Does this sound familiar ?  Has someone ever said this to you or have you said this before?

The word “Attitude” itself seems to have a negative connotation, as if it’s been deemed "Negative" and condescending no matter how it is used. And at times to justify the opposite we need to add the word “positive” to make it sound palatable.

What is Attitude?

It is a delicate combination of 3 components – Thoughts, Feelings & Actions.

But wait a minute, aren’t thoughts and feelings the same?

Blame it on the human brain which plays 2 roles in this process -

(THOUGHTS) The Thinking / Conscious / Reasoning Mind – This part of the brain processes information based on all the ‘+ or – ‘ energy that it absorbs as information. This part of the brain perceives thoughts which can be either positive or negative.

(FEELINGS) The Sub-Conscious mind. The EQ part of the brain where the feelings are created. The positive or negative ideas that are sent from the conscious mind are filtered by the sub-conscious mind and are given feelings. Now it totally depends on what feelings the sub-consciously processes.

If the Negative thoughts are processed with negative feelings, the body tends to react and respond in a negative manner which might result in actions such as – anger, fear, distrust, rudeness, assumptions, aggression, jealousy, judgmental and violent behavior.

On the other hand, if the thoughts are processed in a positive manner, then the sub-conscious mind generates positive feelings of love, affection, togetherness, enthusiasm, bonding, friendliness etc. and the body then automatically shows positivity actions.

(ACTIONS) Our Bodies. Our bodies are the perfect reflection of our conscious and sub-conscious mind. Which is why we say the power lies in our minds to react or respond to a situation. Our bodies have the capacity to showcase what goes on in our brains through our actions. These actions are perceived all around us through our interactions with them. This is even visible with a simple genuine smile, our eyes, or sometimes just the looks you give.

Attitude = Thoughts + Feelings + Actions

This is why we can sometimes categorize people as highly positive or negative. We then tend to reflect that positive or negative energy through our actions.

Why is self-refection and self-awareness important when it comes to Attitude? It all comes down to Intent vs Impact. Are your intended Thoughts and Feelings reflected in your Attitude via your Actions? Are you getting the desired outcomes in your communications? If not – choosing the Positive road may help.

A positive attitude is a combination of thoughts, feelings and the actions combined for a win-win outcome.

Survey yourself this week. When faced with challenges, pivots or disappointments, catch your internal dialogue. Is it positive (solution focused) or negative (fault/blame focused)? Let’s all try and move to the positive/solution sector and track our wins. You can also generate some change this week by reflecting positive energy out into the world. This positivity can even start with a small gesture… a simple Smile can change everyones day.

Remember it’s a combination of – Thoughts, Feelings & Action.