Attitude is everything – my dad used to say those words to me when I was being a sore loser after losing in a game or sports. As I got older and wiser, like most of us do, I started to realize that my dad was absolutely right about that fact. And, I also started to realize that that lesson applied to more than just sports or activities.
Having the right attitude is key in all areas of life. Keep reading to learn why that is, and a few key attitudes that are must haves if you want to live a life of joy, fulfillment, and success.
Why Your Attitude Is So Important
“Control the controlable” – that’s a statement that makes every control freak shutter with disdain. At its core, what it’s saying is that we need to focus our energy on controlling the things we can actually control in some way, shape, or form, and not fret about those things that are out of our control. And if we’re being completely honest, there aren’t many things that we can control in life. But, one of the few things that we can always control is our attitude. And it’s vitally important that we do so. The reason why is because your attitude influences your actions. And we all know that it’s our actions that determine our success.
As the saying goes, “your attitude determines your altitude.” Meaning that, the type of attitude you approach life with will significantly impact the level of success you will or will not have. Typically, when someone has a bad attitude, it negatively affects their action. These are the naysayers, doubters, and negative Nancies of the world. I don’t know many of those types of people who are out there just killing it. In fact, those tend to be the people who, because of their frustration from a lack of results and success in their own lives, troll and try to tear down those who are trying to create success in theirs.
On the other hand, when you have a positive attitude and outlook, you’re much more likely to take action and get things done. And, not only that, having a positive attitude makes you much more likely to be supportive of others and helpful to them in whatever it is that they have going on. So, an added benefit of a positive attitude is that you’re able to foster better relationships. I don’t know of many millionaires or billionaires that walk around with bad attitudes. In fact, it’s usually quite the opposite. They tend to have great attitudes and outlooks in life, which has allowed them to create the success they’ve achieved.
Now that we know why your attitude is so important, let’s look at a few must-have attitudes that you need in your life.
3 Must Have Attitudes in Life
1. Attitude of Positivity
Let’s take a moment to view your attitude as a pyramid – something that is systematically built over time. At the base of the pyramid would be positivity. Positivity is the prerequisite for all of the other attitudes you need to have in order to, as the Lifehack mission says, “live your best life without sacrifice.”
Positivity has a direct relationship with possibilities. People who are negative tend to have a fixed mindset, and are closed off to all of the possibility that exists in life. Negativity and a victim mindset go hand in hand. Conversely, when someone has a positive outlook and attitude, they are much more likely to have a growth mindset and are open to the abundance that exists within the world.
As I mentioned above, whether you have a positive attitude or not, will affect the action you take. When we take action and achieve a desired outcome, we further expand our mind to possibilities, which furthers our positivity. And you’ll see why, in just a moment, that having a positive attitude is necessary for you to be able to have the other two attitudes we’re going to discuss.
2. Attitude of Gratitude
In this social media society that we live in, where comparison is a common trap to fall into, it’s very easy for someone to have a negative attitude. Someone might feel angry that they didn’t get the “lucky breaks” that the people they follow online did. Or, they may start to feel like a victim, who’s powerless to control their own destiny and achieve the results they desire in life. And once someone gets to that point, that’s when action becomes seemingly impossible, and people give up on the pursuit of their goals, dreams, or aspirations.
This phenomena is prevalent in lower income or disadvantaged communities. Young people grow up not seeing any models of success in their immediate environment. They are also fed limiting stories, from those closest to them, about their inability to ever be able to create a great life for themselves. So, they grow up with a fixed mindset about their potential. And those limiting stories, which often create their reality, leave them feel jaded and like life isn’t fair. All of that coupled together puts them into a state of negativity, which solidifies their inability to create a better life for themselves.
If you’re not careful, comparison will rip your life apart. That’s why an attitude of gratitude is so important. It takes you out of focusing on what you don’t have (i.e. being stuck in comparison mode and a negative attitude), and helps you to focus on all that you do have.
When we think about life from an energetic perspective, there’s nothing that raises our vibration more than gratitude. Focusing on consciously adding more gratitude into your life will be one of the most transformative things you will do, and will positively impact all areas of your life.
3. Attitude of Greatness
One of the things about having a good attitude is that it’s a matter of choice – you have to choose to have a good attitude. Because of the need to survive experienced by our ancestors, our minds naturally have a bent towards the negative. It was a survival mechanism. And, although we don’t have to worry about a saber tooth tiger jumping out of a bush anymore, our brains are still wired that way. So we have to consciously choose to be positive.
Another thing that is a choice in life, and something that will positively impact your life, is becoming great at something. If you take a step back and look at the relationship between a positive attitude and becoming great at something, you’ll see that it’s a symbotic, two-way relationship. Becoming great at something will give you a boost in confidence, which will positively impact your attitude. Looking at it the other way, it typically takes having a positive attitude to want to become great at something.
One key thing to add here is that you need to make sure that you’re pursuing greatness at something that you actually enjoy and that fulfills you. Otherwise, you won’t get that two-way benefit we just discussed. I always did really well in school, but I didn’t enjoy it much, so I didn’t go into it with a great attitude. Luckily, I had a huge why for being successful in school, and that carried me through. But in order to avoid that, set yourself up for success by choosing to become great at something you enjoy.
Think of any great athlete – they aren’t walking around with a bad attitude. They may have a chip on their shoulder, and be hyper competitive, but they tend to be positive people. And that positivity opens them up to possibility, which deepens their drive to be great. As they continue to pursue greatness, they become more confident, which partner fuels their beliefs about possibilities. And the cycle continues. So, if you’re struggling with a bad attitude, seek to become great at something and see if that doesn’t change.
Bottom Line
Your attitude is everything – don’t try to fight against that truth. Accept it, and allow it to guide you in consciously choosing the attitude you want to have on a daily basis. In particular, be sure to have attitudes of positivity, gratitude, and greatness. Doing that will allow you to live a great life.
Featured photo credit: sean hall via unsplash.com
