IMPORTANCE OF ATTITUDE

IMPORTANCE OF ATTITUDE

                        Building a positive attitude

There was a man who made his living selling balloons at a fair. He had balloons of many different colors, including red, yellow, blue, and green. Whenever business was slow he would release a helium-filled balloon into the air. (importance of attitude in communication)

When the children saw the balloon go up, they all wanted one. They would come up to him, buy a balloon and his sales would go up. All-day, he continued to release a balloon whenever the sales slowed down. One day, the balloon man felt someone tugging at his jacket. (Why a good attitude is important in life?)

He turned around and a little boy asked, "if you release a black balloon, would that also fly?” Moved by the boy’s concern, the man replied gently, "Son, it is not the color of the balloon, it is what’s inside that makes it go up.”

(why a good attitude is important in life?)

The same principle applies to our lives: It’s what’s inside that counts. And what’s inside of us that makes us go up is our attitude. William James of Harvard University said, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” (How does attitude contribute to success?)

Positive Attitude

 YOUR ATTITUDE CONTRIBUTES TO SUCCESS

A study attributed to Harvard University found that when a person gets a job or a promotion, 85% of the time it is because of his attitude, and only 15% of the time it is because of intelligence and knowledge of specific facts and figures. (attitude of successful person)

It is surprising that almost 100% of education dollars go to teaching facts and figures, which account for only 15% of success in life. (why attitude is important to success)

YOU CAN WIN is all about that 85% of success Attitude is the most important word in the English language. It applies to every sphere of life, including one’s personal and professional life. Can an executive be a good executive without a good attitude? Can a student be a good student without a good attitude? Can parents, teachers, salespersons, employers, or employees be good in their roles without a good attitude? (importance of positive attitude for students)

   The foundation of success, regardless of your chosen field, is attitude.

If attitude is such a critical factor in success, shouldn’t you examine your attitude towards life and ask how your attitude will affect your goals?

 ACRES OF DIAMONDS

 Hafiz was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He was happy because he was content. He was content because he was happy. One day a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them. (explain the importance of attitude towards others)

The wise man said, "If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, you could buy your own city. If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own country.” And then the wise man left. That night, Hafiz couldn’t sleep. He was unhappy because he was discontented and discontented because he was unhappy. (great positive thinking techniques)

   The next morning Hafiz made arrangements to sell his farm, took care of his family, and went off in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn’t find any. He looked all through Europe and couldn’t find any.

By the time he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically, and financially depleted. He was so disheartened that he committed suicide by throwing himself into the Barcelona River. (positive thinking real life examples)

   Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at the stream that ran through the property. Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought the stone would look good in his living room. He picked up a stone and put it on his mantle piece. That afternoon, the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling. (Why attitude matters to success?)

He asked, Is Hafiz back? '' The new owner said, "No, why do you ask?” The wise man said, "Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see one. "The man said, "No, That’s just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come I’II show you. There are many more, "They went and picked some samples and sent them for analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that the farm was indeed covered with acres of diamonds.

      What is the moral of this story?

      There are six morals.

1. When our attitude is right, we realize that we are all walking on acres and acres of diamonds. Opportunity is always under our feet. We don’t have to go anywhere. All we need to do is recognize it.

2. The grass always looks greener on the other side.

3. While we are eyeing the grass on the other side, there are others who are eyeing the grass on our side. They would be happy to trade places with us. (your attitude determines your success)

4. People, who don’t know how to recognize opportunity, complain of noise when it knocks.

5. Opportunities are easier recognized when they are leaving rather than when they are coming.

6. Opportunity only knocks once. The next one many be better or worse, but never the same one. That is why it is so crucial to make the right decision at the right time. A right decision at the wrong time becomes a wrong decision. (explain the importance of attitude towards others)

DAVID AND GOLIATH

We all know the Biblical story of David and Goliath. Goliath was a giant of a man. He struck fear in everyone’s heart. One day, a 17 year old shepherd boy came to visit his brothers and asked. "Why don’t you stand up and fight the giant?” (positive attitude in life)

The brothers were terrified of Goliath and they replied. "Don’t you see he is too big to hit?” But David said, "No he is not too big to hit, he is too big to miss.” The rest his history. We all know what happened. David killed the giant with the slingshot. Same giant, different perceptions. (Why study of attitude is important?)

