5 Ways to Keep Your Attitude Up When Life Tries to Bring You Down

1. Take some time away.

You know what happens. You’re going about your day and everything seems to be going well, when out of nowhere, disaster strikes. All of your best laid plans begin to tumble. Sometimes circumstances surprise us and we react—and, unfortunately, this often compounds the problem, because by reacting, we tend to operate out of our weaknesses instead of our strengths. We make decisions that are not well thought out. We function with a bad attitude that says, “I can't believe this is happening!” 

 2. Keep your eye on the goal.

One of the biggest problems with trouble is that it gets your focus off where it should be. When racecar drivers get into trouble, they keep their eyes straight ahead and do not move them away. There is too much chance of wrecking otherwise. Instead, their eyes are on the goal—and this keeps them out of trouble.

 3. Focus on solutions, not problems.

“The squeaky wheel gets the grease,” the old saying goes. Negative circumstances don't sit idly by—they scream for our attention. When we face difficult circumstances, we tend to dwell on them. We talk about them, fret about them and give them way too much attention.

 4. Get some positive input.

The mind tends to build on itself, so when we begin to go in one direction (like worrying), it can be a slippery slope. One thing we must do is get our thoughts back on track with positive ideas.

 5. Tell yourself the good.