What is Your Attitude Today?

One of my favorite quotes is from Henry Ford, stating, “Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.” This is a perfect example of how your attitude impacts what you can and cannot achieve. The more you believe in yourself and what you can achieve, the more likely you are to achieve it. This is not only important to you, but to everyone around you. Attitude drives behavior.

Attitude is one of the most important assets. Everyone has an attitude. There are positive, negative, and even neutral attitudes. One’s attitude can vary depending upon multiple factors, especially in the business world. Contrary to popular belief, the things around us do not cause our attitude. Attitude comes from within us. We determine what our attitude is going to be each day. We may choose to blame it on other factors, such as work, people, kids, the drive to work, etc. But in reality, those things didn’t cause our attitude, we let them influence what attitude we chose to have that particular day. It is how we responded to those external factors that others see as our attitude. A positive attitude is optimal for positioning yourself for a promotional opportunity. It can lead to achieving your goals faster, inspiring others around you, increasing your energy level, and gaining more respect from your colleagues. It can help with your work/life balance and even lead to a happier, healthier life. There are multiple benefits from having a positive attitude. A person’s strong positive attitude can even become contagious to those around them. I realize that it’s difficult sometimes to maintain a positive attitude. There are certain situations where things may not be as rosy as you would like. There are circumstances where there doesn’t appear to be a good way to approach the problem. These are the times when having a positive attitude is the most important. Remember, we choose which attitude we are going to have. It’s not just for your benefit, but for those around you. Maintaining a positive attitude during difficult times is a sign of a strong leader. It is second nature to develop a negative attitude. It takes effort to maintain a positive one. If you let the day-to-day activities bother you, and you find yourself complaining about them to those around you, you have a long way to go. Those around you recognize your negative attitude and will tend to steer away from you at times. They probably see you as the pessimistic type who doesn’t see the good in things. When this type of behavior is recognized by those above you, either your manager or someone else of influence, it creates a lasting impression that may be difficult to overcome. When it comes time for a promotion, those of influence will have a tendency to remember your negative characteristics just as much as they will remember the positive results that you have accomplished.

If the negative aspects they observed created a strong enough lasting impression, it could create a sense of doubt in their mind over whether you are ready for the next level. The problem is, you might not know that they have this impression of a negative attitude until it’s too late. Those who have a negative attitude typically won’t admit it, and usually point the blame on either other things or other people. So you have to be very honest with yourself and start looking for signs that you are exhibiting a negative attitude. Have a conversation with your manager and ask him or her what attitude he or she sees in you. Ask some of your peers for their opinion. Remember: Don’t ask for feedback from others if you are not willing to receive it. It might not be what you want to hear. They may tell you some things that might hurt your feelings, but until you know what to improve upon, you can’t make positive changes. This is one of the things that you have to start doing now to prevent roadblocks in the future.