WHAT
IS ATTITUDE?
Weekly
Motivation for 12th October – 16th October 2015 by
Ndimofor Aretas
Good Morning dear students;
I believe you
have often heard some people talk about ATTITUDE…
especially at home…
I remember how
my parents use to mention attitude whenever I was to be punished for a crime or
rewarded for something well done.
When it was for
a crime, they will tell me that I have A
BAD ATTITUDE, and when it was for a job well done, they will say that I
have A GOOD ATTITUDE.
I still get that
word to this day… especially from single people who are aspiring for a life
partner….
They often list a GOOD ATTITUDE as one of the qualities
they will like in their partners-to-be…..
Not
too long ago, I came to understand that all the above situations are all about HABIT and NOT ATTITUDE…!
A habit can be defined in simple
terms as;
|
ATTITUDE
on the other hand is a little bit complex, but Jeff Keller (in His book entitled ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING)
defines ATTITUDE as:
“The
mental filter through which you experience the world”.
Just imagine yourself
inside a room with only 1 window through which you can see and experience the
world. Imagine that the window has a clean
transparent glass pane. The cleaner the
glass, the clearer you will see the things around you. When that glass gets dirty, you don’t see
things clearly enough and you then need to clean it up again….!
Dear students
that room is your mind and the window pane (window glass) is your attitude.
Your
attitude is your window to the world.
I became really
amazed when I started learning about ATTITUDE and how it can greatly influence
my life…..
The first
amazing thing is the fact that we all start or lives with a good attitude (a
clean mental window)… if you want to understand what I mean, observe little
children as Jeff Keller suggests.
They’re always
laughing and giggling, they have a sunny
disposition, they love to explore new things, although they may fall and
cry several times, amazingly, they still get to a happy mode in the shortest
time compared to adults….
The second
amazing thing I learned was that:
Our attitude is very
important for our success…
Though we all
start off life with Good Attitudes,
we tend to develop different attitudes as we get older and some of them
regrettably are detrimental to or own
success…
Let me enlighten
you on the types of attitudes we develop… actually, they can be broadly
classified under 2 categories;
A POSITIVE ATTITUDE….. and………….. A
NEGATIVE ATTITUDE.
Let me give you some
examples to explain the difference between a positive attitude and a negative attitude.
|
Negative
Attitude
|
Positive
Attitude
|
|
x
The person with the
negative attitude thinks
“I CAN’T.”
|
ü The person with the positive attitude thinks
“I CAN.”
|
|
x
The person with the
negative attitude dwells on problems.
|
ü The person with the positive attitude concentrates on solutions.
|
|
x
The person with the
negative attitude finds fault with others and is quick to blame.
|
ü The person with the positive attitude looks for the good in
others and appreciates.
|
|
x
The person with the
negative attitude complains and focuses on what’s missing (i.e what he or she
does not have).
|
ü The person with the positive attitude counts his or her
blessings.
|
|
x
The person with the
negative attitude sees limitations.(that is, why it is impossible)
|
ü The person with the positive attitude sees possibilities.
|
I could go on and on
with examples, but I’m sure you get the general idea.
The sad thing is that a great
majority of us tend to develop negative attitudes. And here’s why;
x
Our windows get splattered and stained by
CRITICISM from parents and teachers.
x
Our windows get stained by RIDICULE from peers.
x
Our windows get smeared by REJECTION especially from loved ones and friends.
x
Our windows get soiled by DISAPPOINTMENTS.
x
Our windows get clouded by DOUBT.
The problem is,
the dirt keeps building up, and we do nothing about it. We continue to go through
life with a dirty window. We lose our enthusiasm. We get frustrated and
depressed. And most tragically, we give up on our God given dreams — all
because we fail to clean or attitude
window.
The GOOD NEWS
is that it is not too late to start now…!
CLEAN YOUR WINDOW…!
It’s YOUR JOB to
KEEP YOUR WINDOW CLEAN.
Although, I can
give you a little encouragement, and other people can encourage you too, but in
the end, nobody else can do it for you.
When you choose
to take out your sponge and clean your window, life will be brighter and sunnier.
You’ll be healthier and happier. You’ll set some ambitious goals... and begin
to achieve them. Your dreams will come alive again!
WAOOOOOOW…! You
come back to life…! Resurrection, like The Lord Jesus Christ.
Due to the
importance in the relationship between attitude and success, my next series of
write ups will focus on ATTITUDE.
I have come to understand
that there are FOUR MAJOR AREAS
in our lives which need to constantly and regularly evaluate. They include;
ü OUR
RELATIONSHIPS (with God and your “neighbour”)
ü OUR
HEALTH, (how serious are you about your health?)
ü OUR
FINANCES (how do you react when it comes to financial matters?)
ü AND
OUR CAREERS (how are you working towards your dream career?)
We need to
constantly evaluate our attitudes in each of those areas and make sure that our
“windows are clean”….
I’ll do my best
to make you understand what I have learned, but you have the choice….
When it’s all
said and done, you, and you alone, control your attitude. As you go on from
today, keep reflecting and thinking about the following quotes;
ü A positive attitude is a person’s
passport to a better tomorrow.
ü Attitudes are a secret power
working 24 hours a day, for good or bad.
ü A happy person is NOT a person in a
certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of ATTITUDES.
— Hugh
Downs
I know of someone
who had a GREAT POSITIVE ATTITUDE and showed through His action that ATTITUDE
WAS EVERYTHING. He was so positive that
even on the day he was being killed, he still saw GOODNESS and POSITIVITY in
those responsible for His death. Today,
over 2000 yrs later, we still have a lot to learn from His ATTITUDE. His name
is Jesus Christ. Pray to Him and
surrender your ATTITUDE to him let Him show you the way to clean up your attitude
window and develop His WINNING ATTITUDE.
IN
JESUS’ NAME,
AMEN.
By
Ndimofor Aretas
Monday,
05/09/2015
(For the week of 12th October – 16th
October 2015)
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