Adjust your attitude this year
Tumie Modise | Monday January 23, 2017 16:44
Sometimes changing your physical circumstances isn’t possible, or not possible soon enough, or you may want a less drastic change, but you still want to be happier. You can’t get to a new job right away or you regularly bump into that friend who makes you feel badly, what options do you have left? One Greek philosopher Epictetus said it beautifully more than 2,000 years ago: “People are disturbed, not by things (that happen to them), but by the principles and opinions which they form concerning those things.
When we are hindered, or disturbed, or grieved, let us never attribute it to others, but to ourselves; that is, to our own principles and opinions.”
One of the most important steps you can take toward achieving your greatest potential in life is to learn to monitor your attitude and its impact on your work performance, relationships and everyone around you.
My daily routine is easy; three simple steps; prayer, light exercises then when I am in the bathtub, I plan my schedule for the day and also determine what attitude I will assume for the day. Like, there are days where I plan to be jolly and there are days I want to keep to myself and shut the world and everyone else in it out. I don’t always succeed but I try all the same.
In truth, people generally don’t have a high level of attitude awareness. They’ll know if they are hungry or if their feet hurt, but they usually don’t have a good handle on their attitude. That is a mistake because attitude is everything. It governs the way you perceive the world and the way the world perceives you.
It is easy to judge people especially when they act ‘crazy’ but reality is that for most people, their behaviour patterns (today) were programmed into their brains at a very tender age. The information that was recorded by our brains could have been completely inaccurate or cruel. The sad reality of life is that we will continue to hear negative information, but we don’t have to programme it into our brains.
The loudest and most influential voice you hear is your own inner voice, your self-critic. It can work for or against you, depending on the messages you allow. It can be optimistic or pessimistic. It can wear you down or cheer you on. You control the sender and the receiver, but only if you consciously take responsibility for and control over your inner conversation.
Once released to the universe, our words cannot be taken back. Learn the concept of WOW—watch our words. What we speak reflects what is already in our hearts based upon all the things we have come to believe about ourselves.
If we find ourselves speaking judgmental and disparaging things about our circumstances or those around us, we know the condition of our hearts needs to change. You can create a direct path to success by what you say.
I don’t care what mood I am in, whether some creditors called to say my account was on arrears and they are threatening to sue, whether my petrol tank is on ‘E’ or whether my electricity meter says ‘Low cash’, even whether my name is being dragged on the mud, when people ask me how I am doing, I always say, “Super-fantastic!” Trump is hardly a poster boy for acceptable attitude but hey, look where his attitude got him? Sometimes I think he was sent to test and annoy us all.
Enthusiasm too, in high school I had this other teacher; if my memory serves me well, he was a Maths teacher. We nicknamed him ‘ENTHUSIAM’, for the simple reason that he used the word a lot, almost carelessly. It wasn’t unusual for him to use the word three times in one sentence!
Donkey years later, I realise he was onto something after all. Without enthusiasm you are not going anywhere; the burning desire that communicates commitment, determination and spirit comes from here.
Enthusiasm means putting yourself in motion and it is an internal spirit that speaks through your actions from your commitment and your belief in what you are doing. Apart from my daily exercises, I find that humour is a powerful motivator. The more humour and laughter in your life, the less stress you will have, which means more positive energy to help you put your attitude into action. Go and find your attitude, it is 2017 for crying out loud!