The Upside of Upbeat

Up days, down days, good days or bad, attitude makes a difference in the workplace or on the home front. While happiness is contagious and creates smiles, laughs and giggles, sadness and anger create negativity and frustration. On sunny days we are more apt to be upbeat and positive, while on cloudy days the same folks can be quiet, concerned and even sad. Attitude also affects how fast one ages.

The University of Texas found people with an upbeat view of life were less likely than pessimists to show signs of age related frailty. An upbeat attitude helps to boost a person's health by making it more likely they will be successful in life, suggesting psychosocial factors play a role in how quickly we age.

A negative attitude can also make one sick. Realage suggests "attitude is a positive state of mind that shows in the way you think and act." A positive person, according to realage, "expects success, thinks in terms of what they can do, looks at things creatively, chooses happiness, is motivated to reach goals, does not give up on things that are important, sees failure and problems as something to learn from, believes in his or her abilities, and acts with confidence." Not so for the negative thinkers out there. Optimists and positive thinkers get more done and are more fun to be with. Those with a positive attitude have better relationships with others, lead a fuller and more satisfying life, and are usually optimistic and expect others to follow suit. Upbeat and positive thinkers are also better able to manage life's struggles.

Learn ways to change your less-then-positive attitude from Elizabeth Scott at Create Energy, Become More Productive & Relieve Stress With A Positive Attitude. Practice smiling. Smile right now, hold to the count of 10, release and smile again. It's not so hard and having a smile creates other smiles everywhere. Keep practicing and soon smiling will be as natural as, well, a smile.
Photo attribution: somewhatfrank