I recently was asked if I have a personal mantra that has guided me through my career. \u00a0My favorite motto that I try to apply to all aspects of my life is \u201cAttitude is Everything\u201d.\u00a0 I have rock with these words that I\u2019ve kept on my desk for over two decades. It\u2019s there for me as a reminder that I\u2019m in charge of my mood and how I respond to people and situations. \u00a0It helps me remember that while you can\u2019t control the winds, you can adjust the sails.<\/p>\n
I haven\u2019t been good at applying this mantra throughout my career.\u00a0 I am somewhat of a control freak. So, in the past when things didn\u2019t go as expected, I could get stressed or upset.\u00a0 What I\u2019ve learned through my experiences over the decades is that I can\u2019t control too many things, except for me. Mistakes will be made. Balls will drop. Children will get sick at the worse possible times. You\u2019ll find a nail in your tire when you are already late to a meeting. The weather won\u2019t cooperate with your outdoor activities. \u00a0You can get upset and frustrated, or you can quickly adjust and develop a back-up plan. I\u2019ve learned that for my own health, it\u2019s better to let go and control my attitude and response to the situation.<\/p>\n
And what better time to apply this than now? Who would have thought a few months ago that our businesses would be temporarily (or permanently) closed? That we would have to postpone a wedding or cancel our family ski trip? That we would be furloughed \u2026 or without a job? We can\u2019t control what is happening around the world right now. We are in uncertain times. And we can make the best of it and stay positive. I\u2019ve been inspired by the moving stories during these times. It\u2019s not just the healthcare providers and first responders (who are amazing human beings) who are going above and beyond. Many people we know are doing extraordinary things. Families are spending quality time together. People are helping neighbors and strangers in incredible ways. People are making the best of a tough situation. This is what a great attitude means.<\/p>\n
At work, a positive attitude helps us to see problems as opportunities from which to learn and grow. Don\u2019t we all love being around positive people?\u00a0 It\u2019s a quality I look for when hiring a new person into an organization. During interviews, I ask about a difficult situation they faced in their past and how they handled it. I\u2019m not looking for the most creative solution or the most amazing outcome. I\u2019m looking for how the person viewed the situation and how they approached it. Did they immediately roll up their sleeves and start coming up with potential solutions? Did they engage their fellow workers? \u00a0Did they take responsibility and learn from the situation?<\/p>\n
Positive people have great energy and are a great influence on others. And unfortunately, the \u2018Negative Nelly\u2019 can also have an impact. You know that person who\u2019s the first to complain about the situation or the one to tell you how they tried it before, why it\u2019s a bad idea or why it won\u2019t work?\u00a0 These are the people who can bring a great brainstorming session to a halt, and instantly suck all the energy out of a room. \u00a0While we need people in the workplace with differing perspectives, and people willing to say what needs to be said, we need people to handle it in a constructive way without bringing others down.<\/p>\n
At one of my jobs, I had a counterpart who was an unhappy person. He would walk into my office once a week to complain. Yes, business was challenging. Sales were down, we were missing projections, and the analysts were unhappy.\u00a0 But instead of spending time discussing what we could do to improve results, he\u2019d complain about our boss, our counterparts, how we were focused on the wrong things \u2026and I\u2019d get sucked in.\u00a0 I may have been very happy when he walked in, but by the time he left, I felt lifeless and disgruntled.\u00a0 Looking back, I realize that I never walked into his office.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to have these \u201cdissection of everything that was wrong with the company\u201d discussions with him. In retrospect, I should have stopped him at the door and invited him to dump on someone else!<\/p>\n
On the other hand, many years ago I worked with a woman who was always positive and had great energy.\u00a0 People enjoyed being around her.\u00a0 She was one of the first people selected for key taskforce teams. She was a great listener and made people feel good about themselves.\u00a0 She could always find the silver lining in a situation. She rose rapidly through the organization and I believe much of it was because of her great energy and ability to remain positive and pleasant in tough situations.<\/p>\n
I believe it\u2019s important to keep a positive attitude and approach problems as learning opportunities. It\u2019s far more enjoyable and healthier to be around positive, can-do people versus those who complain and drag you down.\u00a0 Things happen. COVID-19 has impacted everyone. We will emerge stronger and be ready should the world be faced with something like this again. Change is constant and life is about learning and growing. You can\u2019t control what\u2019s happening around you, but you can control your response. You can adjust the sails in response to the winds.\u00a0 \u201cAttitude is Everything\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I recently was asked if I have a personal mantra that has guided me through my career. \u00a0My favorite motto that I try to apply to all aspects of my life is \u201cAttitude is Everything\u201d.\u00a0 I have rock with these words that I\u2019ve kept on my desk for over two decades. It\u2019s there for me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-leadership"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n