  Our attitude determines how we look at a setback. To a positive thinker, attitude can be a stepping stone to success. To a negative thinker, it can be a stumbling block. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, as well as many others have said that every problem comes with an equal or greater opportunity. (positive thinking exercises)

THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTITUDE TO ORGANIZATIONS

HAVE you ever wondered why some individuals, organizations, or countries are more successful than others? It is not a secret! They are successful because they think and act more effectively. They do so by investing in their most valuable asset- people. (organizational attitude)

   I have spoken to executives in major corporations all over the world and asked them a question: "If you had a magic wand and there was one thing you could change that would give you a cutting edge in the marketplace, increase productivity and profits, what would that be?” Their answers were unanimous. (your attitude decides your success not others)

They said they would have better attitudes and people would be better team players, cut back on waste and become more loyal. In general, their company would be a great place to work in. (employee attitudes and their effects in the organization)

  Experience has shown that human resource is the most valuable asset of any business. People are more valuable than capital or equipment. Unfortunately, human resources are also the most wasted of resources. People can be your biggest asset or your biggest liability. (importance of attitude in education)

 TQP- TOTAL QUALITY PEOPLE

Having attended a number of training programs such as customer service, selling skills and strategic planning: I have come to the conclusion that most of these are great programs with one major challenge: None of them will work unless they have the right foundation, and the right foundation is TQP. What is TQP? TOTAL QUALITY PEOPLE are people with character, integrity, good values, and positive attitudes. (What is total quality people?)

   Don’t get me wrong. You do need the other programs, but they will only work when you have the right foundation- (what are the most important attitudes in the workplace)

TOTAL QUALITY PEOPLE. For example, some customer service programs teach participants to say "please" and "thank-you,” and give smiles and handshakes. But how long can a person smile if he does not have the desire to serve? Besides, people can always see through a fake smile. When the smile is not sincere, it is irritating. (What do quality people do?)

My point is, there has to be substance over form not from over substance. Without a doubt, people who serve customers should say, "please” and "thank-you,” smile, and so forth – these things are important. But keep in mind that they come a lot easier when accompanied by a desire to serve.

   Someone once approached Blaise Pascal, the famous French philosopher, and said, "If I had your brains, I would be a better person, "Pascal replied, "Be a better person and you will have my brains.” (organizational attitude)

   Great organizations are not measured by wages and working conditions, they are measured by my feelings, attitudes and relationships. When employees say, "I can’t do it,” there can be two possible meanings. Either they are saying they don’t know how to or they are saying that they don’t want to, it may be an attitude issue (they don’t care), or a value issue (hey don’t believe they should do it). (importance of positive attitude for students)

   The Calgary Tower stands at 190.8 meters. The total weight of the tower is 10884 tons, of which 6349 tons are below ground (approximately 60%). This shows that some of the greatest buildings have the strongest foundations. Just like a great building stands on a strong foundation, so does success. And the foundation of success is attitude.  (What are the key attitudes that affect organizational performance?)

 A HOLISTIC APPROACH

   I believe in a holistic approach. We are not just arms and legs, eyes and ears, a heart and a brain, but a complete human being. The whole person goes to work and the whole person comes home. We take family problems to work and work problems to the family. What happens when we take family problems to work? Our stress level goes up and our productivity comes down. Similarly, work problems too have an impact not only on our family but on every aspect of our lives. Personal, professional and social problems impact each other. (what are the importance of attitude)

  FACTORS THAT DETERMINE YOUR ATTITUDE

   Let me ask you: Are we born with attitudes or do we develop them as we mature? What are the factors that form our attitudes? If you have a negative outlook on life because of your environment, can you change your attitude? (attitude determines altitude examples)

   Most of our attitudes were shaped during our formative years.

   While we were born with tendencies toward temperaments, there are three factors that largely determine our attitude formation. These are the triple E’s of attitude: (What quality person means?)

1. Environment

2. Experience

3. Education.

Let’s evaluate each of these factors individually.

           ENVIRONMENT

Environment consists of the following:

• Home: positive or negative influences

• School: peer pressure

• Work: supportive or over critical supervisor

• Media: television, newspapers, magazines, radio, movies

• Cultural background

• Religious background

• Traditions and beliefs

• Social environment

• Political environment

   All these environments create a culture. Every place be it a home, organization, or a country- has a culture. For example, you’ve probably been to a store where you found managers to sales clerks alike to be polite, helpful, friendly and cheerful. Yet at another shop you find the staff rude and discourteous. (who said your attitude determines your attitude)

   You go to a home and find the parents and children well behaved, courteous and considerate. You go to another home where everyone is fighting like cats and dogs. (your attitude determines your direction meaning)

   In countries where the government and political environment is honest, generally you will find that the people are honest, law abiding and helpful. And the reverse is true too. In a corrupt environment, an honest person has a hard time. (12 ways to develop the attitude of success)

Whereas in an honest environment, a corrupt person has a tough time. ″In a positive environment, a marginal performer’s output goes up. In a negative environment, a good performer’s output goes down.”

