Having a Positive Attitude - a Game Changer

When staring at the chaos of a messy house, it's really hard to feel positive about anything to do with it.  Cleaning small things hardly seems to make a difference individually and it can be discouraging.  This is where that phrase comes in:

Every small thing you do is a blessing to your home.

How do you put it in to other words which will convince you to keep up the work which seems so impossible? You have to phrase your accomplishments in positive terms, rather than negative. So, instead of saying, "Yeah, I got the dishes done, but my kitchen is still a wreck." You could say, "Yay! I got the dishes done! What an accomplishment that is!"  Once you get the feeling of accomplishment from thinking so positively, you can move on to thinking, "What else can I do to make it better?" rather than thinking, "Ugh, there's still so much left to do."

At Success Through Self Improvement they recommend a number of strategies for finding a positive attitude about life in general.  Smiling, laughing and listening to favorite music are several of the ways.  These can be applied to making cleaning house much more pleasant.  My favorite thing to do is to throw on some upbeat, happy music and dance around while I clean.  The silliness of my dancing often makes me smile and laugh. 

Adopting a positive attitude is a decision you make.  It's deciding how you will react to situations you're in: Will you phrase the situation in a positive light or a negative one?  Inc, recommends this very thing, along with a number of others.  Listing out positive ideas and reviewing them when you feel negative is another great idea.

This is where my lists come in.  I can look at my lists and see the tasks I've crossed off and tell myself what a good job I'm doing.  Or, if I the list is just depressing and overwhelming me, I will remind myself that x task will ONLY take 5 minutes.  Instead of saying to myself, "Oh man, this is going to take FOREVER," I phrase it in a way that is more positive.  It's psyching myself up to get the job done as quickly as possible.This way, at the end, I can look at the job I've done and be proud not just that I did it, but that I got it done quickly.

If none of this works, realize how lucky you are to have a home and enough things to make a mess.  Many people are less fortunate.  If you have to throw thing in the garbage or give things away (or sell them) in order to declutter your house, you are one of the lucky few.  Maybe you wish it would all jus go away, that you didn't have this "problem" to deal with. But think how fortunate you are to have such an abundant life.  Tiny Buddha talks about this idea when creating a positive outlook on life.

Basically, if you're not a naturally positive person, or you've lost the ability to see the world in a positive view, you can teach yourself.  The benefits of having a positive attitude about life are not limited to your ability to clean the house.  The positive attitude will infiltrate your whole existence and make things seem better.  It's all how you look at things.  Choose a positive outlook for a better life.