J. Oppenheimer once told this story, “David received a parrot for his birthday. The parrot was fully grown with a bad attitude and worse vocabulary. Every other word was an expletive. Those that weren’t expletives were, to say the least, rude.

David tried hard to change the bird’s attitude and was constantly saying polite words, playing soft music, and doing anything he could think of to try and set a good example. Nothing worked. He yelled at the bird and the bird got worse. He shook the bird and the bird got angry and ruder.

Finally, in a moment of desperation, David put the parrot in the freezer. For a few moments he heard the bird squawking and kicking and screaming. Then suddenly, there was quiet. David was frightened that he might have actually hurt the bird and quickly opened the freezer door.

The parrot calmly stepped out onto David’s extended arm and said: “I’m sorry that I might have offended you with my language and actions and ask your forgiveness. I will endeavor to correct my behavior”.

David was astounded at the bird’s change in attitude and was just about to ask what had made such a drastic change, when the parrot continued: ‘May I ask what the chicken did?’”

A lot of times we start seeing life a certain way and, as a result, we, like the parrot, begin behaving in a certain manner. As a result we can begin acting in ways that are not very empowering and make our lives dull and unhappy.

The good news is that to change your life, to make it better, often all you need is an slight attitude adjustment. You see, a better tomorrow could start with something as simple as your changing your attitude. Your perspectives, the way you see the world, has a huge effect on your overall happiness. Your attitude can affect your success as well. So by changing your attitude you can change your world.

Your Habitual Attitude

How would you rate your attitude? Would you say that you have a positive mental attitude or a negative one? The thing about attitudes is that, over time, they become habitual. But if yours is negative don’t despair! While they can take a bit of effort to change, the work it takes to change your attitude is well worth the time and effort!

6 Attitude Adjustment Techniques for a Better Life

The following are six simple ideas you can put to work today that will help you change you attitude so you can start living the life of your dreams.

1. Remind Yourself What You Are Grateful for

Start your day by making a mental list of things you’re grateful for. If you’d like, you can do this while you’re still lying in bed, in the shower, or while driving to work. This simple mental exercise will adjust your focus to the good things that you already have. Just doing this one thing will quickly change your attitude from negative to positive.

2. Focus on the Good People and Things in Your Life Instead of Your Possessions

What I’m saying here is to love your life, not your stuff. Before we go on I want you to understand this, I believe that having money and plenty of it is a good thing. In fact, if it wasn’t for money I wouldn’t even be able to type this article on my computer and post it to the internet, drive my car to my office or keep the weather off of my head. Money is merely a tool that gives us the ability to trade for the goods and services we want and need.

That being said some people believe that the possessions they own are what define them. They believe their possessions are what make them happy and they can only become happier by having more.

So let me ask, do you feel that having more possessions will make you happier? What is interesting about acquiring just about anything is that, after you get something, it never seems to mean as much to you as you thought it would. After the newness wears off, you’re back to wanting some more new stuff! So the problem is that the joy of getting most new possessions is temporary, at best, which merely leads to more “wanting.”

Robert Byrne once said, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”  I believe he’s right, that it is the quality of your life itself that will bring you the most happiness, not the quantity or quality of your stuff.

If you find yourself more attracted to possessions than life itself try the following:

• Figure out what you love to do and spend some time each day doing it.

• Build and maintain meaningful relationships that uplift you.

• Decide the type of life you want to live and then take the action necessary to create it.

3. Learn to be Patient

We live in a society of instant gratification. We have been trained by our society to be in a hurry and expect things immediately. However, some of the greatest things in life take time to cultivate and bring into fruition.

Life is not merely about results. In fact, most of life is about working toward the results we receive. Learn to enjoy the time it takes and the work necessary to create the life you desire. Realize that as you stay focused on your goals, each day will bring you one step closer to them. Being impatient tends to push your goals farther away.

4. Remember You’ve Already Accomplished Some Awesome Stuff!

You’ve already done a lot of things that are much more difficult than just about anything you may still wish to accomplish, for example learning to walk. How many times does a baby fall before they finally can stand up unassisted, let alone walk, a few hundred feet? And we keep learning more over time. Even a 10-year old with nine years of walking practice doesn’t walk as well as a 30-year old does. With practice we continue to get better and better at whatever it is we do.

So let me ask, “How many times are you willing to fall down and get back up now?” Believe in yourself and expect success. This small attitude adjustment can give you the positive mindset you need to succeed. The great thing about a positive mental attitude is that when you have one you’re much more likely to seek the solutions you need to solve your challenges.

5. Work Right

People often believe that everything worthwhile takes a lot of work. Other people say it’s not how hard you work but how smart you work. But I like what James Malincheck, the world’s premier speaking coach says, “it’s not how hard you work, it’s not even how smart you work. What you need to think about is how to do the work the right way.” Thinking about how to do the work right instead of working hard or smart can save you a lot of time and trouble.

How can you do the work right? Sit down and think about your situation. Remember there is nearly always a simple solution to every challenge. You might be surprised how clever you can be if you make an effort to find an easy but satisfactory solution. If you can’t figure it out get a mentor or coach to help you. This could save you a lifetime of grief.

6. There is No Such Thing as Failure, Only Feedback

Abraham Lincoln once said, “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” What I think he was saying is “did you learn from your “failure” or are you content with feeling sorry for yourself? In NLP we have a saying, there’s no such thing as failure, only feedback. This means when your plans fall short instead of feeling sorry for yourself figure out what went wrong, learn from the experience, and continue moving forward.

That was Thomas Edison’s philosophy, “I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” He knew that when you “fail,” all you’ve really done is discovered an ineffective way of trying to do something. That’s it, period. The knowledge you gain only makes you more capable in the future.

Decide to Change Your Attitude

Changing your attitude and making those adjustments permanent is going to take some work, but I promise you, this effort will pay off. Since your attitude affects your perspective, as your attitude changes so will what you notice along with what you fail to notice. So by adjusting your attitude, you can shift the way you see the world! I hallucinate to think that you might start to notice what a wonderful world this can be.

Start by examining the attitudes you hold that may be limiting your life and happiness. Ask yourself this question, “What perspectives and beliefs would serve me better?” By using the techniques above you can start the process of adjusting those ineffective attitudes today so that you can live a happier tomorrow. You can live the life of your dreams. Why not start today?

Wil Dieck is a life and health coach and the founder of Total Mind Therapy . You can sign up here to receive these positive thinking tips delivered by e-mail weekly