Always look on the bright side...

Countless filmgoers left Monty Python’s `Life of Brian’ singing `Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’, but how many have?

One of the few things we can control in life is our attitude. And the rewards of a positive attitude make it a great choice. Optimists, people who always get out of bed on the right side, have a happier life and may also live healthier and longer lives.

Research has shown that excess stress and worry reduces our immunity and has a negative impact on our physical and mental health. A study at the University College London found that happiness has the opposite effect. It protects the biological pathways and gives people greater protection against things like heart disease and stroke.

We can control our attitude

Controlling out attitude means choosing to be thankful for rain rather than annoyed. It means when we are stuck in a queue at the supermarket we can choose to get angry or thankful for a chance to browse magazines.

Medical doctor, author and motivational speaker Dr Tom Mulholland, the Attitude Doctor, believes attitudes like confidence are learned patterns of thinking. With this in mind he has created systems to help people identify and change unhealthy thinking patterns into healthy thinking.

Says Mulholland “Confidence comes from what you think. If I go into a meeting or a room and think -I don’t know anyone, people will think badly of me, it’s not worth going- it creates a lack of confidence. Whereas if I go in and think- all these other people are in the same boat as me, I’m here to meet new people, I’m not a bad person, this is a new experience- it creates confidence…the most important thing is to act confidently.”

With practice thinking positively becomes easier and more automatic and for most people it works.

When healthy thinking isn’t enough

The two basic criteria for healthy thinking to work are the desire to change and healthy hardware, says Mulholland
“ Think of our brain as a computer. We have software, which is our mind and hardware, which is our brain. If you want to change your attitude or what you think, you need to change your software.”

Factors like poor sleep, poor nutrition, clinical depression and illness can all slow your hard drive down.

“ As a medical doctor I ask is it a hardware or a software problem. I listen for symptoms such as not being able to sleep, poor memory or concentration, apathy and loss of appetite. Those sorts of physical things are signs that there maybe hardware problems or a neurological or chemical imbalance.” says Mulholland, who advises anyone experiencing these symptoms to seek medical help.

When you wake up tomorrow remember to get out of bed on the right side.

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