Attitude Tune Up - Make Your Life More Positive

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I have a confession. Something so deep that even if you know me, you probably would never guess. Most people know me as a pretty positive person, but I have had to work really hard on my attitude.

Back in college they called me Greg “MF” Hill… and despite the rumors it didn’t stand for Mr. Friendly.

For as long as I could remember my default mindset was in the negative. I was so down about myself that I put on a positive outward performance for people around me because I didn’t want them to see the real me.

I’m sharing the real old me in hopes that no matter where your attitude is currently at, these tips can help to tune it up even better! In the spirit of keeping things positive, I know being perfect is not the goal, so there is always room for growth, myself included. So I am going to share things that I use personally and have shared with others, so you can implement them into your life to make your attitude more ideal! (PS this works on your kids as well!)

Prepare

Discover What Motivates You– This needs to be fueled daily! In his book “Attitude is Everything” Harrol wrote: “Motivation is the hope that puts attitude into action in an attempt to fulfill a desire or achieve a specific result. It must energize you, be able to overcome days when positivity is not at its peak, be framed in the positive, evoke positive memories and most importantly you have to believe in yourself and your god given potential.” A simple way to find out what your real motivation is to ask yourself “why” you want to achieve your goal 3-5 times. Each answer will bring you deeper to your true motivation. I want to drop 10lbs - Why? Because I want to be healthier - Why? Because I want to be there for my kids.

Develop a Clear Vision - Set goals and deadlines. You should have results you want to achieve, behaviors of someone who has achieved those results, and specific skills and tasks that will help you carry out those behaviors. Need more help? See our blog on goal setting.

High-Didily-Ho Neighborino: Create an Upbeat Greeting - You don’t have to be as extreme as Ned Flanders, but I can not tell you the amount of positive feedback I get from people when I reply to “How are you today?” with “Fantastic” or “Amazing”. Even if you are tired or down, try to put a positive spin like “I’m pretty tired today, but we will make it”. It not only brightens their day, but helps to lift your spirits!

Daily

Give Thanks - A drill I practice with my kids everyday is to say something you are thankful for, something you want to accomplish today and someone who you want to have a super awesome amazing day. In my own journal I write down 3 of each. Practice writing down what you are grateful for and reach out to someone who you are thankful that they impacted your life.

Take Care of Your Body -This should go without saying, but taking care of the vessel that carries your brain around will improve your attitude! Exercise most days. Move more and get out for walks. Get enough quality sleep and down time. Fuel your body with nutrient dense whole foods. There is a direct relationship between the care for your body and the rewards for your brain.

Listen to Motivation Daily - There are so many ways to bring motivating voices to you every day. Just type in “motivation” into YouTube and you will have hundreds of hours of highlight reels of motivational speeches and movie scenes ranging from 2 minutes to 2 hrs. There are apps, podcasts, social media influencers, and icons from history who are available at the touch of a button. Bring them into your daily routine. My favorite times to recruit some extra motivation is when I’m getting myself and my kids ready in the morning or while I am sitting down for lunch. Right now some of my favorite speakers and podcasters are Eric Thomas, Les Brown, Rob Dial, Bedros Keuilian, Tony Robins, and Joel Osteen.

Positive Affirmation -Early in my transformation journey I created a mantra that I read at least one time every day. This should not be your mantra or your positive affirmation. Yours needs to be unique to you. I only share this to inspire you to create something that is your own. Mine was “I am a winner. I will continue to strengthen my mind, body and spirit. I will achieve my goals and help others achieve theirs. I will approach each day with a positive attitude, energy, and enthusiasm like no other. I will attack each day like it’s my last.” This still gives me goosebumps!

Visualize Your Victory - Bring a visual representation of your victory into your current situation. A few of my favorite ways are to run the mental video of what it will look like once you have accomplished your goal during prayer or meditation, or create a vision board of your dreams. Your visual representation needs to be as vivid as possible. Don’t only think about the objects around you, but your feelings, the people you will influence, your energy, even the smell!

Reflect on Wins and Victories - When playing the long game of life, there will be ups and downs. Take the time to reflect and celebrate your victories along the way. It could be as small as putting a check mark next to a completed daily task all the way to making a special purchase as a reward once your goal has been reached.

Protect your mind and control your internal dialog - Watch what is coming in and going out

Be Intentional with the Media You Consume - If we admit it or not, the media we consume, news we pay attention to, and our social circle, all has a huge impact on our attitude. You must be aware of how these are influencing you and be intentional with how you use and consume it. Here are a few quick tips: Log off social media for a while or unfollow or snooze sources that are not bringing you joy and are not bringing you closer to your goals. Like, share and comment on content that motivates you and brings you joy. Set app use limits. Put less attention on the national news and focus on your local impact. Protect your time against energy vampires who are trying to suck your attitude and motivation down. Keep your interactions positive and uplifting. Remember, no matter how positive the situation, there are going to be a few situations or people who want to bring you down.

Watch Your Words - Your words have great power not only in how it influences you, but how it influences others around you. One of my favorite examples is the difference between the statement “I can’t” and “I didn’t prioritize”. “I can’t” puts something else in control and paints you as a victim while “I didn’t prioritize” gives you ownership and the power to create change. Keep the words you speak positive, uplifting and encouraging. Pay attention when your words drift you away from your intention. Watch how you and others around you respond!

Get and Give Care

Set Aside Personal and/or Family Time - Sometimes the quest for bettering yourself, comes at the cost of burning yourself out and distancing your friends and family. To avoid this, make sure to schedule in a time for you to cut loose and relax. In my partying days, my dad would caution me not to “burn the candle at both ends”. Oddly enough I made it through my party days, but it wasn’t till years later when I became so focused on self improvement that those ends met. I found myself in the same mental spot years ago. Negative self image, depressed, and unmotivated. After coming so far and falling so deep, it took a lot to get my attitude back in check. Remember self improvement can always move forward as long as you have the energy and motivation to do so!

Give to Those Who are Less Fortunate - One of the greatest acts we can do as human beings is to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves. This is beneficial for a few reasons. It helps to put your own problems in perspective. It gives you a greater purpose and motivation. Most of the time it comes back to us 10 fold. If you have skills, money, time or other resources, consider using them to help others.

If you made it all the way here, it's probably because you needed to hear this.

Your attitude tune up is ready! Now, you can treat this like most people do. Take no action and continue to be stuck in the same place. That is not why I’m putting these words into the world and today you are not like “most people”. You are extraordinary.

Greg “Mr. Friendly” Hill needs you to take action.

The people in your life need you to take action.

Today, you will take action.

Now Let’s Go! **If you are someone like the old me who doesn’t think there is a way out of the darkness, there is. Do yourself the favor I didn’t give myself. Start doing these things, but also seek help from professionals and those around you. The time I spent navigating my own self help, robbed me of years of potential happiness. I guarantee on the release of this blog there will be people in my inner circle that will find out things about me. In most cases help won’t chase you down. People might not even know you need help. So give yourself the gift of years of happiness and go get it!