“Baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical.” — Yogi Berra

Like all good Yogi quotes, he almost got this one right. He was referring to the mental side of baseball, but it really applies to any sport, and most other things in life.

Your brain can get in the way if you let it. Many of the thoughts you have every day can seem random, but the triggers and paths that brought you to that point of reasoning are often the result of the groundwork already laid between your ears.

Channeling your thoughts can work well when you need an edge in your life. You may be under the impression that what you think does not affect your athletic performance, and in that case, you’d be wrong most of the time.

Take professional golf. The player-caddy relationship is a delicate thing, more often than not. The player’s job is to do the physical work as it relates to hitting the golf ball the least amount of times from tee to cup. The caddy’s job is to do the physical work of hauling clubs around the course, raking bunkers and keeping the crowd from distracting his player.

But it’s the other part of their relationship that separates the truly great players from the also-rans of the sport. Successful players and caddies know that keeping the mood positive on the course leads to better (and more lucrative) results.

The caddy makes sure he is only relaying positive information to his player. “You can carry the water with that 9-iron, and it’ll hold the green.” “A full swing here will keep you short of that fairway bunker.”

Thoughts and words like these help reinforce a confident shot in the player’s mind. And like any relationship when performance is at stake, the more positive results, the more confidence is in the bank for the next action.

Similarly at work, positive thoughts and actions reproduce into a pattern that can not only make you more productive, but happier as well.

So how does one acquire a positive mental attitude? Well, some people have a more positive outlook on all aspects of their life and others not so much. Regardless, there’s a few things that anyone can follow to improve their chances of squashing the negativity.

First, there’s redirection. This works well when you realize a negative thought. Now that you are aware of it, you can replace it with something healthier. This takes some practice, but soon you’ll be able to catch negativity even before the full thought emerges, and head it off at the pass.

This thought could be at work. “Wow, look at all this work — I don’t know how I’ll get this all done.” Replace it with. “OK, it is time to break this down and attack it in pieces. Soon I’ll have this all conquered and ready for something else.”

In a fitness situation, it could be something like “I know I’m overweight, and I see no reason to even try to lose weight, because I know I’ll just boomerang back to where I started, and I’ll feel bad knowing I failed. Instead, a positive like “I want to just cut a few empty calories out of my diet this week. I know I can do this if I just concentrate on it, and this will give me the confidence to know I can do it again next week” may be just that pat on the back you need.

Once you have the hang of redirection, you can build on that by reinforcing your efforts with daily gratitude. “Wow, I’ve done my workout routine and I feel better than I have after the same workout as long as I can remember. Or “Now I’ve proven to myself I can go without that afternoon soda I used to need to get through my day.”

Since I work nights and I am home most of the day, I try to mix in my housework with my workouts. Vacuuming or laundry can also burn calories, and once I finish a task, I tell myself something to the effect “OK, now that is done, and I don’t have to exercise quite as long today to hit my goals.”

Next you can move on to trigger acknowledgment. What is it that makes you do a slow burn, that ruins your day? Is it really that bad, or do you just know no other way to react? The first course of action must be to identify the negative trigger. Is it seeing (or working with) someone that project negativity? Is it just the way you have always reacted to a certain stimulus? Finding this and then using redirection may make this old trigger go away, and in its place you can build a nice, inviting positive thought to pair with instead.

If you’ve always reacted negatively to something, is it really something that needs a reaction at all? Maybe you can just acknowledge, and then carry on, focusing on something positive to pull you through.

Co-workers (or workout buddies) can help keep you positive. I try to convey the positive whenever I’m in a social/exercise situation, keeping the mood upbeat while distracting everyone if we’re really putting in some hard efforts. “Only 1/3 of a mile to the top of this hill!” or “That’s as fast as we’ve ever done that segment!”

Many people find simplifying their lives makes them happier. You may even spend time doing something in your free time that hinders your ability to be positive or rejuvenate. Ask yourself, is this really something that only I can do, and would someone else actually enjoy doing this?

If you think about it, no one wants to be around someone who brings them down. And in reality, we are all on this world together, and a smile and a good thought goes a long way, whether you’re sending or receiving one.

Repeat after me: “Today I’m going to be positive.” At the end of the day, reflect and try again tomorrow.

I know you’ll get there. You just need to believe it yourself!