Get ready for an amazing insight coming at you. People with a good, positive, optimistic attitude tend to enjoy their day more and accomplish more than people with a negative, depressing, pessimistic attitude. See, I told you—deep insight. You’re welcome.

We know this from research and from our own experience. But how do we create and maintain the positive mindset we need to live a happier, healthier, life and reach all our goals?

One way is to start every morning by thinking about all the great things in your life. For most of us it’s pretty easy coming up with a list of all the great things in our lives.

I have a routine I go through every day when I wake up that gets me up on the right side of the bed. I’m a Christian, so for me this ties into my religion. But you can use the same type of technique whether you’re religious or not. Instead of a thankful prayer list, simply make it your gratitude list.

As I slowly enter the land of the living, I start to pray. I start thanking God for all my blessings. I thank him for my wife, my children, my extended family, and my friends. I thank him for the fact that I have more than enough to provide my family with food, clothing, and shelter. I praise God for the fact that I was born in the United States of America and I have so many opportunities to create a life of abundance for myself and enough to help others as well. I give thanks for having jobs that I love, and I’m grateful for my excellent health.

As I’m saying my prayers, I’m creating beautiful images in my head of everything I’m praying about. As I do this, I can feel my body and spirit coming more and more alive. Feelings of peace and happiness and ambition well up within me and I begin to feel excited about getting out of bed and starting the day. I spend about thee minutes doing this. (I know this sounds kind of touchy-feely, but if you try it for a few days I think you will be amazed at the results you get.)

After I’m done giving thanks, I spend the next three to five minutes being grateful for my future life with all my major goals achieved. I put everything in the present tense as if I’m already living the life I want. We are getting our conscious and subconscious minds focused on our goals, and the best way to do that is to put everything we want in the present tense.

I visualize pursuing my Passionate Purpose at the ultimate level. I imagine achieving my goals in every aspect of my life. If you really want to get excited about your future, describe it in great detail and imagine how it will look, feel, sound, smell, and taste. Get your emotions into it. Play the movie of your extraordinary life in your head. It’s better than any blockbuster at the multiplex.

The more real you make this, the more excited you will become to take on the day, and the more your subconscious mind will help you pursue your goals.

Give it a try and let me know how much joy it gives you!