Activate Your Attitude

As a student from a different cultural background, you may be facing more difficulties than the average person. You have the usual pressures of school work, assignment deadlines, relationship woes and time management, but you might also be struggling with making new friendships and 'fitting in' with a new way of life, a new culture.

Being rejected, or teased, or feeling homesick can easily cause a person to feel lost and lonely. And if you haven't yet experienced these things, you probably have, at least, developed a fear of them! There is something you can do that will make a huge difference in the event you do stumble across such pressures…and that is to adopt a positive attitude. Sound irrelevant in the event you're being bullied? Well, think again, because I am going to give you a quick lesson on attitude adjustment and how everybody can benefit from it. Read on!

You can't control everything in life, you most definitely can't control what other people do, but you can control your own attitude and, your attitude can be the master of your own experience here in Australia. When you make the decision to approach every task and every situation with a positive outlook, you are determining your own future.

It is a simple equation. Your attitude acts like a magnet: A negative attitude attracts negative results, but a positive attitude attracts positive results! Think about it, there is not a single thing in your life that will benefit from a negative attitude, your school work, your relationships with friends and family, or even joining in the school soccer team.

So, how do you develop a positive attitude? Read on!

Becoming a positive person takes discipline and commitment, but before too long it will become second nature to you and you won't even have to think about it. Here are some tips on creating that positive you:

• SMILE!- You will find it very, very difficult to feel negative if you're smiling. Try it! Of course, you have to really feel the smile so go ahead, now, in your chair, smile to yourself and make it big, and long, hold it for 10 seconds! You can't help but feel better. The next challenge is to try it as you're walking around campus, or approaching the soccer team you want to join…

• BE POSITIVE- You don't have much control over what others do to you, but you do have complete control over how you respond to their actions. So, when you are faced with a negative situation, you have to try to react positively to it or it might just eat you up! Experience the situation, and then make a quick conscious effort to change the negative feelings you have about it. You will always better cope with a bad situation if you are thinking positively.

• LOOK OUT FOR POSITIVE PEOPLE- Making friends and 'fitting in' can be very challenging so pick your targets wisely! Don't attempt to befriend the school bully, mean girls, or the class 'tough guy' when you're trying to make new friends. Look around for other people who look happy and positive. This goes for meeting other International students too, hang out with the ones who have the same outlook as you and want to make the most of their schooling experience. If you surround yourself with positive people, their attitudes will rub off on you and it will become much easier for you, too, to maintain a positive outlook on life.

• FORGIVE- Rather than fuming about what someone has done to you, try your best to forgive their actions and identify the good in them. Sounds really, really hard, I know, but other people's shortcomings should not affect you. You have to move on, as quickly as possible rather than moaning and groaning about it, as this will only drag you down. Obviously, if their actions are repeated, or very hurtful, you should seek assistance from a teacher or the school counselor.

• EXPECT SUCCESS- If you walk around with your head held high and a smile on your face, expecting others to be kind to you or passing the exam with flying colours, chances are you will! It comes back to the magnet… and the Law of Attraction. Expecting success creates a challenge for you, and you will find yourself performing at your best to live up to your own expectations. This can be true for making friends, writing fantastic assignments, remembering new vocabulary or taking the plunge and joining the after school tennis competition.

So, put on your winning attitude and get out there, you have a wonderful life to live!!