One of the biggest advantages that you can give yourself in both your personal life and your professional life is positivity. You probably know someone who is always positive. They may appear to waltz through life without ever encountering any problems. You may even be jealous of them because things always seem to “go their way.” Even when things are bad, these people tend to find a solution and remain upbeat throughout the process.

So do you have to be born with that kind of energy to be that kind of person? Absolutely not. While some people are born with naturally sunny dispositions, most people who use the power of positive thinking to their advantage have done at least a little self-training in the past to help them stay positive in the face of adversity. You, too, can develop habits to help you remain positive and think good, creative thoughts when you would rather be banging your head against a wall so that your every action is pro-active and positive, netting you a positive outcome even in the worst situations.

One of the easiest types of training that you can do when it comes to cultivating a positive outlook is to practice the art of the compliment. This does not mean that you have to walk around telling everyone you like their ugly shirt or their tacky hat, but it does involve silencing some of your inner criticisms to help you look for something positive.

For example, if you have someone on your team that is chronically late, instead of berating them for their tardiness, try to turn it to your advantage. Find out if you can help. This will usually result in your getting an explanation for the tardiness. Based on this explanation, you can turn the tables on the person, who is probably feeling defensive because technically they know that they are not supposed to be late, and get the result you want: their on-time arrival.

For example, if the person explains that they are late because they never have time to prepare ahead of time, compliment them on how much they do each day for the company or the project. Then offer to send out notes the night before so that they can just grab them and go without having to develop their own outline. By complimenting and then offering a positive, thoughtful solution, you have placed the person in a position where they will feel that they really should try harder to arrive on time because you are putting effort into helping them achieve that goal.