Attitude is everything, Stay positive – Here’s why

Keith Harrell in his book ‘Attitude is everything’, threw light on the importance of a worthy attitude. Jeff Keller also opined in book on Attitude that changing your attitude has the potential to change your life. Attitude is indeed everything. Both authors gave insights on how to harness the power of a positive attitude. With the right disposition to life, anyone is bound to succeed.

A good attitude creates a healthy relationship with friends, family, associates, etc.

Whether you are a job seeker, an aspiring entrepreneur or businessman, or someone who wants to upskill, developing a positive attitude will open windows of opportunities for you.

To develop and keep up a positive attitude, here are some tips!

Review your current attitude

Firstly, you need to evaluate yourself, evaluate your current attitude; what have people been saying about you over the years? Are there some traits they have been complaining about? Are there some attitudes that you have discovered personally and you know within yourself that you need to work on? Accepting that you need to work on yourself is the first step to having an attitudinal change; then, you can take the conscious step to improve on your weaknesses. Don’t be satisfied with your current attitude – even if people speak well of you – there will still be more good traits you can consciously imbibe. 

Have clear goals

What do you want to become in life? Where do you see yourself in the next 5 or 10 years? Do you have a career road map? Having a clear goal will really guide you in keeping track of actions and decisions you will take. Setting goals will also help you to be focused. We can assure that there are lots of distraction (it might not be distraction for another person) that might take you off the path you should follow. There are some jobs you wouldn’t even consider applying for because they don’t fit into your plan. It is true that no knowledge is a waste, but why learn what doesn’t interest you – maybe because your friend is attending the training – when you could have used that same time and resources to learn what interests you.

In the implementation of your goals, you need to be firm; sometimes, friends and family might not understand you at first but they will later when they see how confident and consistent you are. During this period of disapproval, don’t see them as enemies (they want the best for you), don’t disrespect them, just take the time to again reassure them you are fully aware of what you are doing. Also, be disciplined in meeting your set goals.

Be Optimistic

If you are optimistic, you will take some actions that might eventually land you the kind of job you desire. Some people dream of working in multinational organizations but lack the discipline to prepare themselves for the opportunity. Some don’t even believe they can get employed in those kind of organizations; they have failed already even before trying. What are you doing to upskill yourself? How strategic are you in engaging in meaningful activities?

Be prepared

When you meet new people or professionals and they see an aura of confidence, passion, and preparedness, there is a tendency they pick interest in you and offer to help. You would not want to see an opportunity right in front of you and you don’t have the capabilities to harness it. And this is a skill that you know you should have acquired should you have taken action.

Control your time

Another important attitude everyone – not only a job seeker – should possess is: effective time management. Effective time management in carrying out daily tasks, learning, etc. will go a long way in creating the opportunity needed to get the kind of employment you desire in the short or long run. It is not a new thing that people set what is called ‘new year resolutions’ but fail to manage their time and at the end, are not able to achieve much – that’s if they even achieve anything at all.

Be a good team player

Being an effective team player is a worthy attitude that can take you far. Having an independent disposition is good but when you find yourself in a team, you need to put away your independent garment and realize you are now working with other people whose opinions, experience, exposure, attitude, etc. will be different from yours. You need to have an open mind and realize that the team has objectives which must be carried out. Whether the team will fail or succeed will be the result of inputs of everyone in the team. If you are a good team player, colleagues will always want to work with you and you might find yourself appointed into leadership positions where you will have the responsibility to carry out the strategic vision of the organization.

Be comfortable with disagreements and see how you can channel it for the benefit of the entire team. Have a listening hear. Let team members finish whatever they have to say – whether you think it makes sense or not.

Build strong and supportive relationships

The inputs of good people in our lives are vital to our success in life. Surround yourself with people that will encourage you and mentor you towards reaching the pedestal of greatness you so desire. Ensure you always network when you find yourself in events. You never can tell who you will meet and who will link you up with the job you have been aiming at. When you are stranded in decision making, you should seek guidance within the networks you have.

Be dedicated to yourself and to duty

Be dedicated to yourself. Regardless of the circumstances, make sure you work on your tasks or goals daily. It might require you to work at night after the hustles and bustles of the day; whatever the case, ensure you don’t entertain excuses. Sometimes, people are busy “doing nothing”. That is, without results. Dedication to assigned duty is another virtue that will stand you out amongst peers. If you handle tasks as if your whole life depends on it, you will not only succeed at it, you will be placing yourself on a favorable pedestal with your boss. If you display an I-don’t-care attitude in handling tasks, you will soon be brushed aside. But when you handle tasks as if you are the founder of the organization (that wants the progress of the organization), you will soon go far in your career development.

Likewise, if you are opportune to volunteer in an event and the organizers see how dedicated you are, you are already creating an opportunity for further meaningful engagements. There are examples of volunteers who have been given consultancy roles – then permanent positions – or recommendations that landed them an opportunity they wouldn’t have gotten on a platter of gold.