During a time when layoffs or the threat of layoffs loom in the air, what can be done to improve your attitude in the workplace? And additionally, how can you apply these same tenets to your life? Forcing positivity is never the answer. Making subtle changes to your patterns of thought seems far more effective.

Here’s some advice from Washington Post columnist Lily Garcia:

Catch the happiness virus. Just as you can catch the “negativity virus,” you can also be infected by happiness. You may find that the morale of your workplace is suffering because of a layoff, and you may have little choice but to associate with gloomy coworkers. But you do have a choice about who you spend time with in your personal life. According to a study published in the British Medical Journal in December, knowing someone who is happy increases your chances of being happy by 15.3 percent.

When you are unhappy at work, it can help talk about it and establish solidarity with other people who are going through the same thing. But beware of dwelling on your problems. As much as you can, surround yourself with people who are optimistic and positive.

It’s a fine line, between commiserating and wallowing. Sharing your ails is essential and needed in order to move forward. But too much of it and you can almost physically feel yourself getting stuck in the quicksand of negativity.