Successful Attitudes
The famous line “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so” comes from William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet.” This quote suggests that an event is not inherently good or bad; instead, it is our perceptions and interpretations that shape our views of it as positive or negative. In essence, our perspective determines our reality.
How do top performers succeed despite the odds? The answer: Attitude. In contrast to most people, performers relish challenges. They continue to undertake challenges that lie just beyond their competence. They consider mistakes a natural part of learning and bounce back from failure with new strategies. Success builds on success because each accomplishment strengthens motivation. Furthermore, top performers are far more likely to enjoy the developmental process than average performers.
- The master word is work. Work makes the dull man bright; it makes the bright man brilliant and the brilliant man focused.
- Always learn from a negative situation
- Use failure as a stimulus. Everyone fails at something. Accept failure. Never accept giving up.
- Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into an obstacle, figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
While it’s true that successful people often possess innate gifts, it’s hard work, rather than genetic endowments, that produces peak performance. Outstanding performance is preceded by commitment and motivation. Dedication, drive, and determination are critical factors of success.
Success and our emotional health depend on our attitude. Proper attitudes create a life worth living and make time worthwhile. We can choose to:
- Embrace or dismiss love.
- Grow from challenges or surrender to stress.
- Delay gratification to pursue a higher reward or surrender to our impulses to escape responsibility.
- Appreciate the opportunities work offers or consider work as a task to be endured.
- Control our habits or let our habits control us.
- Cultivate tranquility or be overwhelmed by stress.
- Seize opportunities or fear risk.
- Celebrate the morning or reject the promise of a new day.
We can turn adversity into an advantage, tragedy into hope, and weakness into strength. Happiness comes from the habit of choosing wisely.
