When we were younger we were taught The Golden Rule — Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, or in more contemporary terms: treat others the way you want to be treated.

Treat someone with kindness and expect kindness in return, treat them with anger and don’t be surprised if they respond angrily back. Now, despite being the golden rule, it doesn’t always work like that.

We forget the rule. Sometimes in the heat of the moment we respond with anger or frustration instead of kindness and understanding, or despite being nice, the manners are not reciprocated. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to be our very best or considerate of everyone we meet, because there’s another part of the rule, that is just as important as the first part.

Kinda like karma.

If you put out positive thoughts and vibrations then you will receive a positive outcome. Whereas, if you look at life through pessimistic glasses, don’t be surprised if things don’t turn out the way you want, but rather the way you glumly expected.

Our attitude affects a lot of factors in our lives, from our outlook to the environment we create around ourselves. By putting out good vibes you’re going to attract situations and people that further stimulate these uplifting vibrations. The same idea happens when you put out negative thoughts, you're either gonna attract like-minded people, which isn't good for your mental health, or you're going to find yourself in an incredibly toxic and lonely existence.

Being a positive person doesn’t mean your life is stress-free and that you’re constantly happy. It also doesn’t mean you’re naive and see the world through rose-colored glasses. It means you know how to take each moment for what it is. Instead of looking at the situation and seeing only the obstacles you look at it and see the possibilities.

Positive people know how to let go of grudges and toxic people because they choose to surround themselves with people and opportunities that make them feel good. They learn not to waste time on people who can't reciprocate, who only see the glass as half-empty.

Author Roald Dahl wrote in his book The Twits,

"If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.

A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."

Think good thoughts, put positive vibes out into the universe, treat others with kindness and in return don't be surprised when it all comes back to you. The Golden Rule was right, being a kind person pays off in more ways than one.