Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal… – Thomas Jefferson
Like this girl, my daughter likes to sweep up after yard work. That can be something to help me have a more positive attitude, having some together time.
What does that mean?
A more complete version of this quote is “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
Think about that for a moment. It seems so obvious, but how many times have you seen a Gloomy Gus saying “it’s never going to work,” but they are out there trying to make it work. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, doesn’t it?
They don’t believe it can be done, so they don’t put forth their full effort. Then, they don’t get good results, which only serves to reinforce their belief, and the downward spiral begins. Pretty soon, they give up, or their boss pulls the plug on the project.
On the other hand, you’ve probably seen someone who was very excited about doing something. And despite long odds, and everyone else’s disbelief, they manage to achieve at least some measure of success, if not a complete victory. To me, this is what the quote is about.
Why is having a good attitude important?
Your attitude really sets the tone and tempo of your day. Your attitude also helps set your mind and it’s filters. If your attitude is positive, you will be more likely to see the good in any situation. If your attitude isn’t so good, you’ll probably notice the less than good things in any situation.
Your attitude also influences other people. I imagine you’ve seen people who were always in a good mood and had a positive attitude. They might even have been so positive as to be annoying. You’ve probably also seen the people who seem to have a storm cloud hovering over them. Nothing is ever good enough, fast enough, or going to work. They’re also great fun at a party, not!
Most of us are somewhere between these extremes, whether it’s bubbly vs gloomy, or gonna make it happen vs never gonna make it. However, I think that we can agree that trying to spend more time on the positive side will result in a better life than spending most of our time on the negative side, right?
Where can I apply this in my life?
There is a story about a guy who had the right mental attitude. He worked for Apple, but the program he was working on was canceled. He still wanted to make it work, so he kept showing up, even though he was no longer on the payroll. Yes, he believed in his project so much that he was doing the work for free.
He even recruited a friend who was also no longer being paid, but still able to get in. They worked on the project against all odds, and won. They now have turned that software into a company, and are still working on it and other products. You can read the story here.
What are some of the things in your life that you might not have the best possible attitude towards? Grab some paper and make a list of a couple of things where your attitude may be holding you back, even if just by a teeny tiny little bit.
For each of the projects or areas of your life where you might not have the best attitude, consider why you have an attitude that is less than unstoppable. Do you have doubts? Doubts can have an impact on your belief, and that can start a cycle that can drag your attitude down.
In my case, I’m not all that fond of yard work. There is always a lot to do, and the plants keep growing and are in need of regular maintenance. While I have assigned some tasks to my son, and my daughter likes to help with others, it’s still takes a lot of time. And that, in a nutshell is my reason for having a less than great attitude towards yard work.
Once you have some ideas as to why you have a less than great attitude, consider what you would have to believe to make your reason less important. In my case, I can assign more tasks to my son, and look forward to enjoying some time with my daughter while trimming the trees.
What have you come up with as ways to help you adjust your attitude? While some tasks are a bit trivial to have this much effort put into them, other tasks will benefit greatly from this exercise. Figure out where you need some help and figure it out.
Your attitude will make or break you in so many aspects of your life. I would make it a good one, as much as is humanly possible and as often as humanly possible.
From: Twitter, @Smart_Quotes
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasjeff120994.html
Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography
