“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” Albert Einstein
The 10th trait of a positive leadership legacy: displaying, or manifesting, a positive attitude; oh positive. One cannot have a positive legacy being a negative person. This needs to be in your blood as one cannot fake a genuine positive attitude.
Attitude. Such a powerful thing. Terry Bradshaw once said that “bad attitudes will ruin your team.” He should know as he played for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers when he won four Super Bowl titles in a six-year period (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979). He was the first quarterback to win three and four Super Bowls, and led the Steelers to eight AFC Central championships.
Although lengthy, this is one of the best quotes on 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, 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.” Charles R. Swindoll
” A pessimist never makes an inspiring leader.” The late Oswald Chambers
Ah, we think it’s the other person that has the attitude problem. Not us. Such wrong thinking. It is time we take stock of our attitude in general and take steps in developing a positive attitude. Here are some things I have found are beneficial to me in developing a positive attitude (not in any particular order):
CAN YOU DO THIS?
This list is by no means an exhaustive list. There are many actions to choose from that will help us in developing a positive attitude. These 6 can be a good start.
1. Slow down and even stop what you are doing if you have to. Take stock of the situation and ask yourself if it is best you for your to be positive in facing whatever it may be. You may find being positive is the best way in facing life.
2. Have positive friends. If you can find them, then do it.
3. Develop an attitude of gratitude (in a previous post).
4. Realize, as Chuck Swindoll wrote, a positive attitude will get “you beyond common hurdles. It will clear the deck. It will free you from hang-ups.” There are benefits to having a positive attitude.
5. Learn to take criticism in a healthy way. One of the most common fears is the fear of criticism. It can hold people back from doing what they want in life. Because having negativity flowing out of someone’s mouth or email and it being about you can hurt. And being rejected can sting quite a bit.
6. Mindfully move through your day. When you spend your time in the present moment then it becomes so much easier to access positive emotions and to stay practical about what you can actually do about something in your life.
What do you think? I would be interested to read your comments on what you do to have a positive attitude.