Attitude Is Everything!
GODSun Perspective on
Spirituality, Leadership and Business
August 2023 Vol: 0623
Exploring the Interconnectedness of Spirituality, Leadership and Business
I believe that the six previous newsletters and the podcast have set a good foundation to continue our journey into the interconnectedness of spirituality, business and leadership. As a business owner and/or a leader we all want to be influential and to have an impact. In order for that to happen I believe that there are certain skills that we need to develop. The first one I want to look at is: ATTITUDE. According to the The Concise Oxford Dictionary a couple of definitions of attitude are as follows:
• settled behaviour, as indicating opinion
• settled mode of thinking
It is interesting that our attitudes are based on how we think. What we dwell on and allow to consume our thoughts will dictate how we present ourselves or the attitude that we exhibit. According to Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, from his book Life is Tremendous, he states that enthusiasm makes the difference. Mr. Jones is not the only one who thinks this. Many leadership and business experts/authors such as John C. Maxwell, Coach John Wooden and Frank Bettger, stated that enthusiasm or passion can make all the difference. Their books talk about the importance of developing enthusiasm for what you are doing and what you want to achieve. Being an enthusiastic person means that you have developped a certain type of mindset/attitude. When one uses the word enthusiasm one thinks of a person who is positive and cheerful. You don’t normally think of someone who is negative, a complainer or has a victim mindset. In order to be enthusiastic we need to have a positive attitude. Having a positive attitude, regardless of the situation we find ourselves in, gives us a step up. It is not what happens to us that matters but how we respond to what happens to us. And our response will be the result of what happens inside us. In other words, how we perceive and think about the things that come into our lives will influence our response to those things. I am going to relate to you a little story that I heard about attitude. The were two little boys that wanted a horse or pony more than anything. They were given a chore to do to see if they were ready to receive their dream. They were both put in a separate room containing a huge pile of horse manure in the middle of the room. They were asked to move it out of the center of the room. In one room the boy grumbled and complained and wouldn’t complete the task. In the other room the boy was going after moving that manure with gusto, with enthusiasm. When he was ask why he was working so hard his response was: with all this manure there has to be a horse in there somewhere, and I am going to dig him out. Now, there wasn’t one but he was most definitely ready for one. His way of viewing his situation enabled him to work through his pile with excitement and enthusiasm. And yes, you may say “but there
wasn’t a horse anywhere in that room” and I would have to agree with you . But his enthusiasm made a nasty chore enjoyable and full of expectation and it painted him in a good light with the onlookers. They were impressed with his ability to take care of the task.
When challenging times come, and they will come to everyone, we get to choose to whine and complain about our situation or to push through and become a winner. We can choose to turn the lemons into lemonade so that the sour becomes sweet and easily consumed as a blessing and not a curse. We have all probably met people who have faced incredible challenges with great courage and optimism. Positive and optimistic people do not deny the challenges or pretend that they don’t exist. They just don’t let those challenges and obstacles shut them down nor do they turn away in defeat.
One of the reasons positive and optimistic people continue to move forward regardless of the obstacles is because they have developped within themselves a positive mindset. They think on those things that are encouraging and life giving. And when a challenge comes along they look at it with the same attitude . They have adopted a ‘can do’ attitude and in the process of pushing through the challenge they developped skills that would hold them in great stead for any future challenge opportunities. They refused to develop a victim mentality and to ask why is this happening to me. In the process of working through the challenge they were learning, growing and becoming someone able to handle even greater challenges. They didn’t get stuck at the level they were at. They continued to grow. And that is what will happen for those of us who develop a ‘can do’ attitude.
A person with a positive, enthusiastic attitude is not one full of fear. Fear is the result of not having confidence in your ability to handle or deal with the situation. I have met many people who won’t take on a new challenge because they have ‘never done that before’. If we stop and think of it most of the things we have learned to do we have never done before. If children had that attitude they would never learn to crawl, walk or run. At some point we have allowed the comment ‘I’ve never done that before’ to be an acceptable excuse to not take on a challenge. Leaders have cultivated a positive attitude and don’t allow fear and negativity to conquer them. Both are attitudes that we can develop. Each day we are given the opportunity to choose which attitude we are going to exhibit today in this situation. People like being around positive, friendly and energetic people. No one wants to be around a ‘Debbie Downer’. I have said this in just about every newsletter, in one way or the other. We become what we think about. “As a man thinketh in his soul, so is he.’
Our attitude is based on the thoughts that are being formed in our mind. This is why a vision is so important. I would like to suggest that the people who have a vision for their lives, that make life plans, write them down and work to achieve them are people with a positive attitude. I say this because people with a written vision have chosen to create a life that they want to live and then actively work to lead their life in that direction. This means that they will probably have to do things that they have never done before but their vision/dream is greater than their fear of trying, fear of failure or fear of the unknown. Those who exhibit these fears will lead a life that views everything from a negative perspective. The negative perspective is developped because nothing of significance has been identified as a goal in their life. We all want to live a life of significance but in order to do that we must be willing to lead ourselves down the path of significance. It won’t just automatically happen. We have to make a choice: to be positive and have a vision of what we want our lives to look like. When you have a positive attitude, nothing is too ‘big’ to handle. Your vision is greater than the obstacle in front of you enabling you to move forward. A person with a vision doesn’t live in fear.
You may say that it is your nature to be cautious and critical. Or in other words a ‘nay sayer’ vs a ‘yes, can do, sayer’. But I would say that, that nature has been developped. Whatever we do the most is what becomes our habit or part of our nature. Therefore, I wish to suggest that if you work on finding something to say ‘yes’ to in every situation you will move from a ‘nay sayer’ to a ‘yes, can do, sayer’. It is all about how we train ourselves. I am not saying that it will be easy but it is doable. That is how everything that a person wants to change about themselves or a situation can be done. Just focus on one thing at a time. And then we have to be willing to accept the setbacks when they come and then get back up and continue on again. We need to program our minds to think positively and not to allow setbacks to derail us. As this happens our brain will cause healthy, good feeling chemicals to be released in our body. These positive thought chemicals are what the body was created to experience. Not the toxic chemicals that are produced as a result of negative/toxic thinking. The positive thinking will enable you to see solutions and become more creative and innovative, which is a plus in leadership and business. In both arenas, those who are creative and great problem solvers are the ones who have the greater success.
So one of the keys for successful leaders and business owners is that they have a great attitude. They are excited and enthusiastic about what they are doing. Enthusiasm is contagious and people want to partner with those who are excited about their work. They have a plan/vision for their future. And yes it may seem onerous to have to write it out but it helps to guide and direct our thoughts and gives us a clear picture as to whether we are on the right path or not. I have pasted a link below to a goal process you can get from my website if you are interested in writing the vision that you have for your life. May your future be bright.
Sunday
Photo 1 by Alex Bracken; Photo 2 by Nathan Dumlao
