Your attitude is a powerful sentiment

It affects every part of your life,self-image, relationships, business, and your health. 

Definition of Attitude

A simple definition of attitude is a person’s feeling or emotion toward a fact or situation. It’s a person’s mental outlook on circumstances; one’s temperament, mood, or viewpoint. People tend to think that there are only two kinds of attitudes—positive and negative; but really there are many.

Here are just a few: friendly or reserved, confident or insecure, cheerful or depressing, compassionate or callous, determined or indecisive, peaceful or destructive, appreciative or ungrateful. It’s easy to see that all can be classified as either positive or negative and that they will truly identify who you are.

Attitude is a key component in defining one’s personality. Your attitudes affect how people see you—whether they like or dislike you, whether they want to be around you or avoid you. It affects their viewpoint about you—how they respond to you—whether you gain or lose influence with them.

Your attitude is reflected through the tone of your voice, the expression on your face, your body language and the courtesy or lack thereof extended to others.

 

Good and Bad Attitudes

Think of someone you know who always seems to have a good attitude. Who immediately comes to mind? How do you feel about this person? Is this someone you enjoy being around? Is this someone you would hire if you were an employer? Is this someone you would buy something from if he or she were selling something you needed?

Now think about someone who always seems to have a bad attitude. Who do you immediately think about? How do you feel about this person? Is this someone you enjoy being around? Does this person give you energy or draw energy from you? If you were having a party, would you invite this person? How likely would you be to embrace any idea that comes out of his or her mouth?

 

Your Attitude is a Choice

Your attitude is a choice and that choice is 100% within your control. Just know that the choice you make will influence every aspect of your life. Let me encourage you to begin looking at what’s good in your life and not what’s bad. If you are going through a difficult period, remember your attitude can make your life even worse or it can be the catalyst to turning your life around.

 

Learn From Your Failures

If you have experienced some recent failures, learn what you can and then force yourself to stop thinking about them. Continuing to think about mistakes you’ve made will affect your self-esteem, self-confidence, and ultimately your attitude. We all make mistakes. I’ve made hundreds of them. Everyone slips and stumbles somewhere along the way. But your success does not depend on how often you fall. It depends on how often you get up and try again and on how much you learn from each experience.

 

Stop Complaining

Perhaps most importantly, stop complaining. What do you gain by complaining? You certainly do not attract others. Most people don’t want to be around those who complain. You can’t change the situation by whining. You don’t make any progress or improve your circumstances by moaning and groaning. I can’t think of one positive result that comes from complaining.

 

Begin to Enjoy Doing What You Don’t Enjoy

If you find yourself struggling to keep a positive attitude at your job, begin to enjoy doing what you don’t currently enjoy. Make it fun. Look for the positives. Look at how you can grow yourself through what would normally be unpleasant experiences. People’s respect grows for a person who has a positive attitude when it would be easy to have the opposite.

 

Self Evaluation

So, let me ask you to be honest with yourself and evaluate your attitude. If your family, friends and co-workers were to describe your attitude, what would they say? Starting NOW, I want to challenge you to become aware of your attitude and it’s affect on your life and those around you.

 “Who do you know who always seems to have a great attitude?”

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”-Winston Churchill

 

 

The benefits of positive thinking and positive attitudes are well documented.

Researchers have found that people with positive attitudes are happier, healthier, and live longer than those with negatives attitudes. So….

If You Are Going To Do Something, Do It With a Good Attitude – Think of the last time you were asked to do something by your spouse, employer or a friend but you really didn’t want to do what was requested. How would you describe your attitude in this type of situation?

The next time you have to do something you don’t want to do, let me challenge you to do it with a great attitude and see how it makes you feel. You will stand out!

Don’t Worry About What You Can’t Control

Here’s an interesting statistic I heard years ago. 92% of the things people worry about are beyond their control. If you are troubled about something you CAN control, like whether you are going to lose your job, then step up your game. Come in early, stay late, offer to work on a weekend, volunteer to take on additional responsibilities and everything else you can think of to increase your value. If you end up losing your job, you can bet you’ll get a good reference.

If on the other hand you find yourself worrying about something you can’t control, like the safety of your son in Iraq, then you must use your self-control and not allow yourself to worry about his safety. Worrying about things you can’t control will not only affect your overall attitude, but it will have a negative effect on your health.

Here’s a tip.

Make a list of the things you worry about. Then divide that list into two categories: the concerns you can do something about and those you can’t. Take control of those where you can have an impact and put together a plan to attack them. Then make a commitment to yourself that you will be intentional about not worrying about the things you can’t control. Deal?

