Attitude is the Key to Success

You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.- James A. Froude

It can easily be said that attitude is the key to success. The better your attitude, the better life treats you. We live in a world of people rather than a physical world. The only limitations we have (aside from natural limitations such as gravity) are limitation put upon us by people. Having a good attitude makes relationships with the people in our lives better. Your attitude can mean the difference in a promotion or getting fired. It can mean the difference in finding the love of your life, or being a lonely person. It can literally mean the difference between life and death.

Take a step back, look at your life. Pay special attention to the way you feel about your job. Ask yourself, do I work to live, or do I live to work? To be completely honest it doesn't matter which answer is true for you. What matters is the one you front. Being seen as a person that sees the glass half full will result in getting a higher level of respect from your co-workers. Your superiors will think highly of you if you appear to care about the interest of your team, your department, or the betterment of the company.

A person in the work place with a good attitude is easy to point out. They are the ones with a big smile on their face. They are friendly to absolutely every customer and co-worker who they come into contact with.

A person with a not so great attitude is also easy to spot. They are the ones that you see complaining about the person with a good attitude.

When it comes down to finding the right person to be with, attitude is key. No one wants to be with someone who has a bad attitude. This is a given, but have you ever stopped and thought about what makes for a good attitude, and what makes for a bad one?

A good attitude means that you make other people happy when you are around them. Having you around benefits them without costing them anything. In a relationship cost can simply be drama.

A bad attitude results in people not wanting to be around you. If people make plans and don't invite you they usually have a reason. If you are the cause of several arguments or confrontations, then perhaps you need to re-evaluate your attitude. Maybe it isn't as good as you thought.

The most common turn-offs in relationships are egos and whining. If you are never wrong or always want to be in charge, it can turn people off. If you always whine and complain but nothing is ever your fault or responsibility, it can turn people off.

Attitude is a survival skill. Each of us knows someone who luck never met. I have a cousin who was injured in a car accident. He was told that he would never walk again. He looked in the doctor's face and kindly said, "I'm sorry, but yes I will" He never faded away feeling sorry for himself. He never just sat there hating the world. He came across a roadblock in his life and went around it. Here he is one year later without even a cane.

In some cases you cannot overcome what has been put in front of you. In these cases someone with a good attitude would point out the silver lining. My friend's grandpa lost his legs in a hunting accident. Within six weeks, he was back at work in his wheel chair. He bought additional wheelchairs for the family and whenever my friend goes over to visit, they have races in the front yard.

The best advice for starting out on the path toward a good attitude is this if someone asks you "how are things?", no matter how you feel or what's going on in your life, just smile and say "great" If you maintain a good attitude, life will repay you for it. Life is really about attitude.

If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right.- Henry Ford