ON ATTITUDE

ATTITUDE

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, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, 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 every day regarding the attitude we 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 % how I react to it. And so it is with you . . . we are in charge of our attitudes.

Charles Swindoll



The Top 10 Tips to Change Your Attitude Today by Jim Allen

1. Think like you want to be!

It's tough to be happy, joyful, successful, etc. if you don't think that you are a happy, joyful, and successful person. Think it first, then do it!

2. Smile!

There's no arguing with this one -- research has shown that smiling has both psychological and physiological effects. So, put a smile on your face and you'll be on your way to a change in attitude!

3. Immerse yourself!

Read books, articles, magazines that help you understand and adopt the new attitude. Watch films or listen to music that inspires you and encourages you to change.

4. Change your actions!

It's hard to change your attitude if you keep doing the same old stuff the same old way. Do things differently to start thinking differently.

5. Change your environment!

Make your environment reflect the attitude you wish to have. Create the physical space that makes you eager to change.

6. Follow the leader!

Find someone who already has the attitude you wish to have. Follow their lead, learn from their example.

7. Help others (and help yourself)!

One of the fastest ways to change your attitude is to take the focus off yourself and to help others in need.

8. Get a little help from your friends!

Let everyone know what you're doing and enlist their support to help you change and give you ideas. The more you feel like you're part of a group effort, the more likely you are to be successful.

9. Get a pro!

If the change you desire to make is a big one or is extremely radical, consider getting the help of a mentor, counselor, or coach. These professionals can reduce the time and frustration involved as well as provide you with many new ideas to help you grow.

10. Be patient!

Recognize that most changes occur slowly, over an extended period of time. If you don't get immediate results, don't be surprised and DON'T QUIT!

Keep working, it'll come.

iN aLL THAT YOU DO . . . bE aN 11!

"Optimism is an intellectual choice."

Diana Schneider

Did you ever see a pessimistic infant? Of course not. People choose pessimism over optimism because they derive some peculiar satisfaction from spreading gloom.

You have free will, so exercise it. Choose to be hopeful and confident.

...Go through life expecting good things. And do all you can to fulfill your optimistic outlook.

Play with a Winning Assumption

It's easy to stay motivated when things are going good. But motivation is often a matter of dealing with discouragement. Lots of things can be discouraging (dis-courage). You might be passed over for a promotion. You might be let go. You might be ignored. Might make critical mistakes, costly missteps, and bad calls.

You might get broken. You might end up in debt. Might get rejected. Might get cheated. Might fail to deliver. You might miss the opportunity, or blow the chance of a lifetime. Your competition might leap ahead, leaving you feeling small, insecure and behind.

And devastating discouragement isn't just tied to things going wrong.

Having not yet mastered your chosen skill can depress. So can knowing you have a long way to go, or seeing yourself near the bottom of an org. chart, or looking at a low bank account balance.

Often times after my keynote presentations, someone asks, "Do you ever get down, or depressed?"... "Nope, and I never go to the bathroom either," is my internal reply. Of course I get discouraged and down. I'm taking risks, and a lot of them are crashing. I'm knocking on doors, and a lot of them are not opening.

I've got dreams, and a lot of them aren't happening. And, I want to be the best, and most of the time, I just ain't there yet. (Anyone seriously questioning what I get discouraged over just needs to look over my "Ooops" list.

Every single goof on that list discouraged me for a while, or two).

But there is a philosophy that re-encourages: Play with a winning assumption.

What is a winning assumption? Figure it out for yourself from this

scenario: Your favorite football team plays a big game, and you couldn't watch so you had it taped. On the way home to watch the taped game, your eyes accidentally glance at a newspaper headline that declares your team won.

At home, you sit to watch the game anyway. Your best friend sits down to watch with you - he roots for the same team - but he doesn't know the final outcome. At the end of the first quarter, your team is down by 7 points. Ne ither you, nor your friend, is really concerned.

By the end of the 2nd quarter, your team is behind by 14. Your friend is agitated and nervous. You're calm and confident. The 3rd quarter rushes by and as the game heads into the 4th quarter, your team is behind by a devastating 21 points. Your friend is feeling depressed and angry.

He gives up, gets up and leaves, declaring, "It's over. It's hopeless." How are you feeling? You're feeling excited, confident and anxious to see how your team pulls it off. You want your friend to stay and experience the victory.

What is a winning assumption? ... The deep-seated assumption that no matter how bad it currently looks, you win in the end if you keep playing your best. Once rooted in your very essence, it is an assumption so powerful that it will not only encourage you to keep playing, but also reassure you during hard times.

