Learning how to maintain a positive attitude in the workplace can be challenging. If you’re like most workers, you probably have days that feel like nothing is going right.

How do you get through one of those and still have a positive attitude at the end of the day? If you take a few mental and physical actions through the day, it can make staying positive a lot easier. There are a few things you can do throughout the day to keep yourself in a good mental sphere:

Stop. Take a deep breath and count to 10. This does two things—it gives you time and helps you control your emotions.

Take a minute to make a short list, either mentally or on paper of all the things you are grateful for in your life.

Get up, walk, stretch. This can distract you from the trauma of whatever problem you are facing in the office and put it in a new perspective.

Do something you consider positive for yourself. Call a friend. Look at a picture of your beloved dog. Anything to shift the emotion you are caught up in.

Start over. Get away from feeling sorry for yourself. If you don’t, you will end up back in the same place again fairly soon.


—adapted from It’s Your Move: Dealing Yourself the Best Cards in Life and Work by Cyndi Maxey and Jill Bremer