You always hear how “mindset is everything” when it comes to living a happy and successful life. It makes sense that having a negative mindset would lead you down an unproductive and self-doubting path. And on the other hand, having a positive mindset would allow you to take action and believe that you’re capable of reaching your dreams. But how do we manage to have a positive attitude in life (and as entrepreneurs)? 

We’ve rounded up six simple ways to develop and retain a positive attitude.  

Surround yourself with positive people. 

Your environment has a profound effect on your mental health, and this includes the people that surround you. When the people in your life are negative, and even toxic, you may start believing and taking part in their worldview. And over time, their “gloom and doom” demeanor can keep you from having a positive attitude in your everyday life. 

How do you know you’re dealing with a consistently negative person? Check out this blog on “15 Signs of Negative People.” 

Practice gratitude. 

We talk about gratitude a lot—and for good reason. We truly believe that practicing gratitude is an essential habit to build along your journey to success—we even wrote a blog post on “Five Unique Gratitude Activities to Boost Your Mood.” 

Gratitude impacts our happiness so much Harvard Health Publishing™ says that “gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.” 

Keep your dreams in front of you. 

The difficult thing about having a positive attitude is that negative things happen. In life and in entrepreneurship, challenges are inevitable. An optimistic outlook is essential to success. One way to stay positive is to keep your dreams in front of you. 

Write down your goals and dreams in a journal or create a dream board so you have a visual representation of where you’re heading. 

Take care of your mind and body. 

When you feel good, you do good. We believe it! Whether it be your physical or mental health, when you take care of yourself, you’re likely to have that positive attitude in life. And that kind of energy is contagious! When you make your mind and body a priority, just watch as those around you do the same. 

Here are a few simple ways to take care of your mind and body: 

• Practice gratitude. 
• Get outside every day. 
• Drink more water. 
• Implement a morning routine. 
• Prioritize and invest in relationships. 

We hope that list gives you a start in taking care of your mind and body! 

Forget perfectionism. 

Overcoming perfectionism is not an easy task. But perfect is the enemy of action. If you get too caught up in being perfect, you’ll never move into action … and being stagnant will begin to harbor negative feelings over time. 

Even when things or situations don’t feel perfect, move forward anyway. If you’re a perfectionist, this may seem risky, but you’ll be so proud of yourself for stretching out of your comfort zone and doing a job well done. 

Develop a winning attitude and play injured. 

If you’re practicing the first five ways to have a positive attitude in life, you’re well on your way to developing a winning attitude. The key here in this last tip is to also play injured. Even with a positive mindset, things won’t always go your way. There will be setbacks. And let’s face it, life happens. 

Play injured. 

Go out there and do it anyway. If you fall, learn from it and get back up. The more you do this, the more belief you’ll gain in yourself that you can accomplish anything. 

Have a positive attitude in life … it’s contagious. 

Be the light that shines in the dark place. When you have a positive attitude in life (consistently), it will be hard for those around you to stay in a negative space. Help others shine bright with you! 

Sometimes it’s hard to stay positive in a negative world. But we want to encourage you to “Dare to Be Different.” It’s worth it.