Attitude Determines Everything

Attitude Determines Everything

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Attitude what does this mean? According to one dictionary the meaning of attitude is: “way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person’s behavior.”Our attitude can be seen in our character, how we approach things, what our beliefs are, our perspective on issues, how we approach life, our position on topics, basically our view on life. Does attitude actually influence everything? My answer would be yes; we all have attitude, the difference is whether our attitude is positive or negative.

How we react, what we do or say, all depends on our attitude. It determines whether we’ll be happy or sad. Attitude can help, or hinder us in all areas of our lives. Our attitude can determine our success or our failure. Emmet Fox once said, “You cannot be healthy; you cannot be happy; you cannot be prosperous; if you have a bad disposition.”

And the most amazing thing about our attitude is that we have complete control over it. We are the ones who decide how we feel, how we look at things, how we react.

Negative Thoughts
If your thoughts are constantly of doom and gloom, you will receive the same in return. You will view the world as cloudy and dismal.

Your thoughts and your perception of the world influences all that you do, and all that you are, and all that you can be. If you see the sunshine, feel the sunshine then you feel good. But if your focus is only on the clouds and the dark sky then you may find yourself a bit gloomy.

If we have the attitude of blame then we never accept responsibility for our actions, it is always someone else’s fault. It is never our own fault.

And then we have the attitude of “poor me”. When faced with challenges and issues in our life rather than focusing on solutions we focus on only ourselves and have a pity party.

An Example
For many years, I worked in a very large corporation and had the opportunity to actually work my way from the bottom of the organizational chart to near the very top. During these many years, I needed to be able to keep going even though I ran into several roadblocks. Some of these roadblocks were a direct result of my dissatisfaction with what job I was currently assigned to. In one particular case, I had to travel extensively away from home for days at a time. It wasn’t so much the aspect of travel that was the issue or the fact that I could not do the job well, it was more that I hated being away from my family including my children. So, rather than giving in to a negative attitude about my work, I chose to ask for a reassignment despite the fact that I would be demoted. My attitude was not defeatist but one of being realistic. I realize and demonstrated an attitude that my family was more important than my job. But also an attitude of doing what I loved to do, and travelling and being away from family was not a love. So I was willing to step back, and by stepping back I ended up doing jobs I loved to do that also allowed me the time with my family. So my attitude was one of not giving up but also not doing what I hated to do.

Over the ensuing years, it was my positive attitude that allowed me to tackle and successfully complete and compete in many diverse assignments. On occasion, I was asked to train people as my supervisor who had less experience and knowledge. Again, I could have easily been sour or hurt to the point where I resisted doing anything helpful, or for that matter, being of any assistance whatsoever. But, not only is that counter-productive, it is also not my attitude. My attitude is to take the good with the bad and to do the best job possible despite the odds or the challenges. Instead, I not only helped train this new supervisor, I went out of my way to ensure that she was fully knowledgeable about every major issue that she would face. Bitterness is not positive to anyone especially to your own personal ethics and to your own inner spiritual health.

Change How You See
Changing your attitude is really changing the way you see things. To begin the change, you must start looking for the good in every situation, rather than the negative. The wisdom here is “looking for the good in every situation”. And, yes sometimes you may have to look hard to see the good, but believe me it is there you just have to keep looking. And when you find it, then focus on it, keep it in the forefront of your thoughts. But with changing anything it takes time and our natural tendency is to revert back to our old ways. Just like changing a habit we have to consciously watch what we say, how we say it, and what we do. You don’t just decide today I will have a positive attitude. Our minds will automatically go to what we are use to, especially when we are faced with a challenge or a stressful situation. To retrain your mind you must constantly be asking the question, “what is the good in this.” Thinking about the “good” will keep your mind away from being angry, from feeling sorry for yourself, from reacting in the wrong manner.

So, you see the choice is yours. If we compare attitude to swimming, which are you doing?

Are you swimming – even against the currents and the waves you keep going, you see your destination and you are taking action to reach it.

Are you floating – just allowing the waves to carry you, you end up where ever the water takes you.

Are you drowning – you see the waves and the currents as difficulties you cannot overcome

Keeping a positive attitude will help your swim through life!

Attitude has always been an issue with people. William James was a man who was born in 1842 and he died in 1910. He was a Doctor and an American philosopher and psychologist. He once said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.” So he stated this in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and his words of wisdom still apply today. If you want to change your life then change your attitude, you will be amazed how much life changes when this happens.

Inspirational Quotes for Reflection:
“In the end, we can’t always control what goes around us, but we do have full control over our own reactions and attitude toward it.” Steve Gold

“People can enter relationships – romantic, family, and friends – with the wrong attitude, the attitude that the other person should ultimately create a ‘better’ life for us. Helena Angel

“Many teachers and motivational speakers today use the power of positive thinking to help change people’s lives for the better.” Creed McGregor

“If you focus on the possible when you experience difficult situations, YOU CAN positively change your outlook, reduce your stress, and concentrate on achieving things that otherwise may not have been possible.” Catherine Pulsifer

“You have the power to choose your moods and control your feelings. Your mind controls your world as you see it.” Shadonna Richards

“Positive attitude is more of a philosophy that builds on the fact that having an optimistic disposition in any circumstance of life can help you in enhancing achievement and positive changes.” Dan Miller

“When you wholeheartedly adopt a ‘with all your heart’ attitude and go out with the positive principle, you can do incredible things.” Norman Vincent Peale

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