What attitude do you take with you as you leave your house in the morning? As you go into a meeting? You probably don’t think about it; most people don’t have a high level of attitude awareness. Yet being aware of your attitude is important because that’s what governs how you perceive the world and how the world perceives you.

Attitude reveals the way you look at life and the way you choose to see and respond to everything that happens around you. Your attitude isn’t something that just “happens”; it’s something you choose, whether or not you are aware that you are choosing it.

This doesn’t mean you have to be “happy” or upbeat about all situations, but it does mean becoming mindful of your attitude — for example, whether you are looking at what’s coming toward you as a positive or a negative. Studies show that when all other factors are equal, the person with the better attitude wins, advances or gets more of what they want.

If you notice you have a bad attitude toward certain people, situations or events, it’s likely the product of past experiences. Everyone comes upon hard times, heartache, physical pain, unmet expectations, hurt feelings and more. It doesn’t matter what has happened to you; what matters is how you respond. It takes time and energy to shift your attitude, but the rewards are far-reaching. It all begins with awareness.

DAILY MISSION: Be attitudinally self-aware. Consciously choose to adopt a more positive attitude toward any situation you find you feel negative about.

Alice Inoue is the founder of Happiness U. Visit YourHappinessU.com.