By: D. A. SlinkardI
If you turn on the network news channels, listen to the radio, pick up the newspaper, it is easy to get down and have a negative attitude with everything going on around us. One of the most important things you can do right now is make sure you work on your attitude. If there was ever an important time to have a good attitude, the events going on around us proves it is time to maintain our composure now. What has your attitude looked like the past few weeks?
The attitude you have is a daily decision you must make. Are you going to have a good day? Are you going to have a bad day? The direction of how your day will go begins with your frame of mind. You must take an active approach and decide daily you will have the right attitude. Sounds easy, but too many people are walking around with a negative attitude.
In what areas do you need to work on your attitude? How is your attitude at home? How is your attitude at work? What about when you are out driving? I recommend taking the time to contemplate the attitude you have and the attitude you want. Start by grabbing a notebook and jot down some characteristics of what you believe it would take to have the attitude you want. If you want to be more of a leader at work, write down what characteristics you want to have. If you want to be a better parent, write down the characteristics you want to possess. For whatever area you are wanting improvement in, take the time to reflect on the characteristics it will take to achieve your desired result.
The next step in this process is taking the characteristics you have written down and thinking about what steps you need to take to become the person you wrote down. From the above example about being a leader at work, what steps do you personally need to take to fulfill the characteristics you wrote about? Do you need to show up early? Do you need to show up late? Do you need to step up in areas to help the team deliver on goods and services?
This process is important but oftentimes is overlooked. It is time to be tedious on this portion because it is easy to know what you want to be, but it is difficult to become the person you want to be. Why? The world around us has taught us that “if it is not easy, we do not want to do it.” We, as a society, are constantly looking for the easy way out, but when it comes to developing ourselves to have better characteristics, we cannot overlook the small things. With all that said, please be detailed when you write down the steps you will need to take to build the characteristics you desire.
After you compile your list, put it down and spend 24 hours away from this list. Do not think about it, do not read it, avoid this list so it is out of sight and out of mind. After 24 hours, pick it up, go back through the steps, and write down additional steps you believe you will need to take to become who you desire. It has been my experience that this process enables you to become even more detailed on the steps you need to take and can be the most enlightening.
At this point, you have who you want to be, and you have detailed the steps you want to take to achieve it. Now you must put the steps in action, and it is important to pay attention to what works and what does not. You will be surprised because some of the steps you thought would be easy are going to present a challenge for you while other steps will be easy for you to master. You will want to be proactive and do some critical thinking about how you can overcome obstacles that arise. Believe me, obstacles will come about but you need to be prepared to conquer these hindrances.
I recommend detailing your journey so you can see your thought process throughout the entire transformation. You will not change who you are overnight, but with the right steps, you can begin to build the characteristics you desire. You have one life to live; make the decision today to become who you have always wanted to be.
By: D. A. Slinkard
