Positive outlook bleeds into all aspects of life. There were things that I thought I couldn't do that I ended up doing after much practice. Easily and with pleasure. Positivity is not a cop out in that you just repeat the mantra to yourself and everything is hunky dory. That is lazy and misguided. Positivity is actually meaningless without action. If you do not go out into the field and try, it does not matter how positive you are. The other alternative is feeling sorry for yourself and I'm not getting back on that merry-go-round again. Like OP said, once people get to know you, they don't give a fuck and do not care. You just have to figure out to not care and keep trying and things will get better. Do not get in the way of yourself.