How is your attitude? Most of us have uttered words like, “I’m in a bad mood.” Followed up with something like, because I lost that sale, or someone treated me badly, or nobody appreciates me. Contrary to what we often hear and the excuses we make, attitude is a choice not an outcome of our circumstances. This truth is a transformative one. The choice to keep positive regardless is one of those simple things, that is not so easy to do. It requires effort, habit and filling ourselves up with the right things.

The great thing is that choosing positivity has results beyond changing our mind, which would be enough. It actually creates a dramatic change in our situation. It starts with perspective. Our circumstances just look different, when we stand at the top of the hill rather than the bottom. Sometimes our attitude can change what we once saw as negative into a positive, simply by changing our perspective. Our attitude also influences the outlook of those around us. Just one positive voice can inspire others to tackle a problem, to change things, and to push through. The result of maintaining positivity over the long-term is a true change of circumstance. It changes us, it affects the people around us, and in turn it changes how things are.

We are all leaders in some way. We have influence over our own lives and over those around us simply by contact. We have to ask ourselves, “Does my attitude spread positivity or negativity?” “Do I bring a how-can-we-make-that-happen attitude, or a here’s-why-we-can’t attitude?”

How do we stay positive amid so much negativity, and even in the face of some seriously tough circumstances?

Here are 8 Steps to Developing Impactful Positivity:

1. Make the Choice – You can’t make this choice half-heartedly. Jump on board with both feet. Tell someone who will give you “that look” when you are being negative. Or, better yet, partner with someone else who wants to be more positive.

2. Create a Thankful Habit – Start your day with being thankful. When your alarm goes off, before you get out of bed, pick three things you are thankful for today. Set other points during the day to choose thankfulness and mentally affirm the things you are thankful for.

3. Speak Positive Things – It might seem crazy at first, but find ways to speak positive things. There is something about speaking the words that breathes life into positivity. If there is nobody around, speak them to yourself. Better yet, influence someone with your good attitude and speak them to someone. It is amazing how much there is to be thankful for when you begin to develop this habit.

4. Compliment Someone – Positivity extends to others. Find ways to thank and compliment people around you. Develop a habit of sincere appreciation. Send a note or email of thanks. If you have a person or situation in your life that brings you down, choose to influence that person in a positive way. Look past the flaws and compliment the good.

5. Be Enthusiastic – Enthusiasm, much like attitude is a choice. Choose to be engaged and enthusiastic. Add some sincere celebration to your way of being. You might annoy some people at first, and you many even feel insincere, but continue to find ways to be enthusiastic and to speak your enthusiasm. It will become contagious.

6. Find Ways to Serve – Serving others places value on them rather than yourself and naturally boosts your attitude, as you find purpose in helping others. There are others who need help all around us — at our workplace, at our church, and next door.

7. Recharge – Being positive is rowing against the current. We can only handle so much negative media, tough circumstances, and bad attitudes, before we need to build our positivity back up. Make time for what recharges you – God, exercise, music, writing, gardening, sleep, or whatever it might be.

8. Reset – Choosing to be positive is like any personal development choice. You will slip back to the old negative habits. When this happens, don’t let it continue. Stop, reset, and make the choice again. Keep the trend positive. If you start that attitude line on an upward slope toward the positive, you are headed in the right direction.

Attitude is such an impactful thing. It is so easy to bog down in our problems and struggles and that huge to-do list. It is my nature and I think, human nature, to focus on the things that are not going right, that need fixing, or that long list that needs to be done. Changing our attitude necessitates focusing on more than just these things. Let’s develop an attitude of enthusiasm, thankfulness, and positivity!