Links to other parts of the miniseries:
5 truths about attitudes
7 Axioms to understand the impact of attitude
8 Choices to change an attitude – Part 1
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 24 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: 8 Choices to change an attitude – Part 2
— From Attitude 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell
In this last part of the attitude miniseries, John C. Maxwell continues to share his choices for changing an attitude that no longer serves us. The key, as Maxwell states in Attitude 101, is to realize that, “Who we are today is the result of choices we made yesterday. Tomorrow we will become what we choose today. To change means to choose to change.”
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the remaining five choices to change an attitude (here are the previous three choices):
Choice 4: Have the desire to change. “No choice will determine the success of your attitude change more than desiring to change. When all else fails, desire alone can keep you heading in the right direction. […] People can change, and that is the greatest motivation of all.”
Choice 5: Live one day at a time. “Any person can fight the battle for just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities, yesterday and tomorrow, that we tremble. It is not the experiences of today that drive people to distraction; it is the remorse or bitterness for something that happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore live but one day at a time—today!”
Choice 6: Change your thought patterns. “That which holds our attention determines our actions. We are where we are because of the dominating thoughts that occupy our minds. […] Our feelings come from our thoughts, therefore we can change them by changing our thought patterns. Our thought life, not our circumstances, determines our happiness.”
Choice 7: Develop good habits. “An attitude is nothing more than a habit of thought. The process of developing habits—good or bad—is the same. It is easy to form the habit of succeeding as it is to succumb to the habit of failure. Habits aren’t instincts; they’re acquired actions or reactions. They don’t just happen, they’re caused. Once the original cause of a habit is determined, it is within your power to accept or reject it.”
Choice 8: Continually choose to have a right attitude. “Once you make the choice to possess a good attitude, the work has only just begun. After that comes a life of continually deciding to grow and maintaining the right outlook. Attitudes have a tendency to revert back to their original patterns if they are not carefully guarded and cultivated.” To avoid reverting, Maxwell notes that there are three stages of change we must be aware of, and when they present themselves, we can deliberately choose the right attitude:
- Early Stage: “The first few days are always the most difficult. Old habits are hard to break. You must continually be on guard mentally to take the right action.”
- Middle Stage: “The moment good habits begin to take root. […] During this stage new habits will form that can be good or bad… the more right choices and habits you develop, the more likely other good habits will be formed.”
- Later Stage: “Complacency is the enemy… don’t let down your guard until the change is complete. And even then, be vigilant and make sure you don’t fall into old negative habits.”
I’ll leave you with one last quote from Maxwell that aptly summarizes everything that we’ve been learning about attitude:
“You are the only one who can determine what you will think and how you will act. And that means you can make your attitude what you want it to be.”
ACTION
TODAY: Yesterday you took time to think about an attitude that you want to change. Go through the remaining five choices above and determine to adopt them. Make a plan for implementing them so that you can create a new attitude that will help guide you on your way to success.
FUTURE: Keep coming back to this list of choices anytime you want to change an attitude that is no longer helpful in your quest for success. Find an accountability buddy and start choosing to implement change.
Please share this whole miniseries with someone who might be interested! Email, Facebook, Twitter.