My dad has never been afraid to give advice. He will take every opportunity he has to turn a situation into a “life lesson.” I will admit, many of the times I want to just walk away and roll my eyes. However, I tried to listen intently. He is an incredibly intelligent and successful man. I have to assume what he’s telling me can only benefit me in the future. I have been around the guy for 19 years, so one can only imagine all the life lessons I have heard over the years. Although, there is only one that will be permanently engraved in me: Effort and attitude are the only two things you can control in life.
That was it. Short and sweet, right to the point. If you know my dad, sometimes “short and sweet” can be hard for him to manage. My dad has repeated this saying to me since I was a child, but the reality of it did not hit me until high school. I was never the fastest and I was never the smartest. I quickly realized I was going to have to work hard to make the varsity teams, and I was going to need to put in a great amount of effort in school in order to obtain the grades I wanted to receive.
The effort part came easy to me. I always put everything into what I did, and I understood that was an essential way to help me succeed in life. The attitude did not come as easy. My dad was always the “positive coach.” He chooses to bring people up and point out their attributes to the team, rather than scrutinize or criticize what they were doing wrong. He never pointed out flaws. That did not come as easy for me as it did for him.
When I didn’t make the varsity team my sophomore year and some of my friends did, I was incredibly frustrated. When I did not have the same GPA as my boyfriend, I was beside myself. I may tend to create competition out of everything, which could be seen as a flaw. But if you ask my dad, he would find the good out of that characteristic. He would say “being competitive makes you driven and ambitious.”
I had to ask myself, how can this man find positivity in every situation? Well that’s where the attitude came in. Even when I think I am giving my absolute all, with the wrong attitude, it won't mean half as much. With the right attitude, I will most likely unknowingly work harder than I ever was before. Effort and attitude go hand-in-hand, but for the longest time, I could not grasp that concept.
I wouldn’t say I had a bad attitude, but it had room for improvement. After many trials and errors, I can proudly say that I truly understand what has been ingrained in my mind from such a young age. Effort and attitude are the only two things I can control in life. Therefore, with hard work and a positive attitude, I am bound to be successful.
