Attitude Goes a Long Way
Attitude goes a long way, no matter how you look at it.
Your attitude towards something determines how you approach a situation, how much effort you put in and generally how much you give a damn. This is especially true about the kind of work you do, and as a result, what you get out of it.
Imagine just for a moment you became terribly ill and had to undergo a complicated surgical procedure. How would you feel if the Surgeon responsible for this operation had a bad attitude about his work? Hearing him mumble about how he can’t wait to quit this stupid job just as you slip away into anaesthetic-induced sleep. Excellent.
Your work is greatly affected by your attitude. If you approach your work with a bad attitude, it will definitely show. It may not be as terrifying as a botched medical procedure as a result of a disgruntled Surgeon in the throws of a midlife crisis, but it will show.
Often this bad attitude comes from employees failing to see what value our work brings to the greater process – we don’t always see how our work impacts others, which means we’re less likely to care. Instead we should see ourselves as a machine working toward one goal, not as an isolated cog in said machine.
Nobody can change your attitude for you, but if you really want to do it, these steps make it easy:
- Put things into Perspective.
Whenever I find myself in a bad attitude slump, moping around like that depressed donkey in Winnie the Pooh, I always remember an incredibly important word – PERSPECTIVE. Your perspective is just your current point of view. When you look at something, it could appear to be absolutely terrible. Another person viewing the subject from a different perspective could see a great opportunity, a lesson, a challenge or something else. The ‘something’ has not moved an inch. You need to change your perspective.
- Compare your Situation.
Imagine you get to work to find a pile of paperwork on your desk, impossible deadlines, a dead rat in the air conditioning, and a broken coffee machine. This is really bad, but then relativity comes in. This is nothing compared to the business owner who loses everything in a fire or a pilot having to crash land a Boeing due to equipment failure. Your worst day ever will always be a thousand times better than someone else’s problems. Really not that bad of a day then, is it?
- Rediscover your Motivation.
Perhaps your work is terrible, fair enough. The problem with having a bad attitude about it is that you’ll be spending the EXACT SAME AMOUNT OF TIME at work with a bad attitude than you could have with a good attitude, or even just an ‘okay, let’s just do this’ attitude. You’re doing it to yourself. Remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. Remember your MOTIVATION. It may not be your dream job, but you can still be motivated by self-preservation, by financial gain, or a million other things. Have you ever seen a wild animal hunt with a bad attitude?
Lion’s don’t know it’s Monday, and even if they did, they wouldn’t care. A good attitude will always get you further, and failing that, at least you won’t look miserable all the time.
- Stop saying things with a Bad Attitude.
You’ll be surprised how stupid you are. No offence, I just mean how primitive your brain is. The things you say and hear every day make a considerable impression on you, whether you realise it or not. Your subconscious mind is like a sponge, soaking up even the things you don’t notice. Try and spend just one day replacing negative comments with positive ones. You don’t have to overdo it (I hate overly optimistic people too), but just try ‘let’s do it’ instead of ‘that’s impossible’ every now and then. You’ll be surprised how your attitude will change, even if you don’t truly believe what you say.
- Try some Humour.
Humour is a powerful motivator. If you have more laughter in your life, you’ll have less stress, which means more positive energy to help put your good attitude into action. Sharing a laugh with one of your colleagues never hurt anyone. Don’t overdo it though – gluing someone’s mouse to their desk or creating an invisible wall out of sticky tape is usually a bit too much.
You’ll be amazed how far a good attitude can go.
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