I decided to start humming. Hummm…Hummm…Hummm… Hummm…Hummm…

This attracted a few weird looks. I wasn’t doing it very loud, just spreading a joyful noise and smiling like I knew something no one else knew…which I did. The person next to me smiled and nodded at me, and so did the person two people ahead in line. As a matter of fact, it seemed like everyone standing near me began to lighten up and become a bit cheerier.

Now this could have only been my imagination (it’s pretty active), and it could have just been the fact that in less than a minute, I changed my attitude, which made the whole situation seem different. But the end result was magic! The line seemed to move faster and I was now making others smile.

That day I was standing in what seemed like an endless line at my local retail store. I looked around and noticed that it seemed like we were all resigned to our waiting fate. The cashiers were trying to do their best, but there wasn’t a smile in the vicinity. No uplifted lips on the cashiers or the customers that were waiting. It was like one long line of resignation… until I started humming.

My point to all of this is “Why are we letting a situation determine our attitude?” Why is it that we will put up with humorless lines, rude people, long waits and endless seriousness when we could be putting a little more grace, happiness and joy into even the tiniest of daily tasks?

Maybe you do this already. BRAVO if you do! Is being a perpetually positive person part of your personality? (Whoa, the P thing got away from me!) If you’re one of those perpetually positive people…please stand in line by me, drive on my part of the highway, and please be the person on the other end of my phone line. I need you, and the whole world needs you!

If you aren’t inclined to be a PPP (Perpetually Positive Person) than maybe you can start now. Why? Because being positive does a whole lot of good for the world. But even more importantly, it does a whole lot of good for you. Being positive helps improve your health, makes your face wrinkle less, and lowers your body fat. (Okay, the body fat part was my wishful thinking). But it’s a proven fact that happier people live longer.

How can you go about becoming a Perpetually Positive Person (PPP)? I thought you’d never ask!

1. Wear that smile! Plaster it on your face the minute you wake up and don’t take it off until you go to bed. Even when you’re alone you should wear a smile. A wonderful expert in skin care and cosmetics suggested that a person earns their face. Meaning that as you age, your resting demeanor and how you think and behave on a continuous basis contributes to your facial lines. If you keep a smile or slight grin going you will age more gracefully, have a lot more friends, and fewer wrinkles to boot! I’m very serious about this. The power of a smile is underrated because all of us think we smile all the time, but in reality we don’t. So now is the time to turn up the corners of those lips!

2. Think happy thoughts! The challenge with this one is that we are bombarded daily with negative messages. Okay, so don’t read or listen to the news. Also think of the positive points of each and every situation. This is easier the more you practice it. One technique I have used successfully is to pray a happy prayer whenever I hear something bad. A war in the Middle East? Please God let those people work it out. Some teen set a cat on fire? I pray that the teen gets the help he or she needs, and I pray the cat hasn’t used up all nine of its lives. It’s not that I’m heartless; it’s that I know I can only change the world if I can keep myself from getting jaded and negative. I’m not in control of other people, and neither are you, but we are both in control of one very important thing, our own thoughts. Keep them happy and positive and we can change any situation.

3. Say “Please” & “Thank-you.” This is something that seems to have gone the way of white gloves. People and customers expect so much, but if we asked a little nicer and were a bit more grateful the world would be a much better place to do business. Wouldn’t you agree? Graciousness begins with you and me. I’ve found that from time to time we begin to lose these little niceties with our families. We no longer ask our spouse to get something, we demand it (in the nicest way I’m sure), or we tell our children to do something and expect them to comply without our demonstrating politeness. Often forgetting that whatever they do deserves recognition and thanks. Some people don’t say please and thank-you because they forget, some don’t say it because they think it weakens them, and some don’t say it from pure laziness. Whatever the reason, I know that none of us, even those that are pretty good at remembering to say please and thank-you say it enough. We can never be too polite when asking for things and never too grateful when receiving a request. Add these little words to the beginning and ending of most of your sentences and you’ll be surprised at how wonderful people begin to treat you!

You now have an opportunity to make a difference. I’ve given you three tips that when practiced regularly can be the start of an incredible change for you. I wish you a future filled with perpetually positive people!

Related Positive Mindset Articles