Your attitude affects every facet of your life. Although it may seem like a relatively small thing, your attitude will ultimately determine your longevity, mental health, and even your success in your work and personal life. Jimmy Dean once said, "I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." He's right; while you cannot change the things that happen to you, you can always choose the attitude to have about situations. Your attitude will ultimately direct you down your life path, for better or for worse.
Physical Health and Longevity
Researchers and experts have long believed that there is a connection between attitude and overall health. An article published in USA Today shortly after Christopher Reeves' death quoted a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison saying that she believed his health and longevity following his horseback riding incident can be directly attributed to his positive attitude throughout the ordeal. She went on to note that those with positive outlooks had a lessened risk for cardiovascular disease and recovered faster from major trauma and surgery. Research about the link between attitude and health is ongoing, but preliminary studies seem to suggest that those with better attitudes have a higher will to live and better quality of life than those who have a negative outlook on life. Having a negative attitude can cause individuals to feel helpless or angry when sick, leaving them less likely to push through rehabilitation and gaining a good quality of life even after injury. A news report by the BBC also noted that those with positive attitudes showed less signs of frailty and a better quality of life in an advanced age over those that had negative attitudes.
Mental Health and Stress
Charles Raison of Emory University School of Medicine notes that a positive attitude can help you deal with stress and how it is perceived. When you have a negative attitude, stress can feel overwhelming and too hard to deal with. A positive attitude can help you to understand stress and use it in a way that helps you to overcome and deal with it more effectively than someone who uses a negative attitude to deal with stress. As stress can be a major component of depression, it seems as though a positive attitude is more beneficial than a negative attitude when it comes to your mental health.
Success in the Workplace
If you've ever worked with colleagues who seems to have a constantly bad attitude about their job and responsibilities, then you know that those people tend to be less effective in the workplace. Having a positive attitude in the workplace can contribute to your success in the workplace, according to Success Magazine editor Keith Harrell. Having a good attitude at work fosters an environment of high morale, increases communication and productivity. Those with negative attitudes toward their jobs and workplaces tend to be less motivated to do a good job and may end up being left out of the loop when it comes to promotions, leadership opportunities and raises.
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