How Important is Attitude?
Do you spend time managing your MONEY?
Of course you do! Even people who are struggling with their personal or business finances spend some time managing their money. For some that may take the form of worrying but still that is a form of managing money.
Do you spend time managing your TIME?
Once again of course you do. Even people who are poor time managers spend some time thinking about what they should do and when they should do it. Most people don’t have written goals which are an important tool for managing time.
Do you spend time managing your ATTITUDE?
Here is where I feel people fall down on the job. I believe that most people do not even consider the fact that they can determine what their attitude should be and therefore never consider that they should manage their attitude.
Do You Have the Right Attitude?
Here are two important ideas:
- If you have the RIGHT ATTITUDE it doesn’t matter if you have enough money or time, YOU WILL BE HAPPY. The right attitude will allow you to be happy even in the worst of circumstances.
- If you have the WRONG ATTITUDE it doesn’t matter how much money or how much time you have, YOU WON’T BE HAPPY.
- It is obvious when you read about people who are rich or who have all the time in the world that these two things don’t guarantee happiness. While many of these people may appear happy, there are a large number who are very unhappy; even miserable. For example, happy people don’t abuse drugs and alcohol.
When I was younger I believed that I couldn’t do anything about my attitude. I had a bad attitude and it kept me from enjoying my life. I was not happy, I did not have good relationships with friends, I did not date and I did not enjoy the financial success that I wanted. My life was stuck in low gear because of my attitude and I wasn’t living the life I dreamed of living.
One of my dreams as a teenager was to get my education at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. However, people told me that I couldn’t go to USC and I believed them.
Today if someone tells me that I can’t do something I think that they are crazy and I go out and do it. But as a teenager I was shy and lacked self confidence so I believed the stupid things that people told me.
Adopting Beliefs and Attitudes
Where did I get my beliefs? I simply adopted the beliefs of the people around me; primarily my parents. My parents were not a happy or successful couple so adopting their attitudes was not a great idea.
The area where I lived had what I call “small town thinking”. By this I mean that many thought that the whole world was in our town and to leave and go somewhere else and do something else was foolishness.
Fortunately by my late twenties I figured out that there was a problem with this thinking and I “escaped”. I moved to San Francisco and decided that I was going to dedicate myself to figuring out how to be happy and successful.
I read every self improvement book I could find. I listened to tapes and CD’s so much that I could give you the talk including the speaker’s accent. I didn’t know that I was working on my attitude; I just was trying to find the secrets to success in life.
As a result of my personal growth work I have come to realize that one of the beliefs that forms the foundation of life is that “Attitude Determines Destiny”. Our attitude will influence every aspect of our lives and make them better or worse. It will determine to a large extent how successful we will be in three primary areas of life:
- How happy we will be with ourselves
- How we will function in our personal relationships
- How successful we will be in our career
Our attitude can be what we accept from the world or we can make our own attitude happen. Why not make it what you want it to be?
This is the first in an 8 part series on attitude.
Bruce is a motivational speaker and conducts seminars and workshops based upon the ideas in his book, “Attitude Determines Destiny”.
Contact him for your next event
**originally published 6/1/12
Comments are closed.