1. Be grateful: Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, take a look at what you do. Write a list of “50 Things I Am Grateful For Today.” Take a minute each morning to mentally express your gratitude for at least 5 things whether it’s air you breathe, clothes on your back, or those closest to you.

2. Celebrate and list every success: How would you like to have a boss who only ranted about what you did wrong or what you failed to achieve, never giving you credit for wins? Take a look in mirror and make sure you aren’t abusing yourself like a boss from hell. We tend to gulp down little successes and minor victories instead of savoring them. Keep a running list of your successes for year and post it near your computer or nightstand.

3. Learn from your setbacks: Failure happens. It’s part of life and a necessary component of growth. Accept failure as something good, as proof that you are taking risks and stretching yourself. However, in addition to accepting losses, you must go back and, like an unbiased scientist, ask yourself what went wrong. What will you do differently in future? Mistakes are only truly valuable if you learn from them.

4. Fill your glass: Forget debate over whether glass is half empty or half full! Why not take a pitcher and fill it up? Tackle every situation with perspective that you can affect outcome. Acknowledge that you have power to choose. Even doing absolutely nothing or feeling sorry for yourself is a choice you make.

1. What do you want? Sounds like an obvious question but you’d be surprised at how many people simply don’t know answer. Take five minutes and write a list of anything and everything you want. Then rank them in order of importance, taking into account that some desires might seem more important than others, but that certain things need to happen first. For instance, you might feel that owning your own home is most important item, but you actually need to work on getting out of debt first. Next, take each item and answer following questions.

2. Why do you want it? Consider carefully what motivates you towards this goal. Is this project your lifelong dream or something that your parents or society pushed onto your shoulders? Make sure you want it for right reasons and not simply because it’s something you think you should want.

3. What’s pay off? Write a list of all benefits of reaching your goal, both emotional and physical. Can’t come up with much? Reconsider why you want this goal at all. This list will play an important part in keeping you motivated and focused when initial excitement about this project wears thin.

4. What needs to happen? Keep pen and paper out. Write a list of every conceivable task that needs to happen to reach your goal. Get as specific as possible down to last detail.