Over the last few weeks I’ve been using my time to get on top of a few jobs in both the house and my office. As I clear through files, I am increasingly aware of how I use quotes to inspire me. So I’ve decided to put them to use and, in the same way that I recently put together my newsletters, I have decided to put ‘My Tools for Success’ into alphabetical posts using quotes as the basis.

A is for Attitude and I’ve chosen this quote from Maya Angelou. Our attitudes are contagious and affect those around us as well as determine our levels of success. Have you ever noticed how your negative attitude can drain the life out of a situation whereas your positivity can radiate others and bring out the best in them. Now I’m not telling you to be positive for positive sake, but during this period of uncertainty, having a positive attitude is much more likely to help us work through any of the problems we face. And this is because when we think more positively our minds open up to see opportunities to achieve better results instead of focusing on obstacles that may get in the way.

It is also clear that when we display a positive attitude we’re more likely to feel good about ourselves, and act in a way to achieve win win situations, using our positive energy to achieve our goals. When we listen to the positive voices in our head, what I call our inner Tigger, it propels us forward to try new things and venture out of our comfort zones to tackle the activities before us, which is crucial at times like this. Look at how many of us are using Zoom as a daily staple, learning new activities such as drawing, exercising and singing on line? This new way of working is pushing our boundaries and helping us grow in the process!

There also studies to show the importance of having a positive attitude. The National Academy of Sciences journal stated that negative brain activity is linked to a weakened immune system. When we allow our negative thoughts to affect our attitude it can lead to anxiety and stress and ultimately leads to us having physical and emotional health problems.   If you spend more time listening to your inner Eeyore, life can become a bit gloomy; we lose our resilience and give up more easily. This affects our performance as well as our relationships.

The situation that we find ourselves in at the moment will undoubtedly find us have some days better than others so here are some of my tips that help me focus more on positive thoughts:

Be aware of what I’m digesting and I don’t mean food! However, I don’t know about you, but I’m finding lots of opportunities to snack at the moment!! I We can become overloaded with information from the news to social media. I’ve stopped listening to the news at night before I go to bed. I felt that I was going to sleep on a belly full of doom and gloom and some of it would appear in my dreams. I now either switch channels when the news comes or turn the TV off and read before going to sleep.

Get into a routine. There are lots of little habits that help me be more positive. I know that my morning walk, or dare I say my challenge to complete the Couch to 5K, is a great way to start my day as it helps me link to nature, get some fresh air and rev up those endorphins. There are also some that I’m aware of that don’t help me, such as getting out of bed and looking at my phone first thing – 40 minutes can pass easily and taken my focus to all sorts of places.

List three successes daily. If you’re anything like me, you can give yourself a hard time when you don’t achieve everything on your list. We all need to find ways to be kinder to ourselves and I find that writing down the three key things that I’ve achieved finishes the day on a high.

Finally, help someone else. There’s nothing like lending a hand to someone else to help you feel more positive. It gives your mind a break from thinking about as you focus on someone else.