“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it,” Lou Holtz once said. His wise words wholly characterize the influence of a very abstract noun that everyone encounters daily. Ability and motivation do not produce success without a great attitude. Attitude permeates various aspects of our lives including our general outlook on reality, our relationships, our workplace, and personal self-image.
Attitude mainly controls our general life outlook. Many people know about the glass half full or empty analogy. Someone who views the glass half full generally leads a happier life, possesses self-confidence, works hard, and sees hard life moments as character builders. These people typically see the flicker of light in a dark room. On the other hand, those who view the glass half empty constantly focus on life’s darkest moments, do not hold a high degree of self-confidence, examine their weaknesses, get stuck in a rut and lack motivation to achieve their goals, and see life’s obstacles as curveballs they cannot dodge.
Attitude affects the way we treat others. Harboring negative thoughts or feelings toward others causes us to disrespect them, judge them, or believe false things about them because our human bias blinds us from seeing the truth about them. For example, someone who sees the glass half empty might think another person who holds a positive outlook on life is not acting authentically. In addition, a person might believe false things about someone else if they listen to gossip, which perpetuates harsh bias towards people around us. Attitude additionally alters relationships with our co-workers. This happens frequently when a diligent employee becomes frustrated by a lazier employee’s lack of effort or when a seasoned worker gets upset with a new recruit’s clumsiness.
I remember the first month I started my job at one of my school’s cafes. I only lifeguarded previously and lacked any fundamental minimum wage or restaurant job experience. This void of knowledge spurred anxious about the way I cooked food or made drinks, causing me to mess up orders sometimes because my perfectionist self became so flustered about making every order correctly. As a result, a couple of my coworkers became annoyed with me. However, others encouraged me, told me to keep learning from my mistakes, and helped me understand how I could improve. My fellow employees’ positive demeanors created an uplifting work environment that allowed me to enjoy my job instead of despise it.
Attitude especially changes work ethic and environment. Many people often say their fellow employees impact the way they view their job. How do others make such a difference? It’s all about their attitude. Have you ever walked into work with a face shining beams of light around the office and then wondered why a cloud of doom hovered over you within the next couple of hours? Someone else’s pessimistic mood most likely changed the work environment. Negative perspectives contagiously stick to people like glue and cover up any positivity because it is easier for people to look at the downside of things instead of the upside.
Attitude affects work ethic because the amount we accomplish significantly diminishes based on positive or negative feelings. As a camp counselor, I have to sit through the same camp program for eight different weeks. Naturally, this allows a mindset of boredom to arise, and I must push these feelings aside in order to create an amazing week of camp for the girls I counsel. In addition, fixating on mistakes can cause me to view myself poorly and make me feel like I cannot adequately counsel others, causing my job performance to decline. It is imperative to look at errors, study them, and develop a plan to improve, but we do not have to bash ourselves with them and must maintain a pleasant mindset going forward in order to flourish.
In the same manner, someone who forces themselves to look at the positive side could change the room’s climate when they make lemonade out of lemons and say something like “look at how much we accomplished today despite all the roadblocks we faced.” Unfortunate instances occur frequently in the workplace, but maintaining a positive temperament can drastically improve everyone’s work ethic and efficiency because they strive for the end goal instead of focusing on what they cannot accomplish.
Maintaining a bright outlook on life helps promote vitality, strong relationships, enjoyable careers and a bright self-image. Simply stated, no substitution for attitude exists and we can see radical results manifest from a new vantage point if we diligently climb life’s toughest mountains and reach the summit of positivity at the top.
