Your Attitude Is Everything

Would you want to have an employee who is extremely good at his or her job but has a bad attitude or an average employee who has a positive attitude? Experienced CEOs understand that bad attitudes can reduce the effectiveness of their organization. Skills can be taught. Attitude is difficult to change.

People with positive attitudes are winners. They build an environment that values employees, suppliers and customers. They think positively. The words don't and can't are not in their vocabulary.

How do we identify winners? It is hard to tell by casual observation. Winners dress the same as everyone else, eat at the same restaurants and work at the same companies. Successful people come in all personality types, physical characteristics and professions. We identify them by their attitudes, behaviors and results.

Winners don't give up. The sad truth about people who give up is they are just as capable as those who don't. The main difference is their attitude.

Conscious thoughts precede actions. By choosing our thoughts, we act our way into certain circumstances. Positive attitudes help us be more productive. We are who we think we are. If we think we can, we can. If we think we can't, we can't. Attitude Defined

What is an attitude? Some say it's a mindset, a way of thinking, which is partly right. In simple terms, an attitude is a habit of thought. Usually we think of habits as behaviors; the way we do something. Habits can be mental as well. Therefore an attitude is our habitual way of looking at our world.

We develop attitude habits through conditioning. Conditioning begins at a very early age and continues throughout our lives. Sometimes our conditioning is negative, for instance a mother's admonitions to a young child. This negativity may generate many self imposed limitations.

The elephant provides a simple example. An elephant is staked to the ground. As a baby it isn't strong enough to remove the stake. Later when the elephant is full grown and could easily pull the stake, it doesn't because it "knows" it can't.

Our attitudes are the key to our health, relationships, happiness and achievements. They determine how we live and whether we succeed in life.

We control our attitudes. We alone have the responsibility to shape our life. Walt Kelly said: "We have met the enemy and they is us. We are all that is holding us back."

Attitudes of Winners

Winners have many positive attitudes. Three that are particularly important in professional lives are enthusiasm, persistence and desire.

Enthusiasm produces the confidence that announces to the world, "I have what it takes."

Enthusiasm is often misunderstood. It is frequently confused with the temporary exuberance seen at sporting events.

Long lasting enthusiasm is different. It is a confident commitment, a wholehearted action, an ardent belief. When you possess enthusiasm life is more enjoyable and work is always part play no matter how demanding. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Persistence is critical. Faced with difficulties, you can quit or keep pushing on. The choice is yours. But if you want to be a winner you will stay with the task and see it through.

Modern technology has taught us to expect instant gratification. We become discouraged if we have to wait. Many people give up when faced with delay. Time, dedication and commitment are always the minimum price tag we pay to complete projects that are important.

How do we project persistence? Never, never, never give up!

Intense desire creates opportunities and reveals new personal talents. Desire is much more than wishing or wanting. Desire differentiates between mature commitment and unfocused daydreaming.

Those who lack desire are always too busy to do what needs to be done. Desire pushes you to work harder in a positive sense. People with strong desire understand the pure joy of work. Their success comes not at the end of a battle, but as the culmination of a game. Every day they work towards their long range goals, reinforcing their desire to do more and do it better each day.

Desire is the attitude that transforms us from average to outstanding achievers.

Attitude and Work Environment

Many employees believe that their employer is solely responsible for the conditions that lead to job enjoyment. This is only partially true. Both the employer and employees have a shared responsibility for building positive workplace expectations.

Yes, the company and management have responsibility. Effective CEOs build a culture where people want to work and want to excel. They ensure, by leading with a Servant's Heart, that their employees feel appreciated and know the company has their personal best interests in mind.

Employees also have responsibilities. If they have a positive productive attitude they will to be happy. Conversely those who always complain create an environment that drags their coworkers down. Employees are responsible for creating their personal satisfaction on their job.

Employees with positive attitudes make their work environment a positive experience. They strive for an attitude of excellence and exude excellence in the way they work.

They go the extra mile. Instead of thinking "I did my part, someone else dropped the ball," they ensure a positive outcome by refusing to accept the alternative.

We can choose to do the minimum required or we can decide to excel. This decision to make a difference is a personal attitude that desires us to be the best we can be.

Summary
Experienced leaders understand how positive attitudes play an important part in driving the success of their organization. They build a culture where positive people can thrive and reach their personal goals. These leaders understand that when both the organization and employees reach their goals great accomplishments are possible.

People with positive attitudes are winners. They think "I can," not "I can't."

Attitudes are the mental habits through which we view our world. They are key to all the success and happiness we gain in our personal and professional lives.

People with positive attitudes overcome problems. They don't accept mediocrity. They view their work as a game helping them reach their long term goals.

People with positive mental attitudes exhibit personal leadership. Regardless of their professional responsibilities, they live their lives in a manner that inspires others.

James Boehm

7 Keys to Having a Positive Attitude

Why do some people have such a great attitude and others a negative one? Well, I wondered the same thing and through my research I found seven keys that those with a positive mental attitude all share. How do you rate?

1) Choose Your Attitude in Advance:
When you wake up, you have a choice. You can be in a good mood or a bad mood. You also choose your attitude. You can wake up and mutter to yourself, "This is gonna be a cruddy day," or you can tell yourself, "This is gonna be a great day!" This choice is the start of a great attitude.

2) Visualize Success:
Runners in the Boston Marathon picture themselves crossing the finish line. Picture yourself having a successful day. Self-visualization is a key factor in having a positive mental attitude. Will it work 100% of the time? I wish it would. However, by visualizing your success, you'll be able to have a better handle on what does happen, and having a better chance of making it happen.

3) Demonstrate Humor, Energy, and Enthusiasm:
We call these three items the magic ingredients. Without them, creating a positive mental attitude will be difficult. There is normally humor in every situation. Finding it is key. Sometimes you'll need to stretch and dig a little deeper to find the humor in a situation. But once you do, you'll feel so much better. Energy is important because without some energy in your attitude, you'll be dragging behind everyone. Energy is closely related to the third ingredient, enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is contagious; let's start an epidemic!

4) Resist Negative Influences:
It's a fact. When we have a negative experience with a company, we'll tell more people about it than if we have a good experience with the same company. Many times, when you hear that someplace wasn't very good, you'll believe the person who told you and choose not to do business with that company. However, you may only be hearing half the story. Check things out for yourself. Especially if the negativity involves a person you work with or know. We've all heard negative things about someone we didn't know and then when we had the opportunity to meet them ourselves, we find that they're not as bad as someone had alluded to. In fact they might be nice, but you need to be the judge. Take negativity out of your life. Steer clear of those who drag you down and say negative things. Being around other positive people is a good start.

5) Be a Whatever-it-Takes Person:
This means, be a problem solver. Life is going to put obstacles in front of all of us. How we go around those obstacles is key. There's normally a good answer to every problem put in front of us. Dale Carnegie said it best. Ask yourself, "What is the worst thing that can happen here?" Then move up from that.

6) Embrace Change:
Expect it and Accept it: Some people are very good at handling change and some resist it. The major key to handling change is to accept it; deal with it. In most cases there's little we can do to stop it anyway.

7) Be Grateful for What You Have:
Many people have so much and yet those same people are often the ones that constantly complain. Why wait for some life-altering experience to be grateful? Be grateful, now.

These are the seven keys to having a positive mental attitude. Put them into practice and you will be amazed at the difference they can make.

James Boehm