everyone you care about and don't forget to smile. Somehow at the end of the day you will feel much better about the human race, your profession and most importantly about yourself. Why? Because whatever you give is what you get! Have fun. Make a decision throughout the day that no matter how tough things seem to get, you expect to have fun, because if it's fun it will get done! Transform your thoughts. Any time a negative thought, anger, jealousy
or sadness creeps into your mind, substitute something positive in its
place. When you think positively, work seems much easier and enjoyable,
and you will be much more energized and encouraged. You make a better
impression on your customers, co-workers and even your boss, which encourages
them to think more favorably of you, which comes in handy when your
boss has to select someone to promote or lay off. Plus when you think
more positively about others, you build stronger and more productive
relationships--leading to greater success and satisfaction at work and
at home. Choose to consistently focus on the positive and you will live a happier,
healthier and maybe even wealthier life even during these tough times.
Source: W. J. Rinke, "Make it A Winning Life: Success Strategies for Life, Love and Business," Achievement Publishers. Get it at a special discount at http://wolfrinke.com/MIWL.html. =================================================== These full day seminars maybe open to you if your company is a member
of the Institute of Management Studies (IMS). Contact the chairperson
for specifics. NOTE: I have other "in-house" presentations scheduled in the U.S.A., Canada and Europe. Please let me know if you are interested to preview me or bring me into your organization at reduced expenses when I'm scheduled to be in your area. That way we can let you know when I'm coming your way! =================================================== =================================================== =================================================== If this was forwarded to you and you would like to receive your own
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