Columnists
How much is enough?
A good attitude adjustment can go a long way.
By Fred Koury
Smart Business Akron/Canton | June 2002
Do you find yourself always wanting more? Sales are great one month and poor another. Cash flow is hit and miss. Some employees have great attitudes and others don't. Some days you just want to give up. Many of us live in an idealistic world with the perfect idea of what we would like life to be about, but we need to be more realistic.
Maybe what we really need is a good case of an attitude readjustment. I know it's easy to look to the left and to the right and see something that appears to be so much better than what we have. Each one of us has a certain lot in life and it is important to make the best of it. The first thing that happens when we look to one side or the other to see what we don't have is we forget what we do have. Discontentment sets in and we become ungrateful.
Eventually this leads to a bad attitude.
How should we view the discontentment that appears from time to time? As an enemy, and try to avoid it, or as a friend we can learn from?
I see four ways to move closer to a better attitude.
1. Appreciate what you have before you lose it. You or your business may not be where you want to be, but it is important to appreciate what you have or it could be taken from you. Don't look at what you could have, but rather appreciate what you have accomplished.
2. Appreciate what you don't have before you get it. Everything isn't always as good as it seems. Don't wish something upon yourself that appears to be good, but turns out to hurt you. Difficult economic times can lead to poor decision-making as companies take high risks to try to turn bigger profits.
3. Lead by example. A great attitude is contagious and people want to be around it. If you see how much differently you can view life with the right attitude, you'll never have a bad attitude again.
4. Learn from your mistakes. A bad attitude can only be your friend if you learn from it. Change your tone and watch how much better people respond to you. Communication and morale will improve as your attitude changes.
The true test of a person's character is not when things are going well, but how that person handles challenges. The people with winning attitudes are the ones I want on my team. Those with bad attitudes always get thrown off the team in the end because no one wants to play with them.
