How do you build a positive attitude? First off, you have to remember, attitude happens on two different levels. There's a big attitude and then there's a small attitude.

The big attitude happens over a period of a lifetime. If you're 15 or 20 or 50 or 80 years old, it's taken that long to build your big attitude. All of your experiences, everything you've thought about, all the things you've done through your life, build that big perspective.

You've heard people talk about the glass being half full or half empty, whether someone is a pessimist or an optimist. Well, that's the big attitude, and it's developed through your whole life experience. You can change it but it's a big piece of work.

We're not going to focus too much on that one for the moment. The one we can do something about easily is the little attitude. The small attitude is something that happens moment to moment, hour to hour, day to day. Now you can get some control over this one because the little attitude occurs because of your thinking. It is the result of your thinking patterns, your focus, what you're telling yourself and the mental images in your mind. What you are focused on makes that little attitude get better or get worse.

It happens in a number of different ways and primarily it is because of self-talk. Emotions only occur in four ways,chemical or hormonal change in the body, damage to the brain, self-talk and the mental pictures I see in my head, or something happening to my physiology. Those are the four ways emotions are created.

We can do something about the self-talk. 65% to 75% of all of your emotions result from self talk. The little attitude is primarily the result of your thinking pattern.

Your choice of focus makes the difference. Your brain can only think one direction at a time. I can be thinking about good stuff or I can be thinking about bad stuff. It's a choice. I can be thinking about how things have not worked for me and all that's wrong and the problems I've had and how everything always sucks. Or I can focus on possibilities. There are things I can do. I can learn new things. I can take life in a new way. I can build better relationships. I can make my life go a certain way. Again, it's a choice of focus.

Your mind can only focus one direction at any time, so you can choose to focus on the stuff you can't do anything about and upsetting things, or you can focus on things you can do something about and things that will make you feel better. That is a choice, every moment, every day. Your focus is absolutely crucial.

There is a saying, "Focus on the positive and detach from the negative" or "Focus on the positive and delete the negative." Truly, your choice of focus builds your attitude, whether it's good or bad.

If you'll allow your mind to get stuck in the whirlpool of negativity going around and around, you will feel lousy. It is a choice. So what you need to do is to make a point of focusing your mind in the direction you want it to go, so that you feel better and feel more in control.

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