And lastly…

Challenge Yourself To Be Positive During Difficult Times

Bad things happen to all of us. It’s a given. But the key to maintaining our perspective and ultimately our longevity is our attitude during these tough periods. I cannot image one positive thing that can come from having a bad attitude during challenging times. Can you? Even if you lost your job, lost your home in foreclosure and were forced to sleep in your car, what good would come from having a negative attitude?

The truth is that a negative attitude would compound your problems.

99% of the people I have met in my life have a negative attitude during difficult times. I suspect it’s because their thoughts are consumed with their problems and they’re not consciously aware of their negative attitude. The next time you find yourself dealing with something challenging, be aware of your attitude. Choose to remain positive. You will stand out like a bright light in a dark room.

You Are In Control of Your Attitude

Challenge yourself to do EVERYTHING you do with a positive attitude. Not only will this bring more joy and happiness into your life, but it will also build self-esteem and self-confidence. Starting this very minute, stop worrying about the things you can’t control and start attacking the things you can. This is a choice you control. Don’t allow yourself to think differently.

When times get tough, be the person who stands out from the crowd with a positive attitude. If you are going through a difficult period right now, then be strong, be bold!

Happiness is an attitude.  We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong.  The amount of work is the same. -Francesca Reigler

 

Here are some ideas to help you maintain a positive attitude despite the presence of negative people or circumstances…

Expect Things To Get Better

When you expect things to improve, not only will you be happier because of your attitude, but also your positive expectations will allow you to see opportunities you would otherwise miss. I have said for years that when you expect things to go well, they generally do, and likewise, when you expect things to turn out poorly, they generally do.

I realize there are times when it’s very hard to have a positive attitude. I’ve been there many times, but I also know I am ultimately the one in charge of my emotions and attitude. I am keenly aware that if I allow myself to moan and grown and wallow in self-pity, I will lengthen my period of pain. I just don’t see how things can improve if I have a bad attitude. Think about it…how can things improve if you don’t expect they will?

When you are faced with difficult challenges, keep in mind that your expectations will in all likelihood determine the outcome.

Avoid Speaking Poorly of People—There will be occasions when people exercise bad judgment or display inappropriate behaviors. It is certainly within your prerogative to offer constructive criticism to these people but it’s in poor taste to talk behind their back to their friends or co-workers. If you allow yourself to be consumed with negative thoughts about a person, your unconstructive attitude will be obvious to others.

I am always impressed with people who don’t speak poorly of others, especially if they have the right to do so.

Maintain a Good Attitude Even If It’s Bad News

One of the things that really stands out in my mind is when people handle themselves with class in the face of bad news. For instance, if you are laid off from your job, lose a big sale or are denied a well-deserved promotion, be intentional about how you handle yourself.

I even noticed this when watching the Academy Awards recently. You can bet those who did not win were extremely disappointed, but they did everything they could to hide their disappointment.

I have learned to focus on handling myself like a professional. I know it’s the right thing to do and I have observed that how I respond makes a big impression.

Next time you hear bad news

Respond in a way that makes you proud of yourself and creates a positive impression.

Learn to Respond Rather Than React

In the course of our daily lives, so many things occur that challenge our natural emotions. It could be the driver that cuts you off on the highway or an aggressive e-mail or perhaps a co-worker’s sarcastic comment during a meeting. When we get upset or angry, the key is to not lose control of our emotions by reacting, but rather to stay in control and respond thoughtfully.

Since this is a weakness of mine, let me tell you what I am doing to correct this. First, I acknowledged to myself that I have a weakness in this area and I am committed to working on it. Second, when I get frustrated or angry I say to myself, “Stay in control ME ME ME ; be thoughtful about how you respond.” I often have to repeat this several times.

I have also started modeling my friends behavior as I admire their ability to respond rather than react. When he is upset, he focuses on speaking in love. When I think about speaking with love in my heart, it transforms my state of mind faster than anything I have tried before. Try it next time and see how it works for you.

Break the Habit of Finding Fault With People

I must confess I went through of a period of time where I was guilty of this very point. I suppose that I found fault with everything because I was so focused on striving for perfection that I constantly noticed what I perceived to be people’s mistakes.

I decided a long time ago and started working on my attitude. I still notice all the little things people do right and wrong, but the difference today is I don’t let it bother me.

How about you? Do you find yourself overally critical? If so, let me encourage you to start being aware of these circumstances and work on your attitude. Have a little more patience; be a little more understanding. People are not perfect and for many of them they are doing their best. It’s also important to recognize that what may be logical to you, may not be logical to others.

As I wrap this up I want to encourage you to be aware of your attitude at all times and be intentional about controlling your emotions.

I would love to hear about your personal experiences. What helps you to have a positive attitude? In what circumstances do you find yourself challenged to maintain this attitude?

“There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.” – W. Clement Stone

Lots of Love

Lenny

707-927-4611