So, once we have decided that we want to change what do we do next? Well, let's start in the morning. That seems to be the best place. What is the very first thought that enters our mind in the morning? For some people it may be something like "I need to pee" or "I need food." In these cases we are probably looking for the second thought that crosses the mind. Is it "I didn't sleep well; this is going to be a crappy day"? A thought like that is a red flag. Improving our mental attitude starts with that very first thought. Does a poor night's sleep have to mean that the entire day is shot? Or is it our thinking that the entire day is already shot that makes the day turn out that way? The first step to altering attitude is thinking positively. Improve your mental attitude by improving your ability to think positively.

Later in the day it is inevitable that we will be confronted with choices about our attitude. People tend to think and talk like emotions and attitudes are independent and they develop on their own. We say things like "he made me angry" or "I got upset". What we should really say and think is "I let him make me angry" or "I let myself get upset". Emotions do not govern people. Emotions do not control people. To improve your mental attitude, start by taking responsibility for your attitude and emotions. Get in the habit of accepting that being in a bad mood is something you created. This will allow you to recognize that if you put yourself in a bad mood, you can take yourself out of a bad mood.

Attitude is contagious and habit forming. If a person is in the habit of being continuously grumpy or of always looking for something negative, it is extremely hard to break that habit. It feeds on itself, and a negative attitude brings everyone else in a twenty-mile vicinity down with it. A positive attitude can be cultivated and sought after. Once it has begun to develop in a person, it will continue to grow. Being positive and looking for good things is contagious and it will lift people around to do the same thing. A positive mental attitude is as habit forming as a negative one. So improve your mental attitude by creating the habit of having a good mental attitude and being around people who have a positive outlook.

Sometimes changing our surroundings and circumstances can help us improve our mental attitude. There are some people who insist that they are not affected by their surroundings, but most people are. So wearing black all the time probably won't help a person improve his mental attitude. Living in an environment that is dark, dirty, and cold probably won't help improve mental attitude. Cleaning up, opening the window, letting in some light and fresh air will drastically improve anyone's attitude. Listening to positive music, eating healthy food, exercising, reading worthwhile books, and learning something new are all excellent ways to change our surroundings and circumstances in a way that will improve our mental attitude.

If all of this fails, the number one way to improve any attitude is to serve others. There is nothing more effective at improving our mental attitude than helping someone whose circumstances are a whole lot worse than ours. When we look around and see what other people are going through we tend to be more grateful and more positive about our own situation. Not only are we more positive about our situation, but we also feel better about ourselves for reaching out and helping someone else.

So do it now. Make changes, be consistent, be determined and improve your mental attitude.