Just for Today - Your Attitude is Contagious!
Anupama Kinatukara, PgMP®, PMP®
Certified DISC Trainer | Leadership Coach | Empowering Teams & Leaders to Connect, Communicate & Lead Effectively | Keynote Speaker & PMI Contributor
While it is true that you choose your attitude, you also need to keep in mind that your attitude influence the other people around you. This is a lesson that I learned early on in my life and it is not easy to maintain a positive attitude all the time but it has helped me stay in check!
John Maxwell says in his book "Today Matters" that if you desire to make your day a masterpiece then you need to have a great attitude. If it is not good now, you need to change it. Make the decision and choose to have a positive attitude.
A couple of years ago, I had decided to take my 3 kids for a tour in India and we teamed up with my sister and her 2 kids to visit Delhi, Jaipur and Agra (specifically to see Taj Mahal, a monument of love).
We had booked the tour and we were all excited to see places of interest as soon as we got there. I had ensured that we had detailed schedule for each day since we had limited days to visit each place. I took responsibility to have a positive attitude and took charge each day.
Due to the hot weather and the spicy food that my kids (born and raised in USA) were not used to, 2 of my kids fell sick during the trip and I had to stay back in the hotel on 2 of the 3 days that we were in Delhi/Agra. I was in panic mode and I am so grateful to my sister who calmed me down and helped me change my thinking. I started thinking, acting, talking and conducting myself in such a way that allowed the rest of the group to go visit the places we had planned. They had a good time and came back with great pictures for me.
As I was at the hotel and later in the clinic where my teenage kid was recovering after a heat stroke, I started praying and praising God for keeping our kids safe. I was grateful that my sister was there with me and was my strength when I felt weak. I appreciated the doctor who rushed to the hotel when we called for help. I developed an appreciation for life.
Here are a few steps you can take:
1. Take responsibility for your attitude: Each of us must take responsibility for our own attitude. If you want today to be a good day, you need to take charge of the way you look at it.
2. Think, Act, Talk and Conduct yourself like the person you want to become: If you desire to change yourself, then start with your mind. If your thinking changes, then everything else can follow.
3. Develop a high appreciation for life: Start with appreciating the little things. It is a matter of perspective and you need to start being grateful for the little things and we will start appreciating bigger things.
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Everyday I make adjustments to keep my attitude right.
John says "Like any discipline, your attitude will not take care of itself. You need to attend to it daily."
Find something positive in everything.
Remove negative words from your vocabulary. Be on the lookout for negative words and try to eliminate them in your conversations and replace them with positive words. Here's a list to get started:
Let's continually look for and embrace the positive while eliminating the negative, this will help you begin thinking more positively everyday.
One of my favorite books that I read as a teenager was "The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale. It has helped me live a more fulfilled life and I am looking forward to tomorrow with a SMILE.
Next time I will share about why PRIORITIES matter TODAY.
I would like to encourage you to set the tone of your day by treating people better than you expect to be treated by them. Be the first to smile. Express your appreciation for them. Expect the best out of them. If you act first, you will set yourself up for success.
Recently I won a Referral Contest and got the opportunity to meet my mentors in West Palm Beach, Florida. If you would like to learn more about how you could join our Maxwell Leadership Team, block a Complimentary 15 minutes call on my calendar and allow me to refer you too!