Attitude Matters

written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource Darla Arni

How many of you work with people? Do any of these people have an attitude? Do you ever have an attitude?

The biggest problem in the workplace continues to be employees with negative attitudes. Business analysts say that 10% of all employees are destined to have a bad attitude. That might not seem like much until you realize, bad attitudes are contagious! In our current economic environment everyone should be aware that no job is secure and be on their best attitude behavior. Unfortunately it’s not the case and the top reason for firing or not hiring an employee is their negative attitude.

Attitude isn’t something that’s happening to us. It is a choice. Our attitude is a mindset; it’s the way we look at things mentally and little changes can reap big rewards for individuals, relationships and businesses. A positive attitude gives energy to you and those around you. A negative attitude drains your energy and the energy of everyone you interact with in the course of a day.

So what can you do about bad attitudes? You can choose to take personal responsibility for your own attitude by using the following strategies:

1. Pay attention to your appearance. A negative self-image adds to a negative attitude. This has nothing to do with expensive outfits or designer accessories. It has everything to do with caring enough to be healthy, appropriately dressed and neat in appearance. Feeling good about yourself positively effects how you treat others.

2. Be mindful of your negative self-talk. The inner dialogue and daily messages you send yourself can be your worst enemy. Taking control of your mind gives you control of your life. Good new! Research shows that even a slight decrease in your negative mind chatter increases your ability to be more creative and productive.

3. Change your choice of words. Check your habit words; they could be making your attitude worse. If your conversations and comments are heavy with words or phrases like ‘never’, ‘always’, ‘every time’, ‘every day’, ‘never ever’, ‘forever’, ‘all the time’ and ‘nothing’ you are leaving little room for hope and improvement. Replace them with ‘frequently’, ‘sometimes’, ‘usually’,’ typically’ and ‘often’ and watch your attitude improve.

4. Quite being a media junkie. Too much of the news focuses on problems of the world repeated over and over. You can’t solve all the world’s problems and adding those to your personal concerns can be overwhelmingly stressful.

In life there will be experiences that frustrate us and leave a lot to be desired. You can make a difference in your day by choosing to be aware and personally responsible for your own attitude at all times. Taking control of your attitude is the best way to influence the attitude of others. It involves desire, practice, and the courage to feel uncomfortable until you get it right and focusing on the moment at hand.