Attitude

For some time, I’ve wanted to get a more concrete handle on just what “ATTITUDE” is and how it works.  For example: What, exactly, does it mean when we hear someone say:

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” Thomas Jefferson  [http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_attitude.html]  ?

OR

“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” Lou Holtz
[http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_attitude.html]?

This doesn’t tell us – exactly – what attitude IS … or how you GET it.  And, if it makes such a difference, how do you make it WORK for you?                            

Some attitudes clearly – or maybe NOT so clearly – work LESS well than others:

 

      

                    

From the Webster Dictionary, we get this definition:

 ATTITUDE: 1.    Posture; position assumed or studied to serve a purpose; as, a threatening attitude.  2. Position or bearing as indicating action, feeling or mood itself; as, a kindly attitude.

So attitude, fundamentally, is an orientation … an inclination toward some anticipated / expected purpose or end (or perhaps to no end at all!), and behavior is a manifestation of that orientation / inclination. 

Polarities in attitude are notable.  While shades of coloration exist and circumstances may dramatically influence attitude, a “baseline” or default orientation generally exists.  “Who we are” … or “Who we THINK we are” … or “Whoever it is we want to BECOME” makes a universe of difference.  The adjectives depicting orientation/inclination pretty well reflect attitude and predict outcomes:  Some examples are worth noting, but represent only the tip of a very LARGE iceberg:

A producer or a consumer; An instigator or a pacifier; Progressive – wanting to be and do better; Conservative – wanting things to remain the same; Secure and adventurous or insecure, protective and resistant to change; A consensus builder or a disrupter; Prone to claim Entitlements; Prone to fulfill Obligations; Black Belt Survivalist: “Who have you licked lately?”; Rugged Individualist; Bully/”Bad Boy”/Boasting/Bravado/Bandit; Gallant/Gregarious/Generous; Eager Beaver Participant; Reluctant participant / observer; Seclusionist; Facilitator; Initiator; “Busy Body”; Self-Centered “Narcissist”; Extrovert; Introvert …

The “tapes” playing in our heads are critical:

• “I can make a difference.”
•  “I can!” /\ “I can’t!” /\ “I will.” /\ “I won’t.” /\ “Maybe.”
•  “I will do whatever it takes … as long as it takes.”  [Eventual Surmountability”]
• “Only my own weakness/stubbornness/stupidity/lack of initiative will hold me back.”
• “I will become stronger, smarter, more skilled, better, faster.”
• “Nobody can stop me!”
• “I will generate my own personal affirmations and self-esteem from jobs well-done.”
• “I will not shy from worthy challenges.”
• “I will not shy from constructive criticism.”   

Zig Ziglar was fond of telling about the pessimist who quit his job shoveling manure because it was such a detestable occupation versus the optimist who figured the more manure he pitched the closer he got to the pony!

George Foreman had a formula that worked wonders for him across at least three different careers:

“Before I was a boxer, I was a dishwasher.  I was great!  I was the best dishwasher ever.  I’d get through doing my job; my dishes were so nice and clean … so I’d mop the floors.  I out-mopped the floor mopper.  Then I would help the cooks peel the potatoes.  I was the best there was.”  [NOTE: Striving to be the BEST is attitude you can take to the bank!]

Finally, I’d have to say that long-term and broad horizon visioning is important. 

            “You may think I’m a lump of coal.  But one day, I’m going to be a diamond.”

Sir Christopher Wren was one of the greatest English architects of all time.  His masterpiece accomplishment was the design and construction of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.  The story is told that one day he walked onto the cathedral construction site unrecognized among the men at work and asked several of them, in turn, what they were doing.  The first man replied, “I am cutting a piece of stone.”   A second man said “I am earning five shillings, tuppence a day to feed and clothe my family.”  The third, not recognizing the esteemed architect in his work clothes, exclaimed, “I am helping Sir Christopher Wren build a magnificent cathedral!”

 

I think “Positive Attitude” comes down to simply taking personal responsibility for making the world we live in the best place it can possibly be [NOTE: Making ourselves and our own world better is a very nice collateral benefit!] versus sloughing off, making excuses and blaming others.  Our choice!  Quartermaster