   Culture in any place always goes from the top down, never from the bottom up. We need to step back and look at what kind of environment we have created for ourselves and those around us. (How do individual attitudes and behaviors affect the organization?)

It is tough to expect positive behavior in a negative environment. In societies where lawlessness becomes the law, honest citizens become cheats, crooks and dacoits.  

   Take some time to evaluate how the environment that you are in affects you, and the one created affects others.

        Experiences

   Our behavior changes according to our experiences with various people. If we have a positive experience with a person, our attitude towards him is likely to be positive and conversely negative experiences tend to make us cautious. Experiences and events become reference points in our lives, we draw conclusions which serve as guidelines for the future. (experience examples)

    Education

   Education refers to both formal and informal education. We are drowning in information but starving for knowledge and wisdom. Strategically applied, knowledge translates into wisdom which in turn translates into success.

    The role of the educator is vital. A teacher affects eternity. The ripple effect is immeasurable. (education topic)

    Education ought to teach us not only how to make a living but also how to live. (what is education)

 

HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE PEOPLE WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE?

  Just as the absence of ill health does not equal good health, in the same way the absence of negativity does not make a person positive.

   People with positive attitudes have certain personality traits that are easy to recognize. They are caring, confident, and humble. They have high expectations of themselves and others. They anticipate positive outcomes.

   A person with a positive attitude is like a fruit of all seasons. He is always welcome.

   THE BENEFITS OF A POSITIVE ATTITUDE

   There are many advantages to having a positive attitude. The advantages are easy to see. But what is easy to see is also easy to miss! (how to develop positive attitude in life)

A positive attitude:

Benefits for you:

• Makes for a pleasing personality

• Is energizing

• Increases your enjoyment of life

• Inspires others around you

• Helps you become a contributing member of society and an asset to     your country. (positive attitude is the key to success essay)

And for the organization:

• Increases productivity

• Fosters teamwork

• Solves problems

• Improves quality

• Makes for a congenial atmosphere

• Breeds loyalty

• Increases profits

• Fosters better relationships with employer’s employees and customers

•Reduces stress (attitude determines success or failure of a person)

 THE CONSEQUENCES OF A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE

   Life is an obstacle course and we become our biggest obstacle by having a negative attitude. People with negative attitudes have a hard time keeping friendships, jobs, marriages, and relationships. Negative attitudes lead to:

• Bitterness

• Resentment

• A purposeless life

• Ill health (what are the consequences of negative attitude to work)

• High stress levels for themselves and others. (negative attitude of a person)

Negative attitudes create an unpleasant environment at home, at work and become a liability to society. They pass on their negative behavior to others around them and to the future generation. (disadvantages of negative attitude)

WHEN WE BECOME AWARE OF OUR NEGATIVE ATTITUDE, WHY DON’T WE CHANGE?

   Human nature generally resists change. Change is uncomfortable. Regardless of its positive or negative effect, change can often be stressful. Sometimes we get so comfortable with our negativity that even when the change is for the better, we don’t want to accept it. We stay with the negative.

   Charles Dickens wrote about a prisoner who was licked up for many years in a dungeon. He was brought out of his sentence, he got his freedom. He was brought out from his cell into the bright daylight of the open world.

This man looked all around and after a few moments was so uncomfortable with his newly acquired freedom that he asked to be taken back to the confines of his cell. To him, the dungeon, the darkness were more familiar, secure and comfortable than accepting the change of freedom and an open world. (What are the negative effects of a bad attitude at work?)

   Many modern day prisoners do the same thing. The stresses of having to cope in an unfamiliar world are so great that they may purposefully commit another crime in order to be sent back to prison, where, though their freedom is restricted, they have fewer decisions to make.

   If your attitude is negative, your life is restricted. Your success at work will be limited. You will have fewer friends. Your enjoyment of life will be less. In the next chapter, I'll share with you my thoughts on how you can build a positive attitude that will be worth enduring the temporary stress and uncertainty of change. (importance of attitude in learning)