I don't know where I got this faith in a winning assumption. Maybe in part it came from the phrase my friend and mentor, Leland, would often repeat during discouraging times, "The last one standing wins." Or maybe because so far experience has taught me that all setbacks are followed by triumphs.

(Unless you give up, of course.) But these explanations only go so far to explain my belief in always picking myself back up.

Logically, I know I have not seen the end of my life on video, and have no real assurance that I come out on top.

So, sometimes I am perplexed by why I am almost always re- encouraged during my most vulnerable moments by the mantra, "Don't worry about it. Just keep playing. You win in the end. This discouraging moment just makes for a more thrilling comeback story." (Most of the time the mantra works so well I can smile at the circumstances that are torturing me - laughing on the inside over my future triumph.)

But maybe I am wrong. Maybe we have seen the end of the game, before it's even been played out. After all, when you've visualized your dreams coming true time after time, you just naturally "see" yourself winning once again.

Until next time, be great, Patrick CombsSee More

Concentration

Power Axiom #3: Maintain your Focus.
What might you do this week to sharpen your Focus?

Remember: Keep your eyes single to the glory of the Championship Dream.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!! by Paul J. Meyer

There is power in positive expectancy!

More than any other characteristic, quality, or trait of human personality, an attitude of positive expectancy is the companion of success in every achievement, every worthwhile venture, every upward step in human progress.
William James, the founder of American psychology, said: "The one thing that will guarantee the successful conclusion of a doubtful undertaking is faith in the beginning that you can do it."

Gaining the Slight Edge!

The slight edge is enough to enable one person to exceed the achievements of others to an almost unbelievable degree. Yet the difference in skill, ability, and intelligence between winners and losers is almost always very small and insignificant. When two people are approximately equal in all other qualities, an attitude of positive expectancy makes the winning difference in their performance.

* The difference between a .250 and .350 batting average is only one hit every ten times at bat! Yet that difference brings huge rewards!

* A one-stroke advantage in a golf tournament can bring about enormous dividends!

Believe in yourself!

* When you believe in yourself, others will believe in you.

* They will put their trust in your ideas

* They will cooperate with you.

* And they will receive the same benefits of this positive expectancy from their own experience.

Believing in yourself and in your work enables you to multiply your efforts and magnify your results.

Develop an Attitude of Positive Expectancy!

An attitude of positive expectancy provides the slight edge not only in athletics but also in every area of your life.

Positive expectancy:

Transforms you into a self-starter. Pushes you to develop your potential. Inspires you to use your imagination and creativity. Impels you to take purposeful action. Produces determination. Forces you to improve and to change. Enables you to gain the slight edge!
With positive expectancy, you can surpass your prior levels of success and often achieve a great deal more than others who lack that essential quality. There is magic in positive expectancy!!!
To gain the slight edge and to become even more like your Creator intended you to be, begin now to adopt these beliefs and make them operative in your life:

1. A no-limitations belief in yourself. - You are unique. Your dreams come from the essence of who you really are.

2. A no-limitations belief in the potential of other people. Helping other people recognize their potential and use it meaningfully provides a rich, fulfilling sense of accomplishment. Always encourage others and be willing to give them an opportunity to prove what they can be and what they can do.
Helping others find their slight edge sharpens your own.

3. A no-limitations belief in potentials and possibilities. The greatest dreams are yet to be dreamed. The most constructive concepts are yet to be formulated. The most successful plans are yet to be drawn!

Positive Expectancy Works!

1. It gives you the power of concentration. By focusing all of your thoughts, plans, and actions on the object of your belief, you 1) define your priorities, 2) block out your obstacles, 3) maintain your enthusiasm, and 4) take responsibility for actions necessary to reach your goal.

2. It activates the law of attraction: like attracts like, 1) You attract positive influences and positive situations, and 2) you are drawn to positive results.

3. It works through visualization: You can only be what you visualize yourself being. You can do only what you visualize yourself doing. You can have only what you visualize yourself having.

Develop an attitude of positive expectancy. Mental images act as stimuli to both the conscious and subconscious mind.
When you meet any kind of obstacle or roadblock, try again immediately.
Setbacks are supposed to be temporary they become permanent failure only if you stop trying.
Refuse to let what anyone says, thinks, or does discourage you! Put into action the power of positive expectancy and proceed and persevere!
The slight edge, bolstered by the power of positive expectancy, empowers you to build a storehouse of accomplished goals.
Take time to record your accomplishments in writing. A written record serves as a source of satisfaction, providing a warm glow of achievement that can sustain you through tough times and serve as a wellspring of encouragement to yourself and to others.