It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart,
as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term
and the long term for both yourself and others will come. Dalai Lama
Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Omer Reed who was visiting from the US. Omer was a friend of two amazingly influential psychiatrists, Dr Milton Erickson, the father of medical hypnosis, and Dr Viktor Frankl who developed logotherapy. When I asked Omer what the most valuable lesson he got from these men he said that it was the ability to choose our attitude.
In the same week my daughter, Lauren, was sent a letter from her employer with two movie tickets for having a great attitude at work. When I asked her what she was doing to get the recognition as a great staff member she said she was just doing her job. I find it really interesting because I come across so many people in business and in organisations who constantly have challenges with staff who “have poor attitude”. It seems to me that it doesn’t take much to do a good job and have a great attitude at work. Having a great attitude makes such a difference to the work environment and to productivity, reducing absenteeism and generally enabling people to enjoy the work they do.
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it,
change your attitude. Maya Angelou
Stephen Covey says that between the external stimulus and our internal response there is a point of choice. It is this choice point that determines the neural pathway we will run and thus the outcome we will create. When we choose an attitude of well-being, respect, abundance and care we “filter” the stimuli coming into our neurology in a positive way and therefore we are more able to achieve positive results in our lives.
In addition, when we make these choices of behaviour other people respond more positively to us and our circle of concern reduces and our circle of influence expands. The more expansive our circle of influence is the happier and more productive we are.
Reactive / Negative Attitudes Positive/ Proactive Attitudes
| Circle of Concern |
| Circle of Influence |
Melissa Smith from Bakers Delight gave me a copy of this poem years ago and I think it epitomises the core of having a great attitude.
Attitude… is Everything!
The longer we live, the more we realise the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than the past,
than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures,
than successes, than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, physical strength or skill.
It will make or break a company… a church… a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the
attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the past,
we can only affect the future. 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 decide what our attitude will be.
Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.
Our attitude is the most vulnerable part of our existence –
It is also the only part of our existence over which we have total control.
Our attitude is everything!
I would be delighted if you would share with me your thoughts on choosing your attitude. Please email me at c.egle@ilad.com.au