Journey Framework: Holding an appropriate attitude
As we progress in our journey towards being the best we can be, it is important to recognize the opportunities for improvement along the way, even in the midst of difficult situations.
However, attitude plays an important role in seeing such opportunities as well as our ability to engage and deal with them successfully or to avoid them all together.
The Oxford dictionary defines attitude as: a way of thinking or feeling with subsequent behaviour, indicative of a particular state of mind. Lou Tice in his course on ‘Investment in Excellence’ further describe attitude as: “an internal, emotional opinion we have towards someone or something, which affects our outside action, causing us to lean towards something (positive attitude), or lean away from and avoid something (negative attitude).”
Helen Keller relates attitude to keeping your face to the sunshine so that you cannot see the shadows. Now, within the context of her thinking, having a positive attitude towards opportunities for improvement will not only provide the light to see them, but also not to be unduly distracted by the difficulties surrounding them, those shadows pertaining to these “frightful things” along your way.
In addition, by approaching the opportunity in a positive light and with a commitment to actively embrace this opportunity, a context is created that attracts all manner of support to realise this opportunity. In the words of WH Murray, an established mountaineer: ”That the moment one definitely commits, then providence moves to. All sorts of things occur that would never otherwise have occurred ... raising ones favour all manner of assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.”
The question now is: how do we get and maintain the appropriate attitude as described above? If our attitude is an outcome of a particular state of mind, by changing our state of mind we change our attitude. Furthermore, Dr William Glasser states: “If you want to change attitudes, start with a change in behaviour” and engage in that new behaviour (or action) over a period of time.
A way then to change your state of mind is to express an affirmative statement regarding your willingness to see opportunities along your way, which in turn creates a context that supports your subsequent commitment for action in order to consolidate this change of mind .... if it is your choice to do so.
Henry Ford states: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.”
However, according to John C. Maxwell “You are only an attitude away from success!”
Copyright © : Dirk JO Devis – Frontier Coaching - 2012
