When people hear statements like “have a positive attitude” or “think positively,” many shake their heads thinking, “Sure, but they don’t know what my life is like.” Maybe not, but regardless of your life circumstances, you can and should, do your best to maintain a positive attitude.
Only the ignorant believe that life is to be problem- and challenge-free. Unfortunately, ridiculous thoughts like these are promoted more and more through non-mainstream thought influencers who maintain that if anything bad happens to you, then you must be a bad person – you must be attracting it. Life is filled with a variety of events. Whether they are good or bad depends on how you choose to look at things. The “good” or “bad” label comes from your interpretation and classification of something based on your beliefs, prior experiences, and attitude.
How many times have you heard someone say of a challenging life experience that it was the best thing that ever happened to them? I’m willing to bet that you’ve said that yourself. And, we’re not talking about small life issues, but rather about ones that have had life-altering consequences.
Your attitude is a choice and one that you make every day. Think about the power that you have over your own happiness! That’s the real secret of a wonderful life – you get to call the shots on how you’re going to interpret it.
A positive mental attitude is an essential quality of a leader as it sets the tone for everything that follows. While a leader certainly experiences his or her share of disappointments, challenges, and hard times, it’s imperative that the right attitude be communicated regularly and consistently to everyone.
The right mental attitude makes everything flow more smoothly. It offers a sense of welcome, it makes people want to open up and share, and most important, it’s contagious! Great leaders have great attitudes.
What do you do to maintain a positive mental attitude? How does having this attitude affect your success as a leader?
“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.” — Harold Geneen
Tara Kachaturoff is the creator, producer and host of Michigan Entrepreneur TV, a weekly television talk show featuring business leaders and businesses from start-up to stellar. With over 15 years of experience in corporate finance in the tech sector, she now coaches executives, business professionals, and entrepreneurs on leadership, management, productivity, and marketing issues. Tara is also the author of 21 Qualities of a Leader from which this article is excerpted.
