In order to achieve your greatest potential in life, one of the most important steps you can take is to learn to monitor your attitude and its impact on your work performance, your relationships and everyone around you.
Most work hard on improving their smarts/intellect - by studying, reading, attending college.
Many work hard on improving their fitness - by moving more, eating less, and hitting the gym.
But what about your attitude - what does a person do to improve that?
Sometimes, when I start my training and development workshops, (I work in HR!) I generally start by asking a fundamental question: What attitude did you bring into this meeting?
Often, this brings puzzled looks.
You might find this hard to believe but most people generally don’t have a high level of attitude awareness. Sure, they will know if they are hungry or if their feet hurt, but they usually don’t have a good handle on their attitude.
In life, this is a huge mistake because attitude is everything. It governs the way you perceive the world and the way the world perceives you.
Likely, you've already figures this out but life is about making choices. We can choose an inner dialogue of self-encouragement and self-motivation, or we can choose one of self-defeat and self-pity. Each of us possesses this power.
Sure. Hard times, hurt feelings, heartache, and physical and emotional pain happens for all of us at one time or another. Contrast is a part of the life experience. The key is to realize...
... "it’s not what happens to you that matters; it’s how you choose to respond to it."
This analogy might help. Think of your mind as a computer that can be programmed. YOU can choose whether the software installed is productive or unproductive. How you present yourself to the world around you is determined by your inner dialogue which is the software that programs your attitude. You have control over the programming and whatever you decide to put into it is reflected in what comes out.
Many of us have behavior patterns today that were programmed into our brains beginning the very day we were born. The information that our brain recorded could have been completely inaccurate, harmful or cruel. The sad reality of life is that we will continue to hear that negative information, years later, if we don’t work hard at programming more productive software into our brains.
The loudest and most influential voice you hear is your own inner voice, your self-critic. Ironically, I named my self-critic Will.
Your will can work for you or against you, depending on the messages that you allow. Will can be optimistic or pessimistic. He can wear you down or cheer you on. On the other hand, you have the control - not Will. You control the sender and the receiver signals, but for this to be most successful, you consciously must take responsibility for your self-critic and you must take control over all of your inner conversations with Will.
Habitual bad attitudes are often the product of past experiences and events. Common causes include low self-esteem, stress, fear, resentment, anger and an inability to handle change.
Here are six strategies to improve
your attitude and reap the rewards:
1. Self-Coaching Through Affirmations
Affirmations repeated several times each day, every day, serve to reprogram your subconscious with positive thinking. An affirmation is made up of words charged with power, conviction and faith. You send a positive response to your subconscious, which accepts whatever you tell it. When done properly, this triggers positive feelings that, in turn, drive your actions. Please check out my blog post entitled, Love, Appreciate and Align for more work in doing this well for yourself.
2. Attitude Talk for Positive Internal Dialogue
Will has a way to override your past negative programming by erasing or replacing it with a conscious, positive internal voice that helps you face new directions. Your internal self-critic, Will —that little voice you listen to all day long— acts like a seed in that it programs your brain and affects your behavior. Take a closer look at what your conversations are like with Will and take control.
3. The Power of Words
Once released into the universe, our words cannot be taken back. What we speak reflects what is already in our hearts based upon all the things we have come to believe about ourselves. If we find ourselves speaking judgmental and disparaging things about our circumstances or those around us, we know the condition of our hearts needs to change. You can create a direct path to success, and reap the rewards, by simply watching what you say.
4. Enthusiasm is a Vital Tool for Staying Motivated
Enthusiasm is to attitude what breathing is to life. Enthusiasm enables you to apply your gifts more effectively. It’s the burning desire that communicates commitment, determination and spirit. Enthusiasm means putting yourself in motion. It’s an internal spirit that speaks through your actions from your commitment and your belief in what you are doing. It is one of the most empowering and attractive characteristics you can have.
5. Lighten Up Your Life with Humor
The more humor and laughter in your life, the less stress you’ll have, which means more positive energy to help you put your attitude into action. There are also tremendous health benefits when you don't take yourself (or life) so seriously. Humor is a powerful motivator.
6. Exercising Will Help Keep You Motivated
One of the best ways to move to a more positive and motivated frame of mind is to exercise.
A regular routine of diet and exercise can provide relatively quick positive feedback in the form of weight loss, more energy, better sleep, more muscle development and a sense of doing something positive for yourself, all by yourself. Check out the various blog-posts here on iloveureka.com related to LIVING WELL.
It may take some serious work to examine the roots of a harmful attitude, but the benefits of ridding ourselves of this heavy baggage can bring a lifetime of rewards and joy. It is no secret that life seems to reward us most when we approach the world, and the variety of circumstances that come our way, with a positive, joyful attitude.
"Every single event in life is an opportunity to choose love over fear."