How Our Attitude Affects Us

Our attitude at the beginning of a job will affect the outcome of the job more that anything else.

“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” Lou Holtz

Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude toward us.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.

“I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position. Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right, there is no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.”

“The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem”

Our attitude toward others will determine their attitude toward us.

“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” Brian Tracy

Before we can achieve the kind of life we want, we must think, act, walk, talk, and conduct ourselves in ways characteristic of who we ultimately wish to become.

“It's easy to let life deteriorate into making a living instead of making a life. It's not the hours you put in, but what you out into the hours that count. Learn to express rather than impress. Expressing evokes a ''me too'' attitude while impressing evokes a ''so what'' attitude.” Jim Rohn

The higher we go in any organization of value, the better the attitude we'll find.

“Take charge of your attitude. Don't let someone else choose it for you.”

Holding successful, positive thoughts in our minds will make all the difference in the world.

“Attitude is the way you mentally look at the world around you. It is how you view your environment and your future. It is the focus you develop toward life itself.”

If we always make a person feel needed, important, and appreciated, he or she will return this attitude to us.

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” Brian Tracy

Part of a good attitude is to look for the best in new ideas. So look for good ideas everywhere. We will find in the most wonderful places: on the bumpers of cars, on restaurant menus, in books, in travel, out of the innocent mouths of children.

“Good work habits help develop an internal toughness and a self-confident attitude that will sustain you through every adversity and temporary discouragement.” Paul J. Fleyer

Don't broadcast personal problems. it probably won't help you, and it cannot help others.

Don't talk about your health unless it's good.

“Our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us.” Earl Nightingale

Radiate the attitude of well-being. Don't be embarrassed to share visions, desires, and goals.

“How you look at a situation is very important, for how you think about a problem may defeat you before you ever do anything about it. When you get discouraged or depressed, try changing your attitude from negative to positive and see how life can change for you. Remember, your attitude toward a situation can help you to change it -- you create the very atmosphere for defeat or victory.” Franco Harris

Treat everyone with whom you come in contact as a fellow member of the human race-with all the rights, duties, and privileges thereof. The Golden Rule still applies: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

“Every issue, belief, attitude or assumption is precisely the issue that stands between you and your relationship to another human being; and between you and yourself.”

How To Become A Lifelong Learner

Start with your attitude.

Lifelong learning begins with a heart that desires change, wisdom, and application.

“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” Lou Holtz

Ask questions.

Learners ask good questions. They possess an insatiable curiosity - a longing to know, discover, inquire. Ask questions that get below the surface.

“He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever” Chinese Proverbs

Join Others.

Collaborative learning - in classes, small groups, with friends and colleagues - allow us to benefit from diverse perspectives and approaches. People are a gold mine of learning that is tapped through conversation.

“It's not enough to have a dream unless I'm willing to pursue it. It's not enough to know what's right unless I'm strong enough to do it. It's not enough to join the crowd, to be acknowledged and accepted. I must be true to my ideals, even if I'm excluded and rejected. It's not enough to learn the truth unless I also learn to live it. It's not enough to reach for love unless I care enough to give it.”

Check out the other side.

Take time to examine and understand another point of view, even if it radically contradicts yours. You may see things in a new light, or you may have your old convictions strengthened. Personal convictions that have been tested remain flabby.

“Getting people to like you is merely the other side of liking them.” Norman Vincent Peale

Read broadly.

Include a diversity of books, authors, and topics. Resist the temtation to read only those books that reinforce what you already believe.

“The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them” Mark Twain

“Don't just read the easy stuff. You may be entertained by it, but you will never grow from it.”

Keep a journal.
Recording what we learn captures our growth in wisdom.

“Journal writing is a voyage to the interior"

Experiment.
Try new approaches and ideas. Age does not affect your ability to learn. An eighty-year-old can learn to surf the net like an eighteen-year-old.

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

Apply what you know.

Our depth of understanding is often directly related to our ability to apply what we've learned. Application takes knowledge from the head to the heart.

“The results you achieve will be in direct proportion to the effort you apply.” Denis Waitley

“Those people who develop the ability to continuously acquire new and better forms of knowledge that they can apply to their work and to their lives will be the movers and shakers in our society for the indefinite future.” Brian Tracy