By the way, you get extra points if you read that in a Jerry Seinfeld voice.

Real talk: positive attitudes are EVERYTHING. And some of the best people with positive attitudes aren't even old enough to legally drive. Yes, I’m referring to kids.

A dear friend posted on social media that her 13-year-old daughter has to have ACL surgery that will take her out of her two favorite activities, ballet and volleyball for nine months while she recovers. As my friend was still trying to come to terms with this, her daughter sat across from her with a big smile on her face and said, “You know what this means?! I can get curtain bangs and they’ll grow out by the time I’m ready for ballet again and need to wear a bun.”

My money is on this kid getting through this experience with flying colors. And odds are if she keeps this attitude the rest of her life, while it will have challenges, as life does, there will be a lot of lemonade in her future. 

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could all apply a similar positive attitude in our lives? Think about how much better that would make the tough and uncomfortable, but all temporary, situations.

So what, if anything, does this have to do with Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging, Karith?! Think about the attitude that you have when you hear you’re going to have a “diversity workshop or training.” And no, they are not all created equally, hence the creation of INVERSITY™ but that doesn’t mean elements of conversations around DEI aren’t extremely valuable. However, if you are not in the right mindset or headspace, what value do you receive and how can you then be of value to others? Even the slightest shift in attitude from negative to positive could be monumental in shifting your experience and affecting your organization’s culture.

Here are a few great tips for how to get and keep a positive attitude:

Open yourself up to humor
(As a humorist you know this tip has my vote!)

Spend time with positive people
(This should be a “Duh!” Yet, we always need that reminder.)

Practice positive self-talk
(It’s time to make the switch from being our worst critics, to our best cheerleaders.)

For a more in-depth look at these awesome tips, peep this article from Healthline.com: How to Think Positive.