Have you ever heard the phrase, attitude breeds attitude?
Over the last twelve years, as I’ve been coaching and running leadership development programmes, countless people have asked me: “How do I change someone’s attitude?”.
Invariably, this has led to a deeper, more meaningful conversation about how to change their own attitude!
Quite a few years ago now, I visited a bunch of organisations across the United States, all of which were legendary for delivering excellent customer service. Without fail, and in each place visited, I heard the phrase Hire for Attitude, Train for Skill being used over and over again.
But, hang on a moment, what do we mean by this word attitude?
Well, my take on it is this.
Your attitude is your own personal filter for everything that happens to you, around you or within you.
What takes place in your world is not as important as how you view it. After all, you may not choose what happens to you but you sure can choose how to respond.
That response is what we’ll call attitude.
Now we all have a common understanding of what we mean, let’s consider how to keep a resourceful attitude:
1. Put Things In Perspective
When you find your mood isn’t as good as you know it can be, literally take a step back to put things into perspective.
When you look at the bigger picture from this position, problems will often seem smaller than they first appeared.
2. Have Something To Look Forward To
We love to look forward to stuff, don’t we?
The anticipation of something happening is often better than when it actually happens!
So, keep something in mind to be looking forward to.
3. Help Others
There’s no better way to forget about your stuff than to help someone else with theirs.
When you take the focus from yourself and give your attention to others, your attitude will change dramatically.
4. Take a Break
Take a break from what is getting you down.
You might not be able to change the situations that are causing you challenges, but you can take a break and come back with a fresh sense of what matters.
5. Talk With a Someone You Trust
Talking things out will help.
Call someone you trust and tell them what’s going on for you, but direct the conversation towards what you want, not just moans and groans!
This can be a very effective cure to a rough day.
6. People Have Done More With Less
A common cause for a poor attitude is the feeling that you are in a situation that is just too hard to deal with.
You may be too young, too old, too tired, too unlucky, too poor, etc, etc…
But remember, people have done more with less!
Many people from all over the world have overcome obstacles, solved problems, and maintained a resourceful attitude through the most trying of times.
Don’t wait for the world to deliver to you. Go out there and make it happen yourself!
7. Life Is Short
It’s true.
The worst thing would be to look back on your days wishing things could have been different.
So, what attitude will you choose today?
