Excited coupleAttitude is an outward expression of your inner feelings. It’s your passion – and it is also a habit! How you speak and act every day becomes so much a part of you that it is automatic. That’s what a habit is – something you do without thinking about it. You know people who come into the room almost every day saying, “I’m just not a morning person.” Have you ever noticed these people aren’t usually afternoon people either?

Our thoughts are creating our feelings – our passion. Our feelings in turn are driving our behavior. Our behavior brings about the results or lack of results we have in our lives. How we think, what we believe, and the energy, enthusiasm, and passion with which we approach our lives play a major role in our success.

Have you ever had a great idea only to have some naysayer say something along the lines of “It won’t work. We’ve never done it that way.” If so, don’t let those people discourage you. Say something along the lines of “Well, let’s give it a try anyway and see if we can find a way.” Most of us hear about 5 negative statements an hour. These statements could be made by someone else but about 70% of them come out of our own mouths. “I’m so dumb. I’m so ignorant. I don’t know why I even tried. Bad things always happen to me. I hate this traffic. My hair is a mess.” Sound familiar? Start saying positive things to yourself. It takes about fourteen positive statements to overcome the effects of one negative statement. So let’s do the numbers. Five negative statements an hour add up to more than 1,000 negatives a month. You’d better get busy putting some positives into your passion real quick. You need to take the responsibility to give yourself a positive mental attitude so you can stay motivated and on track to reach your full potential.

You have control over the kind of messages that are being programmed into your subconscious. Of course, any additional motivation you get from others is great too, but you shouldn’t be dependent upon it. You are leading the way for your own success. Practice giving yourself praise, compliments, and “atta boys” whenever you can. Every time you think something negative like, “I’m so clumsy” or “I’m so fat,” stop and remind yourself that you are successful, that you can walk down the street without tripping most of the time, and that you are a kind person. Break the habit of telling yourself all the bad things about you. There are plenty of other people who are ready and willing to do that for you. Be your own cheerleader – the one person in your life who loves you no matter what! Say to yourself, “I’m intelligent. I’m kind. People like me. I’m effective. I look good. I smell good.”

Make a habit of being your own cheerleader. Every day – throughout the day – find a moment and tell yourself something good!

If you are to live a life filled with passion, you must take care of yourself, give yourself permission to be you – with all your strengths and all your weaknesses. There’s a little voice inside of each of us that sometimes says, “What about me?” You have to take care of yourself if you are to be excited about your life. If you want other people to be excited, you have to be excited first.