Your attitude makes a difference

Someone once said that an optimist is someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's a cha-cha. Some days, when your rates notice arrives on the same day as your car rego, and your house insurance payment is due and your hours at work have just been cut, it's difficult to maintain that type of enthusiasm. Even so, it's important to remember that your attitude really is one of your most valuable assets! Read further in this article by Jan Coates.

Stanford Research Institute reports that only 12.5 percent of our success in life is determined by knowledge; the other 87.5 percent comes from attitude. More than skill, knowledge, or aptitude, our attitude dictates our success in life.

Did you know that? Perhaps you’ve never thought of it that way before. Chuck Swindoll, bestselling author, writes, “I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. The attitude I choose keeps me going or cripples my progress. When my attitudes are right, there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme.”
Most of us believe we possess a positive attitude. But what would happen if we asked our best friend or spouse for a no-holds-barred honest assessment of our attitude? Chances are high their comments might include:
*Not too bad after three cups of coffee
*Little things get blown out of proportion
*Irritable and moody
*Overly sensitive
*Whiny
*Frets and worries over everything
*Unforgiving toward certain people

In the midst of foreclosure notices and layoffs and personal and professional pressures, it is hard to maintain a positive attitude 100 percent of the time. Why? Because we’ve become reliant on outside influences, such as friends, family, teachers, bosses, and media to color our perspective. We wrongly believe attitude is something we’re given or born with, rather than a choice we make.

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