As a professional, you can’t afford to have a poor
attitude. Too many people rely on you, look to you and expect more from you. If
you can’t manage your attitude, you may as well put a glass ceiling over
yourself, because you won’t progress as far as you could. Wouldn’t it be great
if you could control your attitude?

Well, here’s the good news—you can. From all the neuro
and psychological research the last couple of decades, it is evident that by
doing one simple thing, you can control your attitude. That one simple thing is
to express gratitude.

We don’t really know all the intricacies of your brain’s
neural interactions, but we know the result of expressing gratitude: an
infusion of neurotransmitters, like serotonin and dopamine, which have a
positive effect on your mood.  Not only
do you feel better, your perspective becomes more optimistic and it influences
your behavior. All because you show some gratitude. Who knew?

For the curmudgeons reading this, you’re ready to dismiss
the idea as poppycock. You refuse to live in la-la land, pretending all is just
swell and let’s all sing Kum Ba Yah. Of course, if you hold that opinion, you
are positioning yourself as smarter than all the scientists who have researched
it. If that’s what you think, have at it.

For the rest of you, think of gratitude as being
appreciative for something real, like your job, a co-worker, a client, family,
friends, your possessions, or that you’re an esteemed professional. You have
much to be thankful for, if you would only remember. And when you do, you
release the feel-good chemicals in your brain, changing your attitude.

This week, commit to beginning each day by being thankful
for at least one thing long enough to stimulate your in-head drugstore.
Appreciate what you have, what you are and where you’re going. If nothing else,
consider that it could be so much worse.