Communicating a positive and sunny attitude and coming from a place of gratitude makes great sense.  Why? Because you feel better, literally. You actually physically feel better. And this isn't your imagination -- this claim is backed up by science. 

There was some research done just in 2009 and it was published in the British Medical Journal. It was conducted by a couple of researchers from Harvard University and in California in the United States. What they found was that the circle of positive energy actually extends out to about three to four layers of people. A positive attitude really, literally, is contagious. You will feel better and others will feel better too. 

When you feel good and you have a positive attitude your brain chemistry changes, you release more endorphins, serotonin and all of those feel good drugs—and they’re free and legal! So why not maintain a positive attitude? People are going to be attracted to you. They are going to be energized by you. 

Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing Michael Loisier speak. He's known as the "how to" person for the law of attraction and has been featured on many radio and TV shows, including Oprah. He actually teaches on how to move "the secret" and the "law of attraction" to action, how to bring it into your life. And he agrees that positive begets positive.

The test that I always use to see if somebody is exerting a positive attitude or not, is I ask myself, "When I leave him (or her), do I feel energized and ready to take on the world, and my brain is just firing off in different directions ... or do I feel drained?"  Note how you're feeling around others AND how they feel with you. Read the body language of people around you. If they are walking away drained and they arrived energized, you might want to take a look at your attitude. Happy colleagues -- meaning yourself, meaning myself, meaning all of us -- are more productive. That’s just the way the world works. When we're happy, we are more productive. 

How do you want others to see you? How do they see you right now? Is that what you want? The good news is, if it’s not exactly what you want, if people are seeing you as not being very positive and not being very approachable, you have the power to change that. If you recognize that right now, you are half the way there to changing it ... and to assuming a positive attitude.  

It's as easy as flicking a switch. At the moment when you feel your attitude taking a nosedive, be aware, and then consciously choose to avoid the downward spiral. Stop it. You have a choice.

Keep smiling. It works.