I wouldn't say I look to Chad Ochocinco for inspiration on a regular basis, but seeing a tweet of his today pushed me onward to blog about something that's important to me. It's something that I battle with on a daily basis as not only a small business owner, but as a husband, a father, a friend, a person. Attitude.
Every day we are faced with decision which is going to dramatically affect how we perceive our circumstances. Each day will have it's ups and downs, no matter how positive you are, but it's the perception of those events that shapes us. It's process of keeping those events in context. And, how you go at solving the problems that arise (or dealing with successes for that matter) is based firmly on your attitude. Some of my best days have been when confronted with seemingly un-winable circumstance and coming out on top.
Let's get a couple of things straight about what having a positive attitude is and is not.
Positive thinking is not:
• being cheerful
• being happy
• always thinking the "glass is half-full"
They are most definitely symptoms of positive thinking, but having a positive attitude is about so much more than smiling when you just got cut off in traffic.
Positive thinking is:
• coming to the table armed with a can-do attitude
• being your best in the situation you're in for however long you're committed to being there
• creative thinking, doing some things that stretch you, getting out of your comfort zone
• being a problem solver
I used to have a professor that would tell us not to bring up a problem, unless we had a possible solution. I think that is one of the best lessons I've learned. Positive thinking is not ignoring things that are broken, it's improving things that aren't. It's not asking "What's wrong with this?" Its asking "What can I do to make this better?"
My grandfather used to drop a card in every letter he sent out. This is what it said:
This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for some good purpose.
But what I do with this day is important because I have exchanged a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. I hope I will not regret the price I paid for it. - Anon.
