TUESDAY MARCH 23, 2021 - ATTITUDE - PART 1

 TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2021 - ATTITUDE - PART 1

There is one thing that is absolutely necessary for you to succeed:  That is your attitude.  We’ll talk about attitude several times in this series.

You get to choose your attitude.  Yes – when doing a home repair job and you hit your thumb with a hammer, even then you get to choose your attitude.  You can scream (probably acceptable), you can swear (may not be acceptable), you can pick up your hammer and throw it through a window in your anger (not acceptable).  You can choose to be happy – or you can choose to be depressed, angry, and upset – really – you have the choice.  The American “Declaration of Independence” says “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”.  Government can’t guarantee you happiness as you have to adjust your attitude to be happy.  It is a choice!!

A quote from Henry Ford, American industrialist, and carmaker ““Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”

Let’s look at “I think I can”.  Now there are times when “I think I can” are impossible.  “I think I can climb Mount Everest blindfolded with my legs tied together” – not a good idea.  But, the various climbers of Mount Everest BELIEVED that they could climb Mount Everest.  They planned carefully, had thought through various scenarios, and achieved that goal.

As a child, I read the Little Golden book about the “Little engine who could”.  This little engine when asked to pull a train over the mountain kept saying to himself “I think I can; I think I can”.  The engine’s attitude was about doing it – not how heavy the train was, not how steep the mountain was, but that he could do it.

“I think I can” is chronicled in history.  Edison supposedly tried over 1,000 times to find a workable lightbulb.  His belief in himself “I think I can” made all of the many failures acceptable.  He later just viewed them as steps on the journey to the creation of the light bulb.

Abraham Lincoln failed in many endeavors – as a businessman, as a soldier, as a lawyer, and as a politician until he was elected president.  He exhibited the “I think I can” attitude.

What do you want to do?  Think about it; get your attitude right.

You are driving on a four-lane road at the posted speed limit.  You see a car coming up behind you.  That car zips past you and then cuts back in front of you.  As you watch, the same car zips in-and-out ahead of you - sometimes almost causing accidents as the car cuts back in front of other cars too quickly.  What is your attitude?  Do you get road rage?  “That Jerk.  I hope he has an accident” – 

But, maybe a more gentle attitude “I bet he just got a call that his mother is dying and he is rushing to her deathbed to say ‘goodbye’”.  While it might not be true, it keeps your emotions and negative attitude in check.

When you took calculus before the class started did you say to yourself “I can never learn calculus, it is too hard” – or did you say “I think I can I think I can”.  You can also say “Look at student X, he passed calculus and I’m smarter than he is.  If he can do it, so can I”.

A good attitude does not whine.  “It is too hot today” (and can you do anything about that – other than stay indoors?); “I hate doing this” (sounds like a bad attitude to me).  I hate the old President/I hate the new President - other than voting what can you do?  Last week, I wrote about a lady who remembers WWJD - What Would Jesus Do?  

“I just got fired from my job” might actually be a great opportunity to move on to try something new.  Or, do you want to whine “I shouldn’t have gotten fired”, “Those idiots, I’m much better than most of the staff that wasn’t fired”.   There is a concept that when a door closes a window opens.  

You can get out of bed, stretch, and start singing “Oh what a beautiful morning”.  What is your attitude towards the new day and especially towards Monday?  “Wow – this is a brand new week, I am SO EXCITED to find new adventures, new things to learn this week”.   (Or, do you hit the snooze button and say “I don’t want to get up”)

What is your self-talk?  We do all talk to ourselves (if only mentally).  Do you say frequently “This is a great day!” “I really enjoy doing this”; “This is going to be a success”?  If so, you are reinforcing a positive attitude.

In my first year of high school teaching, in my preparation period, I went to the teacher’s lounge a few times.  There was free coffee (and in those days, a haze of smoke) and a lot of whining.  “I hate my students”, “I hate my classes”, “I don’t like the Principal”.  I learned quickly to get in, get my cup of coffee and go back to my classroom to do my preparation.  I learned that negative people can bring you down.  Like Winnie-the-Pooh character Eeyore, nothing is right, it is always raining, it is always miserable.  

Don’t say “I think I can” just once, embedded it in your brain.  Say it again and again.  

Start making a list of your attitude statements.  Write it down.  Start with “I can <something>”

Look up getting a positive attitude on the internet.  What did you find?

Notice other’s attitudes that you are around frequently – are they positive or negative?  Can you learn anything from them?

Quote: “Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.” ― Walt Whitman

Yes, I am a Pollyanna - the glass isn’t half full - it is ALMOST COMPLETELY FULL - and it is going to be FULL, FULL, FULL - soon!!!  

But, YOUR attitude must be tempered with love and good judgment.  

What do you think?

LOVE WINS!!!

HUGS!!